i'm stephen sackur. the mood of the french public right now is very far from sunny. the economy is barely growing, unemployment is high, and voters are fed up with politics as usual. all of which is fuelling the popularity of the far—right national front, led by marine le pen. well, my guest today is her father, jean—marie le pen, the founder of the national front. father and daughter, well, they used to be the closest of allies, but now they're at war with each other. it is a compelling french soap opera, but what does it say about the changing face of the far right? jean—marie le pen, welcome to hardtalk. you have had 60 years in politics, and here you sit, suspended from the party that you created and at war. he chuckles yeah, and at war with your own daughter. how do you feel today? that's true, but i come back to this emotional feeling you must have, because whether it is temporary or not, you are, at the moment, not able to play a role in your party. but worse than that, you have this terrible fight with your own daughter. he chuckles well, you are smiling, and

i'm stephen sackur. today, i'm in tuscany, italy, at the home of one of the world's most famous photographers, oliviero toscani. now, you may not be familiar with his name, but you've almost certainly seen at least some of his work. for decades, he's photographed fashion and famous faces, but he's perhaps best known for his extraordinary advertising campaigns where he's used images, provocative images of sexuality, illness and death to promote brands, but also to get all of us to confront uncomfortable truths. he has combined glamour with a social conscience, but has he sometimes gone too far? oliviero toscani, welcome to hardtalk, and thank you for inviting me into your home. i must begin by asking, how are you? because we know that you've been struggling with illness. lately, not so good. lately... you know, i belong to a generation that's forever young. yes! and then, it was like that until two days before i got to 80. i was working like before. then you got up in the morning, and you are 80. and sudd

i'm stephen sackur. forfive decades, colombia was ravaged by political violence, cocaine, cartels and corruption. then came a peace deal with the main rebel group, the fa rc. and two years ago, the election victory of a former guerrilla—turned—democratic politician, gustavo petro — a story of national recovery and redemption. well, not necessarily. my guest is the renowned colombian novelistjuan gabriel vasquez, who weaves powerful stories out of fact and fiction. is there anything magical about colombia's current reality? thank you for having me. it's a pleasure to have you. now you inhabit two different intellectual worlds. you are a political commentator. it is yourjob to have instant, strong opinions for newspapers. on the other hand, you're also a novelist who writes complex, nuanced novels that are sort of riddled with doubt and uncertainty. which of these two mental attitudes comes more naturally to you? well, i'm first and foremost a novelist. iwas... i began writing fiction at a very young age,

i'm stephen sackur. this is a world in which america has many enemies, and the stark reality is that individual american lives have enormous worth to state and non—state actors who seek leverage over the us government. my guest today, diane foley, knows that all too well. her sonjames was kidnapped and then brutally murdered by the so—called islamic state group in syria in 2014. for the last decade, she has been coming to terms with that and also campaigning to get other detained americans home. so is any price worth paying for freedom? diane foley, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. diane foley, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. it's an honour, stephen. it's a great pleasure to talk to you. and obviously this conversation is going to be difficult. but with the passage of time, now ten years since your son james was so brutally murdered, does it become easier to talk about it? i love to talk aboutjim because i'm very proud of him. i'm proud of the man he became and his desire to make a difference by being a j

i'm stephen sackur. we live in a culture defined by speed and transience, a cacophony of sound bites, viral videos and emojis. how many of us still read books? to be specific, is there still a public appetite for weighty novels weaving complex stories packed with nuance and detail? well, the success of my guest today says there is. alan hollinghurst won the booker prize two decades ago for the line of beauty. his latest novel, our evenings, has had rave reviews. over four decades of writing, how has his imaginative landscape changed 7 alan hollinghurst, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. you've been at this novel—writing business for, as ijust said, four decades and more. with age and experience, does it get easier? it gets much harder, for me, i think partly because of a reluctance to repeat myself, partly because of something i hadn't quite anticipated. i think i thought when i was younger that one might run out of ideas. but in fact, as i get older, and perhaps because i am a writer who tends to write bo

i�*m stephen sackur., the success of my guest today says there is. alan hollinghurst won the booker prize two decades ago for the line of beauty. his latest novel, our evenings, has had rave reviews. over four decades of writing, how has his imaginative landscape changed ? alan hollinghurst, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. you�*ve been at this novel—writing business for, as ijust said, four decades and more. with age and experience, does it get easier? it gets much harder, for me, i think partly because of a reluctance to repeat myself, partly because of something i hadn�*t quite anticipated.

i'm stephen sackur. in this new year, vladimir putin has plenty to worry about. donald trump is about to bring a new level of unpredictability into us foreign policy. that could be good for russia, but maybe not. putin's forces are slowly advancing in ukraine, but at a staggering cost. the economic strain of war and sanctions is beginning to bite. my guest is vladimir kara—murza, the anti—putin activist, poisoned, thenjailed before being freed in a prisoner swap last year. putin can seemingly rely on the quiescence of the russian people. but for how long? vladimir kara—murza, in washington dc, welcome to hardtalk. hello, stephen. it's very good to be on your programme. it is great to see you there in washington. you, of course, have had pretty much six months now to get used to being a free man. are you used to it? well, frankly, it's still feels a little bit surreal because, you know, up untiljust a few months ago i was pretty certain that i was going to die in that siberian prison. and the prisoner exchange that happened on the 1st of august was a miracle — thi

i'm stephen sackur. the uk parliament is considering landmark proposals to legalise assisted dying in england and wales. it would, if approved, establish the right for some terminally ill people to choose a medically assisted death. several european nations, canada, and a number of us states have already gone down this road, much to the consternation of my guest today, the actor and disability rights campaigner liz carr. is the focus on a good death detracting from the right to a good life? liz carr, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. been kind of looking forward to this. stephen chuckles well, let's see if you feel that way in 25 minutes�* time. 0k, yes, let's see. you have faced enormous health challenges in your life, but you sit here as a successful stand—up comedian, a very successful actor, and i just wonder if that reflects on a sort of innate positivity in your nature. oh, no, not at all. i'm deeply bleak. i think when i was about 13, my consultant said to me, "you won't live to be old." and that is

i'm stephen sackur. leverage over the us government. my guest today, diane foley, knows that all too well. her sonjames was kidnapped and then brutally murdered by the so—called islamic state group in syria in 2014. for the last decade, she has been coming to terms with that and also campaigning to get other detained americans home. so is any price worth paying for freedom? diane foley, welcome to hardtalk. thank you.

i'm stephen sackur.p, the fa rc. and two years ago, the election victory of a former guerrilla—turned—democratic politician, gustavo petro — a story of national recovery and redemption. well, not necessarily. my guest is the renowned colombian novelistjuan gabriel vasquez, who weaves powerful stories out

i'm stephen sackur.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.