Hardtalk

Stephen Sackur speaks to Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, the UN’s refugee agency for Palestinians. He is just back from Gaza where the temporary truce gave him a chance to assess the scale of the humanitarian crisis. With Israel vowing to resume its war on Hamas, could Gaza soon be unliveable?

Stephen Sackur speaks to far-right Israeli politician Simcha Rothman, whose Religious Zionism party is in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s ruling coalition. He and his party colleagues seem ready for a new era of long-term violent confrontation, not just in Gaza, but in the West Bank too. Is his mindset and strategic vision in the best interests of Israel’s future?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Cardinal Peter Turkson, a Vatican insider widely seen as a possible contender to be Africa’s first pope. The number of observant Catholics is down in the west, rising fast in Africa and Asia. Is the Catholic Church at a crossroads?

Stephen Sackur speaks to former US spy Jonna Mendez, who was the CIA’s chief of disguise running Cold War operations in Moscow, Havana and beyond.

Stephen Sackur speaks to the master chef and restaurateur Michel Roux. After 56 years of fine food and Michelin stars, his family restaurant Le Gavroche is closing its doors. He was a torch bearer for a British culinary revolution, but is the business of fine food turning sour? (Photo: Chef Michel Roux Jr in the Chez Roux restaurant at Cheltenham Racecourse. Credit: Steven Paston/PA)

Stephen Sackur is in Washington DC to speak to one of President Biden’s closest allies in the US Congress, Democrat Senator Chris Coons. The president’s staunch support for Israel is dividing his party at a time when some question whether he should run for a second term. Is team Biden in trouble?

Stephen Sackur is in Washington DC to speak to Republican Congressman Mark Alford, one of Donald Trump’s most loyal supporters on Capitol Hill. With a presidential election less than a year away, does the Republican Party have a winning formula?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Mervyn King, former governor of the Bank of England. The international economic outlook is troubled, with geopolitical tensions and climate change heightening uncertainty about inflation, trade and low growth. Are economic policymakers making things worse?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Fiona Hill, formerly a Russia expert inside the White House, now an influential analyst of US foreign policy. Joe Biden says US backing for Ukraine and Israel is a vital defence of the rules based order, but are these wars exposing American weakness?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian doctor and co-founder of the Palestinian National Initiative. When this terrible round of violence does eventually end, what then for the Palestinian people?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Carlo Rovelli, one of the world's best known physicists. How much do his remarkable ideas matter outside the scientific community?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib. The terrible cost of the conflict between Hamas and Israel could go much higher if a second front opens on Israel’s northern border. If Hezbollah and its Iranian backers opt for all-out war, what then for Lebanon? (Photo: Lebanon's caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib attends a joint press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian (not pictured) in Beirut, 1 Sept, 2023. Emilie Madi/Reuters)

Stephen Sackur speaks to Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who has one of the most important and toughest jobs in UK politics as Speaker of the House of Commons. Public trust in politicians, never high, has hit new lows. What can the Speaker do to ensure Parliament better serves the people? (Photo: Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons, speaks during Prime Minister's Questions, 25 October, 2023. UK Parliament/Maria Unger/Reuters)

Stephen Sackur speaks to the president of Montenegro Jakov Milatovic. His small nation sits in a tense, troubled Balkan neighbourhood which the rest of Europe cannot afford to ignore. The president has promised his people EU membership within five years, but is he heading for disappointment? (Photo: Montenegro's President Jakov Milatovic (L) shake hands with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (not seen) before their meeting in Belgrade, Serbia, 10 July 2023. Credit: )

Stephen Sackur speaks to the Turner Prize winning British artist Lubaina Himid. Her work has always put black people and their stories front and centre. Four decades ago she was seen as a radical, now she is embraced by the establishment. What does that say about modern Britain? (Photo: Artist Lubaina Himid is awarded the Robson Orr Ten Ten Award 2021 and unveils the new work at 11 Downing Street, London. Credit: Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)

Stephen Sackur speaks to Aiden Aslin, the British man who joined the Ukrainian army and was captured, tortured and sentenced to death by Putin’s forces. He got out in a prisoner swap, traumatised but alive. Why did he risk his life for someone else’s cause? (Photo: Aiden Aslin)

Stephen Sackur speaks to US Democratic Party congressman Adam Smith. The Biden mission to the Middle East at a time of war and spiralling regional tension was always a gamble. How does the US navigate its multiple interests at this time of maximum danger?

Stephen Sackur speaks to the head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK Husam Zomlot. Hamas surely knew its murderous attack on Israel would provoke an overwhelming military response. The jihadists, it seems, wanted a devastating war. But what about Palestinians not with Hamas? As conflict in the Middle East escalates, what are their options? (Photo: Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian Ambassador to Britain, attends a news conference at the Arab British Chamber of Commerce. Credit: London. Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)

Stephen Sackur speaks to Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration. Just how solid is the West’s support for Kyiv? And what happens to Ukraine if the flow of weapons, money and diplomatic support is called into question from Washington to Warsaw?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Israel’s former Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Hamas’s murderous attack on Israel from Gaza killed more than 1,200 people and has prompted an Israeli response which has already killed more than a thousand Palestinians. Unimaginable horror has been unleashed; where will it end?