alexi navalny speaking to stephen sackur.ack in 2017. re—watching your interview must be very difficult for you. re-watching your interview must be very difficult for you.— very difficult for you. matthew, it is so strange _ very difficult for you. matthew, it is so strange and _ very difficult for you. matthew, it is so strange and depressing, - very difficult for you. matthew, it is so strange and depressing, so| very difficult for you. matthew, it. is so strange and depressing, so sad to listen to that, to think back on my encounter with alexei navalny — i journeyed to moscow and went to his anti—corruption office, and the meeting which lasted a couple hours altogether, the real danger that he was in back then, that was 2017. that was just a few days before i arrived in his office, he had to buy special reinforced doors because before that, security agents, the authorities had smashed down the previous door in a rage to try and grab papers that he and his staff are working on. and it is important to remember that we call h

i'm stephen sackur.or 17 years, one man has dominated the politics of the russian capital, vladimir putin. externally, he's projected russian power from ukraine to syria and internally opposition has been repressed, intimidated and silenced. but not altogether. my guest today is the most prominent leader of russia's anti—putin opposition, alexei navalny. now he has committed to fighting putin in the 2018 presidential election but will his defiance cost him dear? alexei navalny, welcome to hardtalk. thank you for having me here. you have been involved in opposition politics of one form or another for almost ten years, maybe more, and itjust seems to me that right now your position is perhaps more dispiriting, more depressing than it's ever been before. would you agree? absolutely not. actually, i... ironically, i can call vladimir putin as my godfather in politics. because when he came to power and the way he talks and what he's saying, what he's doing, the laws he's passing through duma, told me that rus

i'm stephen sackur.

i'm stephen sackur and today i'm in new york city at the headquarters of the united nations.d global commitment to peace, security and international cooperation. but right now, all of that sounds pretty hollow. at this time of spiralling global tension, the un is hamstrung by the mutual hostility of the great powers. my guest today is russia's un ambassador, vassily nebenzia. now, does deadlock and dysfunction here suit russia?

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. how do we make sense of the world we live in?nk of these as the building blocks of reality. but in a world in which it is increasingly hard to distinguish the real from the fake, sometimes the most telling observations come from the writers of contemporary fiction — like my guest today, novelist and computer games creator naomi alderman. her latest story is an apocalyptic techno thriller. is the apocalypse that she imagines all too possible?

i'm stephen sackur.ber states that were not prepared to pay their defence bills, he set alarm bells ringing right across europe. add to that the politicking in washington, which is blocking further us assistance to ukraine, and there is a growing, urgent sense that europe needs to get serious about its own security. my guest is bulgaria's prime minister, nikolai denkov. is the eu's poorest nation, where pro—russian sentiment is significant, one of europe's weakest links?

i'm stephen sackur. the transformative impact of peace in northern ireland. it had unleashed, he said, a churn of creativity and that surely struck a chord with my guest today, the actor ciaran hinds, who was nominated for an oscar in kenneth branagh's autobiographical movie about belfast, which is home city to both of those men. 0ne generation on from the so—called troubles, northern ireland is seen as creative and cool, but have the wounds of the past really healed?

i�*m stephen sackur.is a hugely contentious political issue in the united states, which makes it a great theme for my guest today — bassem youssef, a comedian who made his name in egypt, who now makes his home in the united states. he�*s an arab—american who wants his fellow citizens to think hard about the most sensitive of topics. what could possibly go wrong? bassem youssef. yes?! they laugh. that�*s a great start. yes. it�*s very hard — hardtalk. it is a great pleasure to welcome you to this show — hardtalk. i�*m very, very pleased to be here. thank you so much for having me. i want to begin just reflecting on the move you made from homeland, egypt, to the united states. about ten years ago, just less, you became a migrant. but i�*m just wondering about one particular aspect of the move — your sense of humour. how easy is it for humour to cross borders? very difficult. because it�*s notjust about the words, it�*s

welcome to hardtalk from new york city, i'm stephen sackur.g presidential election. now, that is a matchup that many americans have little enthusiasm for. but what is the alternative? well, my guest today wants to be that alternative. cornel west is a writer, an academic, a civil rights and an anti—war activist. he's launched his own bid for the presidency, and while he's unlikely to win, could it be that his presence will tip the balance in a tight race? cornel west, welcome to hardtalk. well, thank you so very much, and it's always a blessing to be in conversation with you, my brother. well, it is great to talk to you. now, america, and the world, they know you as a philosopher,

i'm stephen sackur.p on the institutions and individuals focused on conflict resolution, on reconciliation between enemies. but would that be premature? well, my guest isjose ramos—horta, president of timor—leste, leader of a successful liberation struggle and advocate for international peace and justice. are there lessons for the world to learn from his extraordinary life?

i'm stephen sackur.ep geopolitical division here at united nations headquarters. it's also exposed deep political division inside the united states. right now, further american military and economic assistance to ukraine is blocked by partisan warfare on capitol hill. my guest today is ukraine's un ambassador, sergiy kyslytsya. does kyiv now feel betrayed? ambassador sergiy kyslytsya, welcome to hardtalk. well, thank you. nice to see you. ambassador, do you think that, right now, ukraine is facing the toughest times it has seen since those early weeks

i'm stephen sackur.here are plenty of reasons to fear that 2024 could be defined by escalating conflict. it is tempting to give up on the institutions and individuals focused on conflict resolution, on reconciliation between enemies. but would that be premature? well, my guest isjose ramos—horta, president of timor—leste, leader of a successful liberation struggle and advocate for international peace and justice. are there lessons for the world to learn from his extraordinary life? presidentjose ramos—horta, welcome to hardtalk. thank you for having me. it is a great pleasure to have you in the studio. i think it's fair to say you've given most of your life to the struggle for freedom in timor—leste, east timor, as we used to know it, and you have served as its president, not just once, but twice. you decided to come back in 2022 to seek the presidency again. was that a tough decision, to come back? yes. on a personal basis, yes. it was not in my plan, but then mr xanana gusmao, now prime minister, whom

i'm stephen sackur and today i'm in new york city at the headquarters of the united nations.nd this building is supposed to symbolise a shared global commitment to peace, security and international cooperation. but right now, all of that sounds pretty hollow. at this time of spiralling global tension, the un is hamstrung by the mutual hostility of the great powers. my guest today is russia's un ambassador, vassily nebenzia. now, does deadlock and dysfunction here suit russia? ambassador vassily nebenzia, welcome to hardtalk. thank you, stephen. ambassador, i want to begin with some words said recently by the uk foreign minister, david cameron. he said this, "the lights are flashing red right "across the global dashboard. "it is hard to think of a time "when there's been so much danger, insecurity, "instability in the world." would you agree with him on that? i would. and where do you see the instability at its most dangerous? the most pressing thing today is, of course, the middle east. you cannot deny it. it's obvious. it is a conflict that is fraught with the regional confl

i'm stephen sackur. when donald trump said he would let russia do whatever the hell it wanted in nato member states that were not prepared to pay their defence bills, he set alarm bells ringing right across europe. add to that the politicking in washington, which is blocking further us assistance to ukraine, and there is a growing, urgent sense that europe needs to get serious about its own security. my guest is bulgaria's prime minister, nikolai denkov. is the eu's poorest nation, where pro—russian sentiment is significant, one of europe's weakest links? prime minister nikolai denkov in sofia, welcome to hardtalk. hello. glad to be with you. it's a pleasure to have you, mr prime minister. you know, as well as i do, that it is almost two years now since vladimir putin launched that all—out invasion of ukraine. we see the bitter attritional warfare continue in ukraine. do you think that the european union, and indeed bulgaria itself, have learned the right lessons over the past two years? i think there ar

i'm stephen sackur.peace in northern ireland. it had unleashed, he said, a churn of creativity and that surely struck a chord with my guest today, the actor ciaran hinds, who was nominated for an oscar in kenneth branagh�*s autobiographical movie about belfast, which is home city to both of those men. 0ne generation on from the so—called troubles, northern ireland is seen as creative and cool, but have the wounds of the past really healed?

welcome to hardtalk from new york city, i'm stephen sackur. trump versus biden in the coming presidential election. now, that is a matchup that many americans have little enthusiasm for. but what is the alternative? well, my guest today wants to be that alternative. cornel west is a writer, an academic, a civil rights and an anti—war activist. he's launched his own bid for the presidency, and while he's unlikely to win, could it be that his presence will tip the balance in a tight race? cornel west, welcome to hardtalk. well, thank you so very much, and it's always a blessing to be in conversation with you, my brother. well, it is great to talk to you. now, america, and the world, they know you as a philosopher, an academic, a writer, a civil rights activist, but right now, you are running to be president of the united states of america.

i'm stephen sackur. how do we make sense of the world we live in? increasingly hard to distinguish the real from the fake, sometimes the most telling observations come from the writers of contemporary fiction — like my guest today, novelist and computer games creator naomi alderman. her latest story is an apocalyptic techno thriller. is the apocalypse that she imagines all too possible?

i'm stephen sackur.flict. it is tempting to give up on the institutions and individuals focused on conflict resolution, on reconciliation between enemies. but would that be premature? well, my guest isjose ramos—horta, president of timor—leste, leader of a successful liberation struggle and advocate for international peace and justice. are there lessons for the world to learn from his extraordinary life?

i'm stephen sackur.ct of peace in northern ireland. it had unleashed, he said, a churn of creativity and that surely struck a chord with my guest today, the actor ciaran hinds, who was nominated for an oscar in kenneth branagh's autobiographical movie about belfast, which is home city to both of those men.

i'm stephen sackur.lict has exposed deep geopolitical division here at united nations headquarters. it's also exposed deep political division inside the united states. right now, further american military and economic assistance to ukraine is blocked by partisan warfare on capitol hill. my guest today is ukraine's un ambassador, sergiy kyslytsya. does kyiv now feel betrayed? ambassador sergiy kyslytsya, welcome to hardtalk. well, thank you. nice to see you.

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur.ontentious political issue in the united states, which makes it a great theme for my guest today — bassem youssef, a comedian who made his name in egypt, who now makes his home in the united states. he's an arab—american who wants his fellow citizens to think hard about the most sensitive of topics. what could possibly go wrong? bassem youssef. yes?! they laugh

i'm stephen sackur.r states that were not prepared to pay their defence bills, he set alarm bells ringing right across europe. add to that the politicking in washington, which is blocking further us assistance to ukraine, and there is a growing, urgent sense that europe needs to get serious about its own security. my guest is bulgaria's prime minister, nikolai denkov. is the eu's poorest nation, where pro—russian sentiment

i'm stephen sackur. last year, during a brief visit to belfast, presidentjoe biden hailed the transformative impact of peace in northern ireland. it had unleashed, he said, a churn of creativity and that surely struck a chord with my guest today, the actor ciaran hinds, who was nominated for an oscar in kenneth branagh's autobiographical movie about belfast, which is home city to both of those men. one generation on from the so—called troubles, northern ireland is seen as creative and cool, but have the wounds of the past really healed? ciaran hinds, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much. now you are a man of belfast, born and raised there, and i think, as ijust mentioned, it's fair to say there is a real creative buzz around belfast and northern ireland today. but when you were a youth there, growing up, was it a place that you felt, as a sort of creative soul that you needed to get out of? it wasn't a place that i felt i needed to get out of. i mean, i did eventually, but there was a reason for that

i'm stephen sackur and today i'm in new york city at the headquarters of the united nations.l of that sounds pretty hollow. at this time of spiralling global tension, the un is hamstrung by the mutual hostility of the great powers. my guest today is russia's un ambassador, vassily nebenzia. now, does deadlock and dysfunction here suit russia? ambassador vassily nebenzia, welcome to hardtalk.

in 2017, hardtalk presenter stephen sackur spoke to alexei navalny about the dangers he faced in opposingm 2010, i never had a day in my life when i wasn't under the criminal prosecution because it's the way how they fight me. that's true. you've had convictions, you've had house arrest, and you may well end up in prison again. your brother is currently in prison in solitary confinement. you know that you are treading a very fine line and if you go one inch too far, you'll end up in prison. 0r who knows? i definitely don't draw this line for myself. ijust do what i can do in this particular moment. and i don't care about what kremlin is doing, what their strategy about keeping me in prison or releasing me, maybe, you know, that i had actually a moment when they imprison me for five years and i spent the night in the prison knowing nothing about what's going on in moscow, where tens of thousand people came in the street and they forced actually vladimir putin to release me. these people who came in the street, they are not gone. they still live in in this city. they still live in the count

i'm stephen sackur. how do we make sense of the world we live in? many of us rely on a diet of news and information. evidence, facts, truths — we think of these as the building blocks of reality. but in a world in which it is increasingly hard to distinguish the real from the fake, sometimes the most telling observations come from the writers of contemporary fiction — like my guest today, novelist and computer games creator naomi alderman. her latest story is an apocalyptic techno thriller. is the apocalypse that she imagines all too possible? naomi alderman, welcome to hardtalk. thank you for having me. i want to start at the beginning. you were raised in a very traditional, observant orthodoxjewish community in north london where, i think it's fair to say, women and girls were expected, by and large, to stay in the background. now, you today have a very powerful, unique, creative voice. you use it loudly. how difficult was it to find that voice, to make that move away? now, i should say, i do come from a traditional observant background. however,

i'm stephen sackur. projected russian power from ukraine to syria and internally, opposition has been repressed, intimidated and silenced. but not altogether. my guest today is the most prominent leader of russia's anti—putin opposition, alexey navalny. now, he has committed to fighting putin in the 2018 presidential election, but will his defiance cost him dear? alexey navalny, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much for having me here. you have been involved in opposition politics of one form or another for almost ten years, maybe more, and itjust seems to me that right now your position is perhaps more dispiriting, more depressing than it's ever been before. would you agree?

i'm stephen sackur.s, but right now, immigration is a hugely contentious political issue in the united states, which makes it a great theme for my guest today — bassem youssef, a comedian who made his name in egypt, who now makes his home in the united states. he's an arab—american who wants his fellow citizens to think hard about the most sensitive of topics. what could possibly go wrong? bassem youssef. yes?! they laugh. that's a great start. yes. it's very hard — hardtalk. it is a great pleasure to welcome you to this show — hardtalk. i'm very, very pleased to be here. thank you so much for having me. i want to begin just reflecting on the move you made from homeland, egypt, to the united states. about ten years ago, just less, you became a migrant. but i'm just wondering about one particular aspect of the move — your sense of humour.