i'm stephen sackur. this city is testament to the power of science and technology.ut we shouldn't be fooled by these gravity defying towers. we are not masters of the universe. covid and climate change remind us of that. and so too does my guest today, arguably america's most famous scientist, neil degrasse tyson. his special subject is astrophysics, but his mission goes much wider, to get us all to respect scientific fact. so how's that going? neil degrasse tyson, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. your dayjob is being an astrophysicist, but you are also one of america's leading champions for science. so you tell me why there appears to be such a strain of scepticism among so many americans toward the basics of scientific knowledge. i don't have a good answer for that and i poked around in the ether for what could be behind it and i'm going to give what sounds like an easy sort of cop out answer, and it has to do with how science is taught in the schools. it's currently taught as a body of information, a satchel of facts that are imparted upon you and the you regurgit

welcome to a special year—ending edition of hardtalk with me, stephen sackur.s is our chance and yours to look back at some of the drama, the passion, the emotion generated by our interviews in 2021. when the precedent is established against bad people, it then is used against good people. if afghanistan sinks into chaos, that will be a stinking spot in the conscience of the global community. if you want to sit behind a computer and write i terrible things to people, you're a coward. - this is hardtalk, right? your view of the american political system, i think, is not right. i think you're missing the elephant in the room. 2021 began with the world gripped by events in washington, dc. donald trump had lost his bid for re—election, but he didn't slip away quietly. he claimed without foundation that the election had been stolen. 0njanuary 6, a trump—supporting crowd — fired up by a defiant trump speech — invaded the us capitol. was trump guilty of inciting an assault on us democracy? democrats sought his impeachment for a second time, but one of the president's

i'm stephen sackur.l the football—mad cities in the world, few can compete with this one, home to two of the world's biggest clubs, united and city. for all of football's global appeal it's wrestling with big problems, from financial greed to residual racism. my guest today is former manchester united and france star patrice evra. now he's done something most footballers never do. he's opened up about the emotional scars he's carried through his career. so why has he done it? patrice evra, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. what has happened to you? �*cause as a professional footballer, when you saw journalists you tended to turn the other way, you didn't really want to talk to journalists. but now here you are, you're a massive star on social media, you've just written a searingly honest memoir. what has changed for you? maybe i'm more open, more ready, i think emotionally, more open, getting rid of that toxic masculinity. i met the woman of my life to help me to open myself to the world. because i think b

now on bbc news, it's hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. what kind of republican party will be fighting for control of the us congress in 2022 and attempting to regain the white house in 202a? in large part, it'll hinge on donald trump. right now, he remains the dominant political figure on the american right. but american conservatism faces other defining choices, too. not least whether the time has come to break up the unprecedented power of america's tech giants. my guest is colorado republican congressman ken buck. do today's republicans have a coherent worldview? ken buck in colorado, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. mr buck, it's a pleasure to have you on the show. i think it's fair to say you characterise yourself as a freedom loving libertarian republican, a man who opposes big government. corporations — the most successful companies in all of american capitalism — you want big government to intervene to "tame them"? yeah, i don't want big government to intervene, i want to make sure that we create competition in the marketplace, and

now on bbc news, it's hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. 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, ifound new ways of exploring that.

now on bbc news, it's hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. wherever we live in the world, our home country and its dominant culture will have done much to shape our identity. from the history we learn in school to the statues in our city squares, we are embedded in a national story. but what if that story is deeply misleading? well, my guest is the british—indian writer sathnam sanghera, whose bestselling book empire land challenges the dominant british view of the empire and its legacy. is britain one of many countries struggling to tell the truth about its past and present? sathnam sanghera, welcome to hardtalk. thanks for having me on. it's a great pleasure to have you on. i want to start with a very personal question. you are a great success. your book empire land has become a bestseller. you write for some of britain's most prestigious newspapers. yet, your writing is full of unease about the country in which you live, which you call home. how do you put those two together? well, i think if you understand your history, you learn to appre

welcome to a special year—ending edition of hardtalk with me, stephen sackur.our interviews in 2021. when the precedent is established against bad people, it then is used against good people. if afghanistan sinks into chaos, that will be a stinking spot in the conscience of the global community. if you want to sit behind a computer and write i terrible things to people, you're a coward. - this is hardtalk, right? your view of the american political system, i think, is not right. i think you're missing the elephant in the room.

now on bbc news, it's hardtalk, with stephen sackur.

i'm stephen sackur. 75 years ago the first nuremberg trial of nazi war criminals came to an end. groundbreaking international tribunal handed down 12 death sentences. in the years that followed, there were hopes that an evolving mechanism of internationaljustice would deter and punish further heinous acts of mass murder and genocide. my guest is international lawyer and author philippe sands. 75 years on from nuremberg, is the world any better at delivering justice for the worst of crimes? philippe sands, welcome to hardtalk. lovely to be with you. this notion of international justice, it seems to have sort of consumed you, both professionally and personally, for many years. is it possible to say which comes first, which driver is more important to you? which came first was professional. i got involved in these things in �*98 really, when the statute of the international criminal court was being negotiated in rome and thereafter started getting involved in many cases. but i suppose it's true to say there was a personal connection because my mother had been a refugee child from vi

welcome to hardtalk, i�*m stephen sackur.e back in power. america�*s regional power is diminished, china, pakistan�*s close ally is still making massive investments.

i'm stephen sackur.white house in 2024? in large part, it'll hinge on donald trump. right now, he remains the dominant political figure on the american right. but american conservatism faces other defining choices, too. not least whether the time has come to break up

i'm stephen sackur.hen it comes to the global response to the climate change challenge, it pays to differentiate between words and deeds. at last month's cop26 summit, the chorus of concern from world leaders was deafening. but the actions — well, tough decisions on deeper emissions cuts to stave off catastrophic warming were put off until next year. my guest is the us special envoy for climate, former secretary of state john kerry. his mission remains to restore american leadership on the biggest existential challenge facing our planet. is that mission impossible? john kerry, welcome to hardtalk. happy to be with you. thank you. you have had some weeks to reflect on what was achieved at cop26 in glasgow. is your overwhelming feeling one of disappointment, so much work still to do? no. and, infact, i disagree with your initial assessment in the introduction. a huge amount was accomplished in glasgow and it was not put off. in fact, 65% of global economic enterprise, global gdp, is committed now — publicl

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur.er heard of. located in oslo and worth more than a trillion dollars, norway's sovereign wealth fund owes its existence to the country's vast reserves of oil and gas. it claims to be an ethical investor, so there was some

i'm stephen sackur.s 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 very british roots in the south—west of england and

i'm stephen sackur. last month's cop26 summit, the chorus of concern from world leaders was deafening. but the actions — well, tough decisions on deeper emissions cuts to stave off catastrophic warming were put off until next year.

i'm stephen sackur.money is power, then one of the world's most powerful institutions is probably one you've never heard of. located in oslo and worth more than a trillion dollars, norway's sovereign wealth fund owes its existence to the country's vast reserves of oil and gas. it claims to be an ethical investor, so there was some consternation when it appointed my guest today, nicolai tangen, as its new boss. is a risk—taking, flamboyant hedge fund manager the right man to steer the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund? nicolai tangen, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much. you currently manage a sovereign wealth fund which is worth roughly $1.1; trillion — an unimaginable sum of money which is not your money — it is actually the people of norway's money. why should they trust you to manage it for them? well, in a way, you should ask the people that hired me. but i think the reason why i think i got thejob was because i have been running capital for 30 years. i've been in that business for a very lo

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. the covid pandemic has cost millions of lives and put governments around the world under intense scrutiny from their own citizens. nowhere more so than brazil, where the death toll has topped 600,000 and the president still refuses to be vaccinated. well, my guest, ernesto araujo, was president bolsonaro's foreign minister until earlier this year. he stands accused of complicity in the government's failure to procure sufficient vaccines and of putting ideology before public health. is that fair? ernesto araujo, in connecticut, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much, stephen. great to be here. it's a pleasure to have you on the show. it's about, well, roughly nine months since you resigned as foreign minister of brazil. that's given you a little bit of time to reflect, and with that reflection, do you now acknowledge that covid—19 and the handling of the pandemic has been a disaster for the bolsonaro government? no, not at all. what happened has been the weaponisation of covid and ev

i'm stephen sackur.ted and city. for all of football's global appeal it's wrestling with big

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur.2021 nears its end pakistan's leaders may be reflecting on the wisdom of that old adage about being careful what you wish for. islamabad has long aided and abetted the afghan taliban and now they are back in power. america's regional power is diminished, china, pakistan's close ally is still making massive investments. so does this all add up to good news for pakistan? well, not necessarily. my guest is national security advisor moeed yusuf. just how secure is pakistan? moeed yusuf in islamabad, welcome to hardtalk. thank you for having me. it's a pleasure to have you on the show. it's fair to say it's been a tumultuous year in your neighbourhood. obviously, the big headline is the taliban back in power in afghanistan. do you think that has enhanced or diminished pakistan's security? frankly, depends on how responsibly international community plays in the future. we have a situation in afghanistan and sorry to object to your opening, you're presenting this as if pakistan was behind thi

i'm stephen sackur. this city has always had an outsize influence on american culture. buzz in this nation comes from right here in terms of the arts, entertainment, publishing, the media, but what happens in new york when america had's political culture is riven with division? well, my guest today is the great american novelist, new york resident, paul auster. if america is experiencing a culture war, is he ready to fight? paul auster, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. it's a pleasure to be in your home, your writing study is just below us, the floor below. just tell me, does it matter to you when you are writing what is going on in the world outside yourfront door? does it affect your writing? well, it depends on what you mean. if there is a fire engine screeching in front of my door, it will interrupt my concentration, and i might go out and see what's going on. but if there is a distant war going on in another place and i know about it, i'm not going to read about it while i'm doing my work for the day. but i certainly will inform myself about it later. you talk of di

i'm stephen sackur.statues in our city squares, we are embedded in a national story. but what if that story is deeply misleading?

i�*m stephen sackur.ins the dominant political figure on the american right. but american conservatism faces other defining choices, too.

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur.etween words and deeds. at last month's cop26 summit, the chorus of concern from world leaders was deafening. but the actions — well, tough decisions on deeper emissions cuts to stave off catastrophic warming were put off until next year. my guest is the us special envoy for climate,

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. many of us have an inclination to categorise artists.eative 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?

i'm stephen sackur. this city has always had an outsize influence on american culture.t, publishing, the media, but what happens in new york when america's political culture is riven with division?