welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. republicans in texas have managed to ban abortion in almost all cases in their state. anyone performing, aiding or abetting the termination of a pregnancy after roughly six weeks can now be sued in court.

now on bbc news, hardtalk�*s stephen sackur speaks to the acclaimed british cinematographer sir rogerns. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur and this is soho in london, where the uk film industry does its deal making and much of its post—production. the brits are still big players in the global film industry, and none more so than my guest today, sir roger deakins. he's made a host of brilliant movies. he's won two oscars, but his industry is changing, thanks to technology, to cgi, even to this thing, the smartphone and its camera. so how does he see the future of the film business? sir roger deakins, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. you're laughing because i say "sir"? yeah, of course i am. you got me straight away. you've got to get used to it. yeah. i mean, you're regarded as a bit of a national treasure, aren't you? yeah — it's funny that, but you never have that perspective on it yourself — i don't, anyway, no. i think the nice thing for a lot of british people is that you've just published a book of photographs, still pictures, which talks about — visually talks about your ve

i'm stephen sackur.

i'm stephen sackur. today i'm on the shores of italy's lake como at the ambrosetti forum, an annual opportunity for politicians on both sides of the atlantic to gather and talk geopolitics, and this year, there is one dominant issue — the us—led pull—out from afghanistan. now that it's done, how does america see itself and its global role? well, my guest is influential american senator lindsey graham, a close confidant of donald trump. is "america first" now a bipartisan consensus? senator lindsey graham, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. america is sacrificing no more blood and treasure in afghanistan. isn't that a source of profound relief to the american people? no, i think most americans are upset that we left our afghan allies behind. i think most americans are upset that we have american citizens behind enemy lines. i think a lot of americans wanted to wash their hands of afghanistan — it's been 20 years. that's what the polls say. yeah, but... the polls say that the american public had had enough. b

i'm stephen sackur. more than four decades ago, nicaraguan president daniel ortega led a revolution that toppled a corrupt dictatorship. he can hardly be unaware of the irony of his current situation, imposing evermore repressive measures to silence dissent in the run—up to an election unlikely to be free or fair. in another ironic twist, my guest, carlos fernando chamorro, was a leading sandinista propagandist. now, he's an influential journalistic critic in exile. why has nicaragua slumped back into authoritarianism? carlos fernando chamorro in costa rica, welcome to hardtalk. thank you, stephen. mr chamorro, you have lived through very difficult times in nicaragua, but earlier this year, you decided to flee. and you're speaking to me from an undisclosed location in costa rica. why did you take that decision? well, my newsroom was raided by the police for the second time on may 20th, and it was an imminent risk for me to stay in nicaragua, because i would be captured and trialled by the government, jus

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. it barely merits international headlines these days, but america's guantanamo bay prison is still operational. a0 inmates are left. most have been held for nearly two decades without being charged or tried. for m years, my guest today, mohamedou ould slahi, was held there, having been identified as a high—value al-qaeda terrorist. he was eventually released without charge, and now a film, the mauritanian, has been released, telling his remarkable story. what is the guantanamo legacy? mohamedou ould slahi in nouakchott, mauritania, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much, stephen, for having me on your programme, and i salute your audience. well, it is a pleasure to have you on our programme. let's begin with how it feels to have a film made about your story and in a sense have your name become recognised around the world years after you were finally released from guantanamo bay, when perhaps your story should have been better known to the world, but almost nobody had heard your name

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur — today on the shores of italy's lake como at the ambrosettindemic and intensifying superpower rivalries all present the eu with some very difficult questions. my guest today is spain's first deputy prime minister, nadia calvino.

i'm stephen sackur and this is soho in london, where the uk film industry does its deal making and muchglobal film industry, and none more so than my guest today, sir roger deakins. he's made a host of brilliant movies. he's won two 0scars, but his industry is changing,

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur.es in their state. anyone performing, aiding or abetting the termination of a pregnancy after roughly six weeks can now be sued in court. the implications are enormous, notjust in texas but across

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. the taliban now have the afghanistan they fought forfor two decades, a country rid of american and nato troops, theirs to bend to their will. or maybe it's not as simple as that. can the taliban afford to forego international aid and economic assistance? do they need to build alliances both inside and outside the country? well, my guest is omar zakhilwal, former afghan finance minister and recent interlocutor with the taliban. does the future belong to the pragmatists or the zealots in afghanistan? omar zakhilwal in kabul, welcome to hardtalk. pleasure. you made a remarkable decision just a couple of weeks ago as thousands and thousands of afghans were trying to flee the country as the taliban fighters swept into kabul. you decided to head back from safety in the united states. why did you do that? well, my country faced a sudden, unexpected, deep uncertainty. there were fears, as we saw at kabul airport, people even hanging to the planes to just escape. and ijust couldn't bear to see

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. many of us have an inclination to categorise artists. it's an easy, maybe a lazy way, of signalling where we think they fit in the creative universe. but my guest today defies labels. nitin sawhney�*s creative output is dizzying. he's a musician brought up in an indian family in britain who fuses different musical traditions. and on top of that, he writes film scores, he djs, promotes various cultural initiatives — oh, and he was a successful comedian, too. so what are the common threads in this prolific creativity? nitin sawhney, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. lovely to be here. it's great to have you. let me begin by getting into your life during this covid pandemic that we've all lived through. you are known as a musician who takes an international approach to music—making. of course, during lockdown across the world, that's not been possible, so what has covid done to your creativity? it's been interesting because, like a lot of people, we found — well, i found new ways of exploring that. so, i mean, iwas working with musicians inte

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. for politicians on both sides of the atlantic to gather and talk geopolitics. and this year there is one dominant issue — the us led pull—out from afghanistan. now that it's done, how does america see itself and its global role?

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur.tional. a0 inmates are left. most have been held for nearly two decades without being charged or tried. for 1a years, my guest today, mohamedou 0uld slahi, was held there, having been identified as a high—value al-qaeda terrorist.

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur — today on the shores of italy's lake como at the ambrosettium, where some of europe's leading politicians have gathered to talk politics and economics. the global covid pandemic and intensifying superpower rivalries all present the eu with some very difficult questions. my guest today is spain's first deputy prime minister, nadia calvino. is europe too divided, too inward looking, to shape the 21st century? deputy prime minister nadia calvino, welcome to hardtalk. it's a pleasure to be here. i think i have to start by talking afghanistan. the us—led withdrawal from the country — it looked chaotic, it was very difficult. what lessons do you think the european union must learn from what happened? well, for months we've been listening to the defence minister in spain warning us about the situation in afghanistan, but i think to all of us, it was a shock. frankly, it was quite unexpected, you know, that there would be such a fast development. because the americans hadn't consulted with european allies? well, i'm not informed about the different co

now on bbc news — hardtalk�*s stephen sackur speaks to the acclaimed british cinematographer

i'm stephen sackur.and encountering peoples who were subsequently often subjugated and exploited. well, my guest is one of the world's great modern—day explorers.

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. many of us have an inclination to categorise artists.. but my guest today defies labels. nitin sawhney�*s creative output is dizzying. he's a musician brought up in an indian family in britain who refuses different musical traditions. —— in britain who fuses different musical traditions. and on top of that, he writes film scores, djs, promotes various cultural initiatives — oh, and he was a successful comedian, too. so what are the common threads in this prolific creativity?

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur.to bend to their will. or maybe it's not as simple as that. can the taliban afford to forego international aid and economic assistance? do they need to build alliances both inside

i'm stephen sackur. can hardly be unaware of the irony of his current situation, imposing evermore repressive measures to silence dissent in the run—up to an election unlikely to be free or fair. in another ironic twist, my guest, carlos fernando chamorro, was a leading sandinista propagandist.

hardtalk�*s stephen sackur speaks to the acclaimed british cinematographer sir roger deakins.

i'm stephen sackur. the golden age of the explorer is inextricably linked with the golden age of empire. people inspired to travel where none had travelled before, charting territory and encountering peoples who were subsequently often subjugated and exploited. well, my guest is one of the world's great modern—day explorers. but robin hanbury—tenison�*s motivation was never conquest. instead, he committed himself to the protection of indigenous peoples and their lands. have his efforts made a difference? robin hanbury—tenison, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. let's start with this word explorer. do you think it's past its sell—by date, now that all of our planet is surveyed, satellite—tracked, we map it we know it? is exploration a thing of the past? absolutely not. the word is grossly overused by all sorts of people. i mean, windows explorer, for a start. it's all over the media all of the time, all sorts of people are calling themselves explorers. but for me, explorers, partly in the old victorian tradi

now on bbc news, it's hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk with me, zeinab badawi. of fashion, with its often scantily clad women in seductive poses, is not where you would expect to find a somali—born fashion editor who wears a hijab. well, rawdah mohamed has taken up a senior role at the soon—to—be—launched vogue scandinavia. after moving to norway as a child, she became a model, and in april created a social media storm with a post called hands off my hijab. how far can she use fashion to overturn negative stereotypes of muslim women? rawdah mohamed, welcome to hardtalk. so there you were at the age of eight, your family fled the conflict in somalia and moved to norway as refugees. that must have been a bit of a culture shock, no? yes. thank you for having me, by the way. yes, it was culture shock because i was only used to the refugee camp, my family and the people around. so when i came, it was... everything was different — not only the culture, but also the climate was very different, and i knew it was very far away from home. and so, it was a bit of a traumat

a decade ago, on the 10th anniversary of september 11, stephen sackur spoke to the man who was mayorf new york city on that fateful day, rudy giuliani. his response back then earned him the title america's mayor. ten years after 9/11, a new tower, the freedom tower, has risen from the ashes of ground zero. right here, osama bin laden inflicted a grievous wound on the united states. and in this tenth anniversary week, americans have been remembering and reflecting. my guest in this special edition of hardtalk is the man who was mayor of new york city on its darkest day, rudy giuliani. how have he and his country been changed by 9/11? rudy giuliani, welcome to hardtalk. good to be with you. this is an incredible spot. it is. here we sit right on the edge of ground zero. and ten years on from 9/11, i just wonder what emotion you bring to this anniversary week. wow. it's very hard to look at. i don't even know because i haven't gone through it yet, you know? every year it's very difficult, because it was the worst... ..worst experience of my life, worst day of my life, worst day in the h

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. republicans in texas have managed to ban abortion in almost all cases in their state. anyone performing, aiding or abetting the termination of a pregnancy after roughly six weeks can now be sued in court. the implications are enormous, notjust in texas but across the us, and it points to a wider phenomenon. ideological conservatives are using state activism to confront federal power. my guest is texas republican state senator bryan hughes. has a new front opened up in america's culture wars? bryan hughes in austin, texas, welcome to hardtalk. thank you for having me. it's a pleasure to have you on the show, senator hughes. let me ask you a very simple question, is the era of roe versus wade — that famous supreme court decision which essentially enshrined the right of a woman to have an abortion in the us — is that era over in texas? we believe the end may be in sight. you know, for the last 30 years, the supreme court has been chipping away at that opinion and giving the states more a

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. many of us have an inclination to categorise artists.tput is dizzying.

i�*m stephen sackur.