Hardtalk

Sarah Montague speaks to Afrobeats musician Omah Lay. With its roots in the social activist Afrobeat music pioneered by Fela Kuti, is there a universal message in the music of this young Nigerian singer-songwriter? (Photo: Omah Lay talks to Sarah Montague)

The conflict in Ethiopia between the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front and government forces is one of many challenges to the country’s stability. Now, there is a glimmer of hope, with both sides saying they are willing to start efforts to end the war. Zeinab Badawi speaks to Meaza Ashenafi, the Chief Justice of the Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia. What are the prospects for peace and justice in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands?

Twenty-five years ago, almost one and a half million Christians lived in Iraq. Now there are around a quarter of a million, and after years of war and communal violence many of them have been displaced from their ancestral homes. Can anything be done to reverse this trend toward extinction? Stephen Sackur speaks to Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda of Erbil, home to the largest remaining Christian community. In a country and a region where Christianity has deep roots, does it have a future?

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Nury Turkel, a prominent Uyghur activist in exile and chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. He is a key leader in the effort to pressure China to end the repression of the Uyghurs. But is his campaign doomed to fail?

The fractures in American society are widening, over guns, abortion, education and more. But the deepest, most traumatic fracture is surely over race. The US is post slavery, post segregation, but definitely not post-racism. Stephen Sackur speaks to Ibram X. Kendi, an influential writer and academic who argues the only way to not be racist is to be actively antiracist - a message he says children must hear. Is his approach bound to intensify America’s internal conflict?

Steve Thompson is a World Cup-winning England rugby player whose brain has been irreparably damaged by years of collisions. His wife Steph helps him deal with a life blighted by early-onset dementia. What happens when the game just isn’t worth it?

When the UK handed Hong Kong back to China 25 years ago, the last words of the departing British Governor to the people of the territory were: “Now Hong Kong people are to run Hong Kong. That is the promise. And that is the unshakeable destiny.” Sarah Montague speaks to Lord Patten, the man who made that pledge, to ask if that promise has been broken - and if the UK could have done more to honour it.

Stephen Sackur speaks to K. Shanmugam, Singapore’s minister of home affairs. Economically open, socially conservative and highly politically controlled, Singapore has thrived in the era of globalisation, but could rising US/China tensions force it to take sides?

Stephen Sackur speaks to China thinktank founder and sometime government adviser Henry Huiyao Wang. From its strategic partnership with Putin’s Russia, to its draconian and economically damaging Covid policy, is Beijing making calls which expose its vulnerabilities?

Stephen Sackur speaks to João Vale de Almeida, the EU’s Ambassador to the UK, who is at the sharp end of the bitter fight between Boris Johnson’s government and Brussels over Northern Ireland. If Britain backs out of the Brexit deal and the EU retaliates, how toxic could things get?

Stephen Sackur speaks to one of the world’s great conductors, Semyon Bychkov. Born in the Soviet Union, exiled from Russia, and a fierce critic of Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, does he fear the fall out for artists when nationalism and politics take centre stage?

Stephen Sackur speaks to one of Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Ministers, Olha Stefanishyna. The country faces a moment of truth: Russian firepower on the frontline is beginning to tell, as the EU contemplates whether to accept Ukraine as a candidate for membership. Will Kyiv get the support it needs?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Nicu Popescu, Moldova’s foreign minister and deputy Prime Minister. Poor, beset with corruption and strategically vulnerable, Moldova has reasons to fear that Russia’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine could end on its soil. How does Moldova best protect itself?

Stephen Sackur speaks to the head of the European Space Agency, Josef Aschbacher. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine put an end to space cooperation with Moscow, leaving key projects in disarray. Has it also left Europe looking like an also-ran in the space race?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia. More than 100 days into its invasion of Ukraine, Russia is locked in attrition, costly fighting in the Donbas, enduring economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation. Is Putin’s plan failing?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Fawzia Koofi, one of Afghanistan’s most prominent women politicians, who has been in exile since the Taliban returned to power last year. Faced with economic collapse and political repression, can Afghans see any glimmer of light in the darkness? (Photo: Fawzia Koofi in the Hardtalk studio)

Zeinab Badawi is in Nairobi to talk to one of Kenya’s most ground-breaking cultural figures Dr Njoki Ngumi. She abandoned a promising career in medicine to help set up an arts collective and believes that creative endeavours can help transform societies. One of the collective’s films exploring homosexuality was banned in Kenya where gay sex is a crime. So how far is Njoki Ngumi shifting opinions? (Photo: Dr Njoki Ngumi)

Stephen Sackur speaks to the world-renowned Hungarian conductor Iván Fischer. He’s one of the most innovative, idiosyncratic maestros in the world of classical music. In the current climate, how easy is it to find the magic in music-making?

Stephen Sackur speaks to internationally renowned Harvard historian Serhii Plokhy, who specialises in the complex histories of Ukraine, Russia and the Soviet Union. Vladimir Putin has tried to weaponise history to undermine Ukrainian identity and nationhood - how does this historian fight back?

Stephen Sackur is in Washington DC to speak to America’s first transgender state lawmaker, Danica Roem. She overcame long odds to win a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. Now she’s a powerful voice in the US culture wars. From trans rights to abortion, are progressives or conservatives in the ascendant?