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Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee, Germany - Norbert Röttgen May 11, 2016

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Germany is indisputably the most powerful nation in Europe, but does it have the will and the means to prevent the EU being undermined by division and fragmentation? The migration crisis and the Greek debt disaster have posed challenges that Angela Merkel has struggled to overcome. Stephen Sackur speaks to Norbert Röttgen, senior figure in the Christian Democratic party and chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the German parliament. Can German leadership rescue the European project?

Leader of the Russian Democratic Choice movement - Vladimir Milov May 09, 2016

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Stephen Sackur talks to Vladimir Milov, founder and leader of the Democratic Choice movement. There are few more thankless tasks in world politics than being an opposition leader in Russia. Vladimir Putin's approval ratings continue to defy gravity, even in the teeth of a prolonged economic recession. Kremlin opponents are starved of media airtime, routinely harrassed and often locked up, or worse. Maybe democracy isn't a Russian priority?

South African Trade Minister - Rob Davies May 06, 2016

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South Africa's president Jacob Zuma is on the ropes. In recent months he's been dealt blow after blow - by the courts, by political opponents, even by erstwhile friends. Only the knee-jerk loyalty of the ANC has saved him from impeachment and disgrace. HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to South Africa's trade and industry minister Rob Davies and asks: if the president won’t jump, does he need to be pushed, for the good of the country?

Image: Rob Davies Minister of Trade and Industry, Credit: Michelly Rall/Getty Images

Human Rights Activist - Raheel Raza May 04, 2016

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In recent years there has been plenty of often heated debate about the relationship between Islam and extremism. Much of the fiercest commentary has come from outside the faith, but increasingly there are calls for change from within the Muslim community. Hardtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to one of the most controversial voices in that internal debate. Raheel Raza is a Pakistani born Canadian human rights activist who co-founded the Muslim Reform Movement. How many Muslims are ready to talk her language?

Pakistan's former Foreign Minister - Hina Rabbani Khar May 02, 2016

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Yet again Pakistan stands accused of playing a double game on terrorism; confronting it at home, while using it as a foreign policy tool in neighbouring Afghanistan and India. After a deadly Taliban attack in Kabul just days ago the Afghan president demanded that Islamabad stop talking of peace negotiations and instead focus on eliminating Taliban havens inside Pakistan. HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to former Pakistani foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar and asks, is Pakistan addicted to the double game?

Professor Robert Reich – United States Secretary of Labor, 1993-97 Apr 28, 2016

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It is now all but certain that Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic Party candidate in November’s US presidential election. After the latest batch of primaries, her lead over Bernie Sanders is insurmountable. But even now the Sanders campaign - radical, anti-establishment and crowdfunded - refuses to admit defeat. Hardtalk talks to Robert Reich, formerly Secretary of Labor in Bill Clinton’s administration, now a prominent supporter of Senator Sanders. Has the centre of gravity in the Democratic Party shifted?

(Photo: Professor Robert Reich, speaking from Berkeley, California via video link)

Civil Rights Activist - Rachel Dolezal Apr 27, 2016

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As part of the BBC's identity season, Stephen Sackur talks to Rachel Dolezal, the ostensibly black American human rights activist whose life unravelled last year when it turned out that she was the daughter of white parents. So what gives us our sense of who we are? Our upbringing and our communities both have a huge impact, but what about the most basic pillars of identity that we tend to regard as immutable? Is our racial identity something we can define for ourselves?

(Photo: Rachel Dolezal in the Hardtalk studio)

Former president, World Anti-Doping Agency - Dick Pound Apr 25, 2016

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Stephen Sackur speaks to Dick Pound, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency from 1999 to 2007 and veteran anti-doping campaigner. The world of international sport is in freefall following a long series of doping allegations. Has there been a failure in the national and international agencies that are supposed to prevent athletes using drugs? What can now be done about it and should all sporting success be treated with suspicion?

Chairman and founder of JD Wetherspoon - Tim Martin Apr 22, 2016

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The battle for Britain's future -- in or out of the European Union -- will be settled In just two months’ time. Advocates of a vote to remain, led by the prime minister David Cameron, see economic arguments as their most potent weapon; Brexit, they claim, will come at a crippling cost in terms of jobs, investment and growth. Many business leaders seem to agree but by no means all. Stephen Sackur talks to Tim Martin, founder and chairman of the pub chain JD Wetherspoon. Could Brexit make economic sense?

(Photo: Tim Martin in the Hardtalk studio)

IMF Managing Director - Christine Lagarde Apr 18, 2016

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In front of an audience in Washington DC, Stephen Sackur talks to Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF. Could 2016 produce economic shocks big enough to plunge the world economy back into crisis?

(Photo: International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde. Credit: Stephen Jaffe/IMF/Getty Images)

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