Hardtalk

Marianna Spring, the BBC’s social media investigations correspondent, speaks to Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa, co-founder of the independent Filipino news outlet Rappler.With over 40 years in journalism, Maria describes today’s information landscape as a war zone, where online attacks, including doxxing, misogynistic hashtags, and manipulated images don’t just stay online. They spill into real-world intimidation and violence.This conversation explores the rise of online misogyny, the weaponisation of social media by authoritarian regimes, and the global impact on press freedom. Maria draws on her experience in the Philippines to offer insights for resisting digital repression and calls out tech giants for failing to protect democracy.She also shares her vision for accountability and action and what needs to happen to safeguard journalism and democracy in the digital age. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from

Amol Rajan speaks to Sir Nick Clegg - former deputy Prime Minister of the UK and, more recently, former President of Global Affairs at Meta - about big tech, AI and the future of social media.Sir Nick first appeared on the world stage back in 2010, when he became the UK’s deputy prime minister after his Liberal Democrats party went into a coalition government with David Cameron’s Conservatives.After leaving Westminster in 2017, he surprised many political observers when he was hired by Facebook, now known as Meta, to head up their global affairs and communications. In 2022, Sir Nick was then promoted to become the company’s president of global affairs, where he oversaw policy and government relations.Sir Nick subsequently worked closely with Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg for several years, but decided to step down at the beginning of this year.And now, amid growing concerns over the regulation of big tech, the growth of AI and the future of the internet itself, he’s drawing on his vast experience from b

‘When it comes to women's lives, things have progressed, maybe not always in a linear way.’Devina Gupta speaks to author and columnist Twinkle Khanna about the lives of women in 21st century India. Khanna’s column in the Times of India, Mrs Funnybones, captures the contradictions of being a modern Indian woman — one day praying to a cow, the next filing a tax return. It was turned into a book in 2015 that sold over 100,000 copies in its first year alone.Born into a family of Bollywood royalty, Khanna initially followed her parents Dimple Kapadia and Rajesh Khanna into acting. However, despite appearing in dozens of films and receiving accolades for her performances, she considers herself to have been a ‘failed actress’.After a short stint as an interior designer, she turned her hand to writing, and soon realised how much she could make people laugh.As a prominent writer, however, Khanna has faced significant backlash - including for comments challenging both traditional roles within marriage and religious c

“The current state of the art AI technology is prone to some errors… you have to learn to use these tools for what they are good at, and not blindly trust everything they say.”Faisal Islam speaks to Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google and its holding company Alphabet, about artificial intelligence and its impact on how we live and work. He tells me that we are at an extraordinary moment in technology, with the potential for enormous benefits but also risks. AI should not be blindly trusted, he says, as it is still prone to errors. And it will disrupt society through its impact on jobs, but also on the climate, thanks to its “immense” energy needs. Trillions are being invested in artificial intelligence, raising fears it could create a bubble reminiscent of the dotcom boom in the 1990s. If it were to burst, Sundar Pichai warns no company, not even his, would be immune. Thank you to Faisal Islam and Priya Patel for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people

‘So-called turmoil or shortcomings in my life? I turn them into power or energy’Best known for playing the serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the 1991 thriller ‘The Silence of the Lambs’, Sir Anthony’s journey to Hollywood stardom started with humble beginnings.Born into a working class family in the Welsh steel town of Port Talbot in 1937, his parents first ran a bakery, and then later a pub. Their strong work ethic was imparted on their son, who, despite struggling socially and educationally in his early years, was determined to make a success of himself. Throwing himself into reading and creative pastimes like music and art, Sir Anthony studied at both the Welsh Royal College of Music and Drama and the Royal Academy for Dramatic Art.His early career saw him working alongside greats including Katharine Hepburn, Lawrence Olivier, Richard Burton and Peter O’Toole across both stage and screen, with his international breakout coming in the 1980 film ‘The Elephant Man’, which received multiple Oscar and Golden

BBC North America correspondent Nomia Iqbal speaks to Noura Erakat, Palestinian-American human rights attorney and professor at Rutgers University. As well as being a legal scholar she is also an outspoken advocate for justice in Palestine, she went on to become one of the first Palestinian women to address the United Nations Security in October this year where she spoke on the situation of women and girls in GazaNoura Erakat reflects on the global response to the war in Gaza and what international law can and cannot do in times of crisis. We explore what accountability might look like and why, for many Palestinians, the law has so often failed them.She talks about growing up as part of the Palestinian diaspora in the United States and how this has shaped her life. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The

‘I believe so profoundly in the separation of church and state, and in the dangers of theocracy creeping into the corners of a democracy’BBC Music Correspondent Mark Savage speaks to US singer-songwriter, producer and performer Brandi Carlile about the personal and political stories behind her songs.An LGBTQ icon, she sets out her fears about the threat to same-sex marriage in today’s United States, and the impact that has had on her own family. And she shares the strain her own sexuality put on her relationship with her mother while growing up in rural America. It was country music, she says, that brought them together.Brandi Carlile has won eleven Grammy awards, been nominated for an Oscar, and worked with Elton John and Joni Mitchell. Now releasing her eighth album, she reveals she went into the studio with no songs prepared, only feelings and nostalgia, resulting in a deeply personal record reflecting on childhood memories, parenthood and politics. Thank you to Mark Savage for his help in making this prog

Vitaly Shevchenko speaks to Maria Alyokhina, founding member of the Russian punk activist group Pussy Riot, about the power and the price of protest.Pussy Riot came to the world’s attention with its Punk Prayer, an angry anti-Putin anthem performed in a Moscow church. Maria Alyokhina spent two years incarcerated in a penal colony as a result. It was worth it, she says, to show the world what life under President Putin was like. She was freed under an amnesty ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, but her ongoing activism saw her living under surveillance and then house arrest, eventually fleeing Russia in a dramatic escape. Today, she continues to challenge Putin’s regime from outside her home country. Thank you to the Ukrainecast team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can list

James Coomarasamy speaks to acclaimed author Sir Salman Rushdie as he publishes his first work of fiction since surviving a near-fatal attack in 2022, by a man armed with a knife, who is now serving 25 years in prison. The Eleventh Hour, his new collection of novellas and short stories explores mortality, farewells and even the afterlife. They feature a rich cast of characters - a musical prodigy in post-Partition Mumbai, a ghost with a secret at a Cambridge college and a young writer caught in a Kafkaesque nightmare in modern-day America.Sir Salman speaks candidly about the threats to free expression, the rise in book bans across the US, and the political climate shaped by figures like Donald Trump. He reflects on the pressures facing writers and readers in a time of disinformation and growing censorship.We discuss fiction’s power to illuminate truth and why, after everything, he remains committed to the freedom to imagine.The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over t

‘There's basically a total failure of governance. Nothing is working. There is very serious political instability that has actually manifested itself in violence all across the country.’James Copnall speaks to senior South Sudanese politician Nhial Deng Nhial, about the political instability that’s threatening the future of the world’s youngest country.Nhial, who has served in numerous important roles in, including as South Sudan’s Foreign Minister, made headlines last month when he openly criticised the country’s president, Salva Kiir, going from former ally to a voice of opposition. South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 after decades of struggle led by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, or SPLM. But just two years into independence, a power struggle between President Salva Kiir and his vice-president Riek Machar led to a civil war in which 400,000 lost their lives. The civil war was brought to an end in 2018 through a peace deal that saw the creation of a unity government that was meant to

''There were periods when I couldn’t see any hope or joy,'' says British cycling champion Sir Bradley Wiggins in a deeply personal interview with Anna Foster The first Briton to win the Tour de France, he collected five Olympic gold medals throughout his career. But his stellar reputation came under attack as he faced allegations of doping. What followed was a descent into drug addiction that was fueled, he says, by the pain of an absent father and the abuse he suffered at the hands of a coach, all while growing up in the public eye.Today he is a “better version of himself”, supported by close family, clean of drugs for a year and in therapy. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service, Mondays and Wednesdays at 0700 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out twice a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.Presenter: Anna Foster Producers: Jade Lauriston an

‘Fashion has to be more inclusive, it has to speak to people outside the normal demographic’BBC presenter Amol Rajan speaks to Ghanaian-born Edward Enninful, who rose to the pinnacle of fashion in Britain as the editor-in-chief of British Vogue.Enninful has dedicated his career to making fashion representative and relevant to all, ignoring the accepted conventions on which type of models will make magazines and clothes sell. Even before I knew what inclusivity was, he says, I knew something wasn’t right. But now Enninful warns fashion is at risk of returning to a narrow definition of beauty, where being thin, European and young is the ideal. In this interview, he sets out an alternative vision of fashion where diversity is welcomed, and the beauty of older women is recognised - inspired by the ‘bodacious’ African women dressed by his seamstress mother throughout his childhood.Enninful arrived in London from Ghana as a boy, and was fashion director of the influential i-D magazine by the age of 18. After being

‘A lot of the fantasy that I have read is unsatisfactory for me because it's not interested in psychology, it's not interested how people think or feel’Katie Razzall speaks to renowned British author Sir Philip Pullman as he publishes his latest, and final book in the series, The Rose Field. He’s best-known for writing the award-winning ‘His Dark Materials’ - a series of novels beloved by children and adults alike all over the world. The books follow the adventures of the two main characters - Lyra and Will - across a series of parallel universes, where Pullman blends magical storytelling with physics, philosophy and theology.Pullman was a part-time English lecturer when the first instalment in the series was published thirty years ago. Tens of millions of copies have been sold across multiple continents, and the stories have been translated into 40 languages.The commercial and critical success spawned a follow-up series, The Book of Dust, which came out nearly a decade ago. The 79-year-old has now picked u

‘We’re living in an era of a massive lowering of trust’Shaun Ley speaks to Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, one of the most visited websites in the world.He talks about how to trust in a digital age, the pressures facing open‑knowledge platforms and his new book The Seven Rules of Trust: A Blueprint for Building Things That Last, where he shares the lessons that transformed Wikipedia and could transform our relationship with information too.Jimmy Wales co founded Wikipedia in 2001, it was built on the principle that knowledge should be free and created collectively. With over 300 language editions, it’s the largest free knowledge resource, relying on donations by online readers. He reflects on how Wikipedia is navigating an era of misinformation, political pressure, and declining public trust in institutions. From accusations of left-leaning bias by conservative voices and scrutiny from authoritarian governments, to the challenge of keeping a global, multilingual platform accurate and inclusive, he ex

‘I am not done. I have lived my entire career a life of service and it's in my bones and there are many ways to serve. I have not decided yet what I will do in the future beyond what I'm doing right now.’Laura Kuenssberg speaks to Kamala Harris about her turbulent 2024 presidential campaign where she ran against Donald Trump. She was thrust into the race just 107 days before the election, after the incumbent President and Democratic Party candidate, Joe Biden, abruptly withdrew following a disastrous debate performance. She has now revealed in a new book the emotional and political turbulence of that whirlwind campaign. She opens up about the sting of electoral defeat, and her candid thoughts on Biden’s decision to step aside. When it comes to Donald Trump, she doesn’t hold back, calling him a ‘tyrant’ and a ‘fascist’. She also shares her vision for the Democratic Party’s future - and doesn’t rule out running again. Thank you to the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg team for their help in making this programme.Th

‘To isolate Israel or to punish Israel will be the most irresponsible and unacceptable step to boycott Israel, for example. I think it's a huge mistake, because what we need is a dialogue.’Tim Franks speaks to Israeli author David Grossman about the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza as concerns grow over the increasingly fragile ceasefire. Grossman is one of Israel’s most prominent writers, and since publishing his first novel over forty years ago, his works have been translated into 36 languages. He’s won numerous literary awards over the years, including the Man Booker International Prize in 2017. Many of his works deal with the issues associated with Israel and Palestine.The 71-year-old is also well-known as a peace activist, and has been a vocal, long-standing critic of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - expressing concern over the direction the country is being led in.In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica in August, Grossman described Israel’s actions in Gaza as ‘genocide’, lamen

‘There are real consequences to our physical and mental health’Katty Kay speaks to Dr Vivek Murthy, former US Surgeon-General about the challenge posed by loneliness and isolation in the modern world. Dr. Murthy, the first person of Indian descent in the post, was appointed during the second Obama administration. He then returned in 2021, serving until the beginning of this year.The Surgeon-General’s job is to provide the American public with the best scientific information available on how to improve their health and reduce the risk of illness and injury. They also oversee the country’s 6,000 public health professionals who respond to national health threats and public health crises.It was during his second term, under the Biden administration, that Dr. Murthy first started expressing concern about the impact of social media on the mental health and wellbeing of young people. He described the loneliness epidemic of social isolation as a risk to public health akin to smoking and diabetes.In this interview,

I am worried about the global economySimon Jack, BBC Business Editor speaks to global financial titan Jamie Dimon. He’s the Chief Executive and Chairman of JP Morgan Chase, America’s largest bank, and one of the biggest banks in the world. He oversees more than $4 trillion of assets, and has the ear of world leaders.He believes we are living in a time of uncertainty, and is concerned about the impact on the global economy. The risk of a serious fall in the US stock market within the next two years is being underestimated, he claims, adding he is far more worried about this than others. But he still puts his faith in the American economy, saying it is the best in the world. And while he says the United States is now a “less reliable” international partner, it is thanks to the actions of President Trump that other NATO members have stepped up their spending on defence. Such investment he believes is essential, in a world more dangerous since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.Jamie Dimon has been at the helm of JP

I was 15 years old and I did not know who I wasMadina Maishanu speaks to Malala Yousafzai, the global education activist, about the public life that has defined her, and her search for her own identity. In a deeply personal interview, Malala Yousafzai reveals the legacy of her teenage years - as the spirited girl who took on the Taliban and nearly lost her life, then the Nobel Prize-winning advocate for girls everywhere to go to school. People think they know you, she says, but I did not know who I was. Now, aged 28, she reveals the lasting impact on her mental health and how she’s been helped by therapy and by friendship, putting the loneliness of her teens behind her.For Malala Yousafzai, the mission of her life remains ensuring every girl has the right to go to school, a goal that has driven her since she was a child growing up in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. Critical of the ruling Taliban, she survived an assassination attempt at their hands before fleeing to England to continue her education, ultimately at O

The world will have to listen to AfricaWaihiga Mwaura speaks to Botswana’s President Duma Boko about his plans to reinvigorate the economy, taking greater control of the country’s diamond reserves, but also diversifying its mining and other sectors. Currently facing hefty tariffs from the US, he claims to be close to securing a tariff-free deal for Botswana’s diamonds at least. But President Boko also has a vision of a reinvigorated Africa, a continent that works together to become a formidable economic force, where its own people reap the benefits of its rich resources. Africa, he says, is rising. Duma Boko, a human rights lawyer who was educated at Harvard, helped to create the party he leads, the Umbrella for Democratic Change. His victory in the 2024 presidential election, at his third attempt, finally ousted the Botswana Democratic Party from power after almost 60 years. Thank you to Waihiga Mwaura, Kasra Karimi and Priscilla Ng’ethe Koinange for their help in making this programme. The Interview brin