
299 episodes

HARDtalk BBC World Service
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- Government
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4.2 • 164 Ratings
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In-depth, hard-hitting interviews with newsworthy personalities.
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Leopoldo Lopez: Has Venezuela’s opposition been outmanoeuvred?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Leopoldo Lopez, a key leader of Venezuela’s opposition. Once a political prisoner, now in exile in Spain, his efforts to topple the socialist regime led by Nicolas Maduro have been thwarted. Has Venezuela’s pro-democracy movement been outmanoeuvred?
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Dmytro Kuleba: Is the West's hesitation undermining Ukraine?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba. The war with Russia has hit a winter stalemate, but what will spring bring? From battle tanks to air defences, Ukraine wants more help from its allies. Is Western wavering undermining Kyiv’s strategic options?
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Ruben Vardanyan: Nagorno-Karabakh and Putin
Stephen Sackur speaks to Ruben Vardanyan, state minister of the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, run by ethnic Armenians but surrounded by Azerbaijan and the subject of years of conflict. The Armenians have traditionally been backed by Russia, but is Putin a reliable ally?
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Celso Amorim: Is Brazil becoming ungovernable?
Brazilian President Lula must figure out whether another assault on government institutions is likely, and hold those responsible to account. All of that while he faces a mountain of economic, social and political challenges. How close is Brazil to being ungovernable? Stephen Sackur interviews Celso Amorim, formerly Brazil's foreign minister, now President Lula’s foreign policy advisor.
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Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Is global free trade possible?
Stephen Sackur is in Geneva to speak to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director general of the World Trade Organization. Her job is to maximise free and fair trade across the world. How is that possible in this age of big power tension and increased suspicion of globalisation?
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Jagath Weerasinghe: Sri Lanka's bloody past
Zeinab Badawi is in Sri Lanka to talk to one of the country’s most influential artists and archaeologists, Jagath Weerasinghe. What does his art tell us about Sri Lanka’s bloody and difficult past, and its prospects for a more peaceful future?
Customer Reviews
Thank you
Second year in a row, love this program and it helps me to improved my English
Sackur is a master interviewer
I’ve watched and listened to hardtalk for many years initially via BBC World and now via the podcast. The interviewers are some of the best I’ve observed and clearly do a huge amount of research on the respective subject. Sackur is the standout and for me is probably the finest interviewer I’ve observed. I hope the programme continues for many years to come.
Israeli ambassador interview
Really poor interview of the Israeli ambassador more like a cosy chat than hard talk. Typical of the treatment of much of the mainstream media of Israeli officials, always treat them with kid gloves as opposed to those supporting Palestinians