The Interview

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Deputy Information Minister, Zimbabwe - Supa Mandiwanzira May 16, 2014

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Zimbabwe's fortunes have for three decades been tied to one man - President Robert Mugabe. Now, once again, Zimbabwe is staring economic catastrophe in the face, less than a year after the ruling Zanu PF won another term in power. State coffers are virtually empty and potential investors are being scared away by seizures of land and foreign owned assets. Hardtalk speaks to Supa Mandiwanzira, Zimbabwe’s Deputy Information Minister. How does he justify being part of a government that is accused of cronyism, rigging elections and of squandering public funds for the benefit of an elite, whilst impoverishing the many?

Former Vice President of South Sudan - Riek Machar May 14, 2014

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In December 2013 South Sudan became engulfed in a civil conflict which has claimed thousands of lives and prompted fears it could lead to genocide. A ceasefire has been agreed between the government of President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar, who has led the rebel forces, but the agreement is already looking shaky. Stephen Sackur talks to Riek Machar in Addis Ababa.

(Photo: Riek Machar. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Co-founder, Free Belarus Theatre - Natalia Kaliada May 12, 2014

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Belarus is Europe's last old-fashioned dictatorship - a country where political dissent gets you beaten up and locked up. Hardtalk speaks to one Belarussian who has refused to be cowed by President Lukashenko's iron fist. Natalia Kaliada co-founded the Belarus Free Theatre almost a decade ago. Directors, actors, even the audience have all faced arrest and imprisonment, but still their shows go on. Is drama an effective tool of resistance?

(Photo: Natalia Kaliada)

Nobel Literature Laureate - Wole Soyinka May 09, 2014

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Nigeria's century has been described as "100 years of trauma". This is no more apparent than in the kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls by a militant Islamist group that perceives learning as an alien imposition by Christians and Europeans.

Wole Soyinka is Nigeria's most prominent writer, the first African to be awarded the Nobel prize for literature. Persecuted by past governments for his commitment to democracy, what does he make of how Nigeria has stood up to the pressures of insurgency, the temptations of oil wealth and the corruption critics say is endemic. Does a state that cannot even guarantee the safety of its children have a future?

Minister for Communications, Australia - Malcolm Turnbull May 07, 2014

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Whoever dubbed Australia the lucky country was on to something - this vast, resource-rich nation has outperformed other rich world economies over the past decade. But Australia does not seem entirely at ease with itself or its Asian neighbours. Why? Hardtalk speaks to Malcolm Turnbull, communications minister in Tony Abbott’s right-of-centre Australian Government. Is Australia in danger of alienating friends and partners?

Economist - Jeremy Rifkin May 05, 2014

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What if we lived in a radically different world? An internet driven, smart world where individuals and communities generate their own free energy, produce and share the things they need and build an economy defined by collaboration, not competition. Hardtalk speaks to economist and author, Jeremy Rifkin. For him, this is no utopian fantasy - it is the unfolding story of the next century. Are we really entering the post-capitalist age?

(Photo: US economist Jeremy Rifkin, author of the book 'The Third Industrial Revolution. Credit: Philippe Huguena/AFP/Getty Images)

Foreign Minister, Yemen - Abu Bakr al-Qirbi May 02, 2014

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Yemen is the Arab world’s slow motion car crash; a humanitarian, economic, and security disaster that makes few headlines in the outside world. The Yemeni government is supposed to be in the middle of a major programme of political and economic reform, but right now its focus appears to be a major military assault on local Al Qaeda strongholds. Hardtalk speaks to Yemen’s veteran foreign minister, Abu Bakr al-Qirbi - if Yemen is a failing state, who is to blame?

Presidential Adviser, Syrian National Coalition - Rime Allaf Apr 30, 2014

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It must have looked like a position of great influence in the new post-war Syria - Presidential Adviser to the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces - the government in exile planning to drive President Assad from power. Hardtalk speaks to Rime Allaf, who took on that role after a distinguished career in international think tanks. Now, Assad is so confident he is running for re-election, the coalition’s forces are enduring defeats on the ground and important Western allies are getting nervous – seemingly more worried about the hard-line Islamists gaining a foothold in Syria than they are about Assad himself. Is time running out for the opposition?

Anti-Apartheid Activist - Ahmed Kathrada Apr 28, 2014

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Hardtalk speaks to Ahmed Kathrada, one of the big names of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle. He was sentenced to life in prison alongside Nelson Mandela on Robben Island, spending 26 years of his life locked up. On their release, Nelson Mandela persuaded him to join him in government - an experience he didn’t like. But he has never stopped campaigning for the ideals of freedom on which the anti-apartheid movement was based. So has South Africa lived up to those ideals?

French Fashion Designer - Jean Paul Gaultier Apr 25, 2014

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Hardtalk speaks to the French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier who was known as the 'enfant terrible' of the fashion world for his witty and daring designs. Now in his 60s, is he still as iconoclastic as ever? And, as an exhibition of his best known works continues at the Barbican Arts Centre in London, how does he answer criticisms that some of his designs, like corset dresses and cone bras, contribute to the sexual objectification of women?

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