hardtalk can be raw. that extra time to really dig deep into somebody‘s psyche, there are times when they express emotion and dig deep into themselves in a way that you don't see anywhere else. sometimes we all interview celebrities, actors and musicians and so on, and i still think they should be subjected to some rigorous questioning. and i'm thinking most recently of burt reynolds, whom i interviewed. and he was charming. and he enjoyed it. but it was obviously tougher kind of questions than he would normally have on the celebrity circuit. and ijust said to him at the end, "you're approaching your 80th birthday", and so on, "are you happy? would you describe yourself as happy?" and he said, "i was until i started this interview!" i always find that people are more... celebrities often seem surprised that they enjoy it so much. i really like that. it's a whole different interview to what i'm used to. i mean, when you look back at some of the stuff that you did then, are you guilty of misogyny? i wrote t

we do on hardtalk this is hardtalk! come on! in the world of finance... no, he might sue me.on you!" and i was, like, "really? bodyguards, where a" re you? he didn't needless to say, but that instant reaction when they haven't enjoyed it. they know when they come on, they often have a sense of what's in store, they're perhaps more prepared to go... i think the extra time we have really matters. from the word go... yes. and they hadn't even given me a chance! i was kicked under the table by one british politician... you're kidding!? mo mowlam, mo mowlam, former northern ireland secretary. what, literally? after this interview, she was wearing these sharp heels and pointed toes and she kicked me under the table and she got me right in the shin. you might have deserved it! i said, "what did you do that for?" she said, "because you're a bustard." —— she said, "because you're a bastard." were you? had you been? i think it's important that you give the same treatment to everybody and this is how the programme has lasted so long, you're as tough with everybody and you have to be. i

we celebrated 20 years of hardtalk this year.d to more memorable encounters in 2018. until then, have a very happy new year. hello, it has been a lovely day for most, a quiet story with lots of sunshine and a few wintry showers in northern scotland and parts of north—west england but foremost we had skies like this but very cold with temperatures falling away again this evening and overnight with some freezing fog forming. they will rise in the south—west and northern ireland as this system moves in with strengthening winds and outbreaks of rain which can turn to snow in northern ireland and parts of wales, northern england and southern scotland. temperatures around 5 degrees in plymouth by the end of the night but very cold further north and east as the rain pushes into the cold depth and smoke will become widespread and heavy in parts of northern england and southern scotla nd of northern england and southern scotland —— snow will become widespread. there is an amber warning from the met office for a small area of the south pen

it is time for hardtalk. welcome to my look back at the best of hardtalk, 2017.many personalities, so much passion. and more than a little anger. there is a lot of pain in america, and donald trump addressed that. he said i will bea trump addressed that. he said i will be a different type of republican. i hear your be a different type of republican. i hearyour pain. be a different type of republican. i hear your pain. the only trouble is hear your pain. the only trouble is he lied. blue eye at the work inside the white house, and i will tell you, there is no crisis, we are creating the results expected of us and which got the president elected supreme and which got the president elected supreme he can build as many walls as he wants. what he will never ever achieved, is mexico paying for the wall. we do not want to have islam claiming power in our country. preaching against our values, our culture! the worst thing that could happen with north korea was the escalation leading to sleep—walking interwar. it is the entitlement of too many men, and it is epidemic. whe

we celebrated 20 years of hardtalk this year.ard to more memorable encounters in 2018. until then, have a very happy new year. hi there. it was scotland and northern england that bore the brunt of the snowy weather. bringing localised disruptions on friday but also great conditions for getting out on the sledges in bradford, west yorkshire. further north in scotland, again we had some heavy falls of snow out and about. snow near the roadside here in speyside, a bit of slush on the roads and with temperatures fallen away, we are expecting icy stretches as we start off the morning saturday, particularly for the northern half of the uk. across england and wales many areas had this band of rain through which has brought mild conditions. temperatures 10—13 degrees first thing saturday morning, mild start to the day. through the rest of saturday, many of us starting on a cloudy and grey note, a few bright sunny spells getting through across wales and the midlands. another band of rain will slip into that cold air in scotland, bringing

we celebrated 20 years of hardtalk this year.e memorable encounters in 2018. until then, have a very happy new year. it has been an improving picture, with sunshine for most people, as well as some showers. across the south and west, the next batch of rain arrives, with cold air across northern ireland and parts of scotla nd across northern ireland and parts of scotland and it will briefly turned to snow, especially over the high ground. a cold night to come across scotland, temperatures around freezing, with the risk of ice. the mild air will be with england and wales saturday and sunday but there is rain in the northern half of the country, but with the mild air in the south, fairly strong winds, tightly packed isoba rs and much rain expected — we might have minorflooding in the western parts of the uk by the end of the weekend. saturday itself, plenty of sunshine in england and wales, in the northern half it will remain breezy with plenty of showers. snow in the highlands and grampians, and it will remain quite cold. some suns

we celebrated 20 years of hardtalk this year.encounters in 2018. until then, have a very happy new year. hello again. although it has been a mild run up to christmas and that will continue today on christmas eve, we will notice a change by the end of christmas day. it is set to get much colder. the snow risk will increase and some of us may yet have a white christmas and it could be windy in the next 48 hours. we had some brightness through the day on saturday. this was durham late in the day. we might not see as much brightness. there is an active weather front marching into the north and west of the uk now. we still have tightly packed isobars, so windy weather. they are coming from a mild south—westerly direction and it is behind this weather front that the cold air is lying. it stays north for most and we start on a mild and murky note. there could be some morning fog but not as much as yesterday morning. it will still be dank, drizzly and grey for most of us as as we move in to this morning. 9s and 10s already as we get to d

now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur.there a single russian who doesn't expect vladimir putin to contest next spring's presidential election and win it easily? mr putin has yet to declare his intentions, but his desire to prolong his dominance of russia is surely not in doubt. less certain is whether the president will face a credible opponent. my guest has declared her intention to run. ksenia sobchak has one big advantage — almost universal name recognition thanks to her tv career but is her candidacy anything more than a fig leaf for the kremlin? ksenia sobchak welcome to hardtalk. thank you. you have a very big ambition. so what do you think it takes? what are the qualities, the assets needed to be president of russia? first of all, in modern russia, the quality which is needed to challenge putin and to challenge him for a change is to be brave, because elections in russia now are not elections in belgium. it is not like trying to become a prime minister in not very big european country. here, when you come into polit

it is time now for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i am stephen sacker. not so hardtalk.ephen sacker. not so long ago, british food was the laughing stock of the world. it was bland, stodgy and flavourless. but how things have changed. today, the nation seems obsessed with cooking and baking on tv. my guest today is celebrity chef marcus wareing. yes, we are now obsessed with good food. but is that altogether healthy? i could log in to hardtalk. there are an awful lot of ships in the world. 0nly are an awful lot of ships in the world. only a few elite top chefs. there are an awful lot of chefs in the world. only a very few elite, top chefs. what distinguishes the very best from the rest? i think it is — i think first of all it's a mindset, it's a work ethic and i think there is a type of sacrifice that a top chef has and wants to sort of drive themselves individually, and as an individual, to excel head and shoulders above everybody else. and a lot of advice that i've ever had through the years coming through the ranks was... and it came from my father originally, was to

we celebrated 20 years of hardtalk this year. more memorable encounters in 2018. until then, have a very happy new year. if you are out and about early this thursday morning, bear in mind that conditions could be slippery out there. frost and ice to contend with where we had wintry weather during wednesday and that cleared away. then the sky cleared overhead and thursday starts off with the risk of ice. there are still wintry showers exacerbating the risk across some northern and western areas. freezing fog developing across parts of northern ireland as well perhaps, and if that fog develops it could linger through the day. for most of us, thursday is a cracking day. plenty of sparkling winter sunshine. a closer look at three o'clock in the afternoon. despite the sunshine through the midlands, central southern england, temperatures will only reach three degrees, possibly hitting five in london. kent into east anglia, a much drier day with a lot of sunshine. fine for the bulk of northern england. a few showers drifting across nort

now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur.oday i'm in oslo to meet the winners of the nobel peace prize and this year, the award goes to the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons. two women from very different generations who have worked tirelessly for nuclear disarmament. they believe they have embarked on a campaign which will ultimately lead to the elimination of all the world's nuclear weapons. but are they changemakers or wishful thinkers? beatrice fihn and setsuko thurlow, many congratulations on winning the nobel peace prize. of course, welcome to hardtalk. beatrice fihn and setsuko thurlow, many congratulations on winning the nobel peace prize. of course, welcome to hardtalk. i want to begin by asking both of you how you felt when you heard this news is that you had won the nobel peace prize. you are the executive director of ican, the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons. did you expect it? thank you for having me here. we did not expect it at all. we have been so preoccupied with the treaty a

now on bbc news, it is time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, with me, stephen sackur.part of our celebration of 20 years of hardtalk, i have beenjoined by an audience here in the heart of westminster to meet a very special guest. the oscar—winning actor, activist and fitness guru jane fonda. in a career spanning six decades, she has never shied away from speaking her mind, a trait not always welcome in the movie business, where sexism and abusive behaviour are currently in the spotlight as never before. so how dark is the reality behind hollywood's glitz? jane fonda, a very warm welcome to hardtalk. thank you so much. let me begin by asking you so much. let me begin by asking you about the ark of your recent career. while it looked as though you had pretty much stopped making movies. i left the business for 15 yea rs, movies. i left the business for 15 years, ten of them with ted turner. who needs to have a job when you are with ted turner? there is too much going on. and then five years writing my memoir, and then i decided i could maybe find joy in acting again. what

thank you for being on hardtalk. hello.ts with a number of wintry weather warnings from the met office covering many parts of the british isles. we have very specific concerns about the amount of snow that is likely to fall across the higher ground of england. into an already cool atmosphere, it will eventually bring quite a bit of moisture from the atlantic. and as that moisture falls into a pretty chilly atmosphere, so there will be a ready conversion of some of the rain into significant snowfall. here we see the extent of it, around about seven o'clock in the morning on friday. and anywhere really from the central belt of scotland down towards the higher ground of northern england, we will see lying snow accumulating. ahead of it, some of the lighter rain will be falling onto pretty treacherous surfaces. so, there are warnings about ice. but over the high ground of the pennines, we may find up to 15 centimetres of snow. further south, it is one of those mornings. that rain will again be falling onto some pretty cold surf

marcus wareing, welcome to hardtalk.re are an awful lot of ships in the world, but only a very few elite, top chefs —— shifts. what distinguishes the very best from the rest? i think first of all the mindset, it's a work ethic and i think there is a type of sacrifice that a top chef has and wants to sort of drive themselves individually and as an individual to excel head and shoulders above everybody else. a lot of advice that i've ever had through the years going through the ranks was... and it came from my father originally, was to stand out from the crowd and to do that you need to do something different. most of the great chefs around the world started as apprentices to other great chefs and if we look at your cv, you worked with albert rood, you obviously famously worked a lot with gordon ramsay, both in their different ways great chefs. did you acquire skills and knowledge directly from them? without a doubt your travels, you are working in kitchens and that is the foundation as a chef. the most important thing abo

now on bbc news — hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm steven sackur.is age of the internet, we've come to expect instant access to knowledge but real deep understanding takes longer to acquire and to share. my guest today is one of the world's most acclaimed novelists, nobel prize winner, orham pamuk. he's lived almost all of his life in istanbul, writing stories about turkey which have, over decades, painted a vivid picture of a country and society pulled between east and west, past and future. what is the key to understanding orham pamuk‘s turkey? orham pamuk, welcome to hardtalk. very pleased to be here. i want to start with the book, the novel that has just been published in english, the red—haired woman, your latest. it is built around relationships between fathers and sons. and ijust wonder why you were so drawn to that theme? in 1988, i was finishing one of my novels, during summer, and in the land next to me, an oldish man and his disciple started digging a well, and i was writing my novel and paying attention to them. after a while, they asked

now on bbc news, it is time for hardtalk welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. it's always dangerous to generalise about the human impulse to create art, but it does seem it's often linked to the experience of dark, painful places. my guest today is a renowned poet and playwright, whose writing and performances lay bare his own intimate wounds. lemn sissay was abandoned as a baby, rejected by his foster family, abused in public institutions of care. he has since been on a quest to understand his past, and piece together his identity. along the way, he found a remarkable poetic voice. how? lemn sissay, welcome to hardtalk. hi, stephen. you are a writer, a poet, but you are also a public performer. one is very solitary, one by definition is clearly public. which is the more authentic, comfortable you 7 you know, i think they're both authentic, and both comfortable. you need to... you need to — you need to be alone to write, and to explore, and to find the sort of chemical compound of the poem. and you need to read on stage, so that that chemical compound blows int

now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i am stephen sackur.he fierce argument about the roots of islamistjihadist of islands can sometimes be a matter of life and death. —— jihadist violence. i guessed today knows that all too well. zineb el rhazoui is a french moroccan journalist who was working for the satirical magazine charlie hebdo when 12 people were murdered in the magazine's paris office in 2015. zineb happened to be on holiday. now she lives under police protection. she has since written a book on what she calls islamic fascism. to what extent does she feel she is fighting a war? zineb el rhazoui, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. there are words which seem to me to define your life. they are words like fight, struggle, resistance. how long do you feel that these words have been at the centre of your life? you know, as a muslim born woman, i realised very early in my life that i had to struggle against injustice and inequality, because i grew up in morocco, and in morocco, when you start to understand things, you realise very fast that

now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. a significant shift is afoot in the world winnie byanyima, welcome to hardtalk. thank you, stephen. we have talked to quite a number of top officials on this programme, big bosses of international ngos, you are different from most because of your back story. do you feel somewhat different from your peers in this world? a little bit. not completely. i feel different because there are few heads, maybe i am the first, head of a global organisation from africa, from the south and who is a woman. combining all those three. so yes, sometimes i feel a bit different, but generally feel the same with my peers. we are all passionate, we share the same values and we fight the same causes. i am interested you picked that word fight, your life compared to most of your peers has been defined by this notion of struggle and fight. sometimes in the most liberal sense, because you did spend a couple of years in the ugandan bush fighting against the dictatorship in uganda. so for you, this idea of strug

now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur.ael's prime minister benyamin netanyahu took great satisfaction from president trump's decision to ignore longstanding international convention and recognisejerusalem as israel's capital, but that diplomatic boost can't disguise mr netanyahu's vulnerability at home. he's the target of a long—running police anti—corru ption investigation and may soon face charges. an interesting moment, then, for my guest today, cabinet minister naftali bennett, to declare that he wants to be israel's next prime minister. is a changing of the guard in the offing? naftali bennett, in jerusalem, welcome to hardtalk. great to be here, stephen. let's start with politics and personal ambition. it was a very interesting moment for you to decide to reveal to the israeli public that you want to be israel's next prime minister. it was hardly helpful to mr netanyahu, was it? well, actually, what i said was only after the netanyahu era. i support the prime minister netanyahu's government, i'm part of his governmen

now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, with me, zeinab badawi.e sudanese government coming in from the cold and moving towards becoming a fully integrated member of the international community? the us lifted economic sanctions on sudan in october, ending two decades of its financial isolation. washington says sudan has made progress on human rights, democratic reforms and ending ethnic tensions in the country. but critics argue sudan's not done enough. there is still no peace in darfurand other conflict areas and they claim human rights violations continue. my guest is ibrahim ghandour, sudan's foreign minister. has the government really made a fresh start? foreign minister ibrahim ghandour, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much. it's a pleasure to be here. how far do you see the lifting of us sanctions as a chance for sudan to make a fresh start? it's lifting of sanctions in the inclusion in the international economy and finance system. for quite some time, sudan has been barred from the international economy, from dealing with banks, from mo

now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. of the world's biggest countries has a leader who polarises opinions, stokes nationalist sentiment, has a controversial past, and a predilection for twitter, i am thinking of course of india's prime minister narendra modi. but are there any parallels to be drawn with america's current president? my current guess is a member of the parliamentary chamber, swa pan dasgupta, does this conservative ally of india's prime minister see any dangers in narendra modi's populism? swa pan dasgupta, welcome to hardtalk. more than three years ago, when he came to power, mr modi was described widely around the world, and in india, ithink, as a conservative, hindu nationalist, and a populist politician, do you think he has lived up to those labels? i think the most important thing about when he came to power is that it was interpreted very differently by very different sections of the electorate. there were certainly some who saw him as a conservative, there were some who saw him as a free marketeer.

welcome to hardtalk make. i am sarah montague. aren't many people who are recognisable only from their make—up, but mention a zig—zag of black flames around the eyes, painted on a white face, and millions of people around the world will know you are talking about the frontman of the rock band, kiss. take away the makeup and you have gene simmons, a man so canny about business that he realised he could make more money from marketing the kiss brand than from selling records. his famously long tongue has also proved a loose one. he is frequently invited on chat shows and revels in scandalising his critics. but is that also all part of the act? gene simmons, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. wonderful being here. gene simmons, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. wonderful being harem it all front with you, promoting an image and a brand through both your music and your opinions?” image and a brand through both your music and your opinions? i think it is fairto music and your opinions? i think it is fair to say we all wake up and stand in fr

grayson, thank you for coming on hardtalk. pleasure.to the start of the weekend. and, for thursday, it‘s low pressure which dominates the scene. tightly packed isoba rs across the country meaning fairly windy, and they‘ll be blowing in lots of showers, particularly to western areas of the country. and these showers will be of a wintry mix during the overnight period and first thing on thursday. some snow to the higher ground of scotland, northern ireland, northern england, wales, maybe the south—west of england, and some wet sleetiness down to lower levels for a time, too. so, first thing on thursday, we are again looking at an ice risk, particularly from the midlands, north wales, northwards, so watch out for these. there could even be some lying snow around on some of the higher routes, for example the pennines and across scotland. but we start thursday off on quite an unsettled note. it‘s going to be windy, particularly across the west, maybe gales in exposure. plenty of showers here, becoming wintry over high ground, wintry showers

now on bbc news, it is time for hardtalk. my guest says it started as a joke, a fantasy he had. that he, a transvestite potter, would have an exhibition among the ancient treasures of the british museum. but that is exactly what he did. grayson perry, welcome to hardtalk. it is a very unlikely mix of modern art at the british museum. why did you want to do it? i had a track record of doing exhibitions here. it is quite sporadic. a predecessor in 1985 exhibitions, which he did with a collection at the museum of mankind, which i saw as a recent graduate. so i knew that such things were possible. the proposal was that you had the tomb of the unknown craftsman. yes. the idea was, it was going to be a mixture of my work, as a representative of a fantasy civilisation, one i had in my head, and a celebration of the anonymous craftsmen throughout history. of course that was a pointed thing. i did not realise until i finished that one of the most interesting thing about the title is that it is a counterpart to the world where i come from, where the identity of the maker is the most signi

now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur.or now, the bbc employs human beings like me to question the way our world works. but, for how much longer? as research and development effort into artificial intelligence intensifies, is there any sphere of human activity that won't be revolutionised by ai and robotics? my guest today, is alan winfield. a world—renowned professor of robot ethics. from driving, to education, to work and warfare, are we unleashing machines which could turn the dark visions of science fiction into science fact? alan winfield, welcome to hardtalk. high, delighted to be here, stephen. -- hi. you do have a fascinating title, professor of robot ethics. i'm tempted to ask you first, what's most important to you, the engineering, the robotics, or the ethics, being an ethicist? well, both are equally important. i am fundamentally an engineer, so i bring and engineering perspective to robot ethics. but i would say more than half of my work now is actually thinking about... and, you know, i'm kind of a profession

now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur.s pa rt of as part of our celebration of 20 yea rs i have as part of our celebration of 20 years i have beenjoined by an audience in the heart of westminster to meet the special guests, fitness guru jane fonda. in a career spanning six decades, she has never shied away from speaking her mind. a trait not always welcomed in the movie industry wet sexism and abusive behaviour are currently in the spotlight like never before. how dark is the darkness behind hollywood's cleats? jane fonda, a very warm welcome. let me begin by asking you about the ark of your recent career because it look like you pretty much stopped making movies. i had no intention coming back. i left the business. when you are married to ted turner, who needs to have a job? it is too interesting. i had five years writing my memoir and then decided i may find joy in act again. what gave you that believe? the process of living with ted for ten years and writing a memoir. he gave me a lot of confidence and writing my memoir

now, it's time for hardtalk welcome to hardtalk a significant shift is afoot in the world of internationalent, more of the decision—making power is being located in the global south, closer to the front line on the wall in poverty. there is less talk of aid and more of empowerment, self—help and more of empowerment, self—help and local solutions. and at the forefront of this is my guest today, winnie byanyima, the ugandan boss of oxfa m winnie byanyima, the ugandan boss of oxfam international, who is overseeing the ngo's move from the uk to can you. is international development currently and fit for purpose? —— kenya. —— and fit. —— unfit. winnie byanyima, wellcome. thank you, stephen. we have talked to quite a number of top officials on this programme, the bosses of international ngo's, you are different from most because of your back story. do you feel somewhat different from your peers in this world ? different from your peers in this world? a little bit. not completely. i feel different because there are few heads, maybe i am the first, heads of a global organisation from africa, from

now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk.

now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk.

now on bbc news, it's hardtalk with sarah montague. welcome to hardtalk. i'm sarah montague.