now on bbc news, it's hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur.he united states of america is still the most powerful nation on earth, but the way it's perceived by friends and rivals has changed radically in a generation. at the end of the cold war, american supremacy was unchallenged, and washington's commitment to multilateral global engagement unquestioned. well now, we live in a very different era. my guest is william burns, who served as a top ranked us diplomat for three decades, serving five presidents. is the us losing its capacity to lead 7 william burns, welcome to hardtalk. it's great to be with you. you have retired, you were a top—ranked diplomat for more than three decades. do you think your career encompassed the period when diplomacy came to matter much less? i think at some ways it did, you're right. i began the book with a scene that was set in the george h w bush administration when i worked for secretary of state james baker at the madrid—middle east peace conference. and that really was the point at which american power and d

welcome to hardtalk from berlin, i'm stephen sackur. 30 years after unification, germany is still themic powerhouse of europe, but is it running out of gas? growth is down, so are exports, and critics say the german economy is dangerously reliant on the technologies of the past, not the future. today i have an exclusive interview with germany's vice chancellor and finance minister olaf scholz. is germany's economic model in trouble? vice chancellor olaf scholz, welcome to hardtalk. in the 30 years since german unification, we've become used to germany as the dominant powerhouse economy of europe, but right now the german economy is faltering. there are clear weaknesses. how worried are you? i am not very worried, because we have just softer growth, which is not a recession. it is far away from that. well, it is not far away from recession. you nearly sank into recession at the beginning of the year. no, it is far away from that. if you are a really globalised economy, if you are a big exporter and importer, all the developments in the world economy have an impact on the development of

i'm stephen sackur.year marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most remarkable feats of exploration in the history of humankind. the apollo 11 mission which landed man on the moon. i'm in florida to meet one of the crewmembers. while neil armstrong and buzz aldrin were setting foot on the moon's surface, michael collins was piloting the command module which got them all home. 50 years on, how does he reflect on the significance of that extraordinary mission? michael collins, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much, stephen. this year marks the 50th anniversary of the historic apollo 11 mission which you were a key part of. it means the spotlight is back on that mission and back on you. how do you feel about that? there were three of us, of course, on that flight. neil armstrong, buzz aldrin and i. three very lucky people. neil armstrong was born in 1930. buzz aldrin in 1930, mike collins in 1930. three quite different people. neil armstrong did not like the spotlight. buzz aldrin does like the spotlig

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur.a writer emerges with a voice so original, distinct, even strong that it is heard far beyond the confines of the book—buying public. so it is with my guest today — edouard louis, who has produced overall, account of his own life in a working—class town in the north of france five years ago. since then, he has written two more books, one from his own experience of class discrimination, homophobia and violence and a fractured france. it's tempting to see him as the voice now of the generation. his anger, the fuel that propels him. welcome. thank you very much. you were born and raised in a working—class town in the north of france. you escaped as a teenager to make a new life but it seems to me ever since then, you've been in a sense, faced with an impulse to go back, to make sense of your own past. yeah, because, you know, i have the feeling that while i was living my childhood, i wasn't understanding it. i was living kind of next to my childhood, as a child. it's only when i took a dis

stephen sackur speaks to the writer angie thomas. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. when it comes to issues of race and racism, the gap between america's promise of equality and the reality of entrenched inequality seems depressingly wide. generations of black americans have made efforts to change that, so how far have they got? my guest today is angie thomas, a writer whose first novel electrified america with its unflinching betrayal of a teenage girl confronting police violence, inner—city gang culture, and a society rooted in discrimination. can hope win out over fear and hate? angie thomas, a warm welcome to hardtalk. thank you for having me. your books have been described as fiction for young adults. i mean, you're a young adult yourself, ijust wonder if you set out to write with a vision of your reader, your audience in your mind. you know, i initially did, but i have to say that the audience i have acquired is far wider than i ever would have imagined. when i write my books, i think of those kids in my old neighbourhood who often say they hate reading, and it

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur.ust days ago, hopes were high that a peace deal to end afghanistan's long war might be in sight. talks involving the us, the taliban and the afghan government representatives were to take place in qatar but they didn't happen. the taliban objected the delegation coming from kabul and a familiar cycle of of recrimination and violence resumed. my guest is mohammad umer daudzai, president ghani's peace envoy. what will it take to bring peace to afghanistan? mohammad umer daudzai in kabul, welcome to hardtalk. thank you, stephen. let's start with those peace talks that were supposed to happen in qatar. the whole world was watching and waiting and then they didn't happen. what went wrong? it was supposed to be the first intra—afg han dialogue, not negotiation. sort of breaking the ice to get familiar to each other, and because of the complexities of the past and some weaknesses on both sides, more on the side of the host, it didn't happen. but hopefully it will resume soon. the process will

welcome to hardtalk, i stephen sackur.ust days ago, hopes were high that a peace deal could and afg hanistan‘s longwall might high that a peace deal could and afghanistan's longwall might be on site. talks involving the us, the taliban and the government representatives were to take place in qatar but they didn't happen. the taliban rejected the delegation coming from carpal and a familiar sight of relic resumed. my guest is mohammad umer daudzai, president ghani's peace envoy. what will it ta ke to ghani's peace envoy. what will it take to bring peace to afghanistan? mohammad umer daudzai, welcome to hardtalk. thank you, stephen. let's start with those peace talks that we re start with those peace talks that were supposed to have an in qatar. the whole world was watching and waiting and then they didn't happen. what went wrong? it was supposed to be the first into afghan dialogue, not negotiation. breaking the ice to get familiar to each other. and because of the complexities of the past, and some weaknesses on both sides

stephen sackur speaks to one of the giants of african and world literature. welcome to hardtalk.e is one of the giants of african and world literature, and he is also a passionate advocate and campaignerfor human rights. my guest is the nobel literature laureate, nigerian professor wole soyinka. his country held a general election in february, which saw the incumbent muhammadu buhari re—elected as president. does wole soyinka believe that nigeria is on the right path, and as africa's most populous nation, can it lead to the continent and make this a century of the africans? professor wole soyinka, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. has your generation of older nigerians failed the people? i believe so, yes. no question at all in my mind. really? why? well, i compare today with the dreams, the aspirations we had when we all rushed home after our studies abroad. we considered ourselves the renaissance people, going to lift the continent to world standards, competitive anywhere. it hasn't happened. we've just seen in the february elections, two opponents, the incumbent muhammadu buhari

now on bbc news, stephen sackur talks to writer angie thomas

now on bbc news, stephen sackur talks to the writer angie thomas on hardtalk.

welcome to hardtalk, i am stephen sackur.he mueller report is out and, to no—one‘s surprise, it has not settled the bitter arguments about whether president trump committed crimes worthy of impeachment. in fact, it has raised new questions about the resilience and integrity of thejudicial process. my guest today, preet bharara, was one of america's most powerful federal prosecutors, until mr trump fired him in 2017. he's written a book about doing justice, but is america consistently falling short? welcome to hardtalk. thanks for having me. you had a long and successful career as a federal prosecutor, so you are in a very good place tojudge prosecutor, so you are in a very good place to judge whether the american people are losing faith in their system of justice. american people are losing faith in their system ofjustice. do you think they are? i think some people are. i think we have a crisis of confidence in the rule of law not just in the united states but in a lot of places. i think you have institutions undertake, i thi

now on bbc news, stephen sackur speaks to french

well, to hardtalk, i am stephen sackur the robert mueller report is out and do not want it has not theetter argument about whether president trump committed crimes are worthy of impeachment. in fact, it has raised new questions about the resilience and integrity of the judicial process. my guest was one of the most powerful federal prosecutors until mr trump fired him in 2017. he has written a book about doing justice. is america consistently falling short? thank you for having me. you had a long and successful career as a federal prosecutor so you are in a good place tojudge whether prosecutor so you are in a good place to judge whether american people are losing faith into their system of justice. people are losing faith into their system ofjustice. i think some people. we have a crisis of confidence and notjust in the us but ina confidence and notjust in the us but in a lot of different places. we have institutions under attack and some of that is coming from the mouth of the us president. he denigrates his intelligence community, the fbi, he attacks the free press. he has people ar