The Interview

Latest Episodes:

Leonid Volkov: Is the anti-Putin movement out of options? Mar 13, 2024

Show notes

Stephen Sackur speaks to Leonid Volkov, long-time ally and adviser to Russia’s late opposition leader Alexey Navalny. President Vladimir Putin is almost certain to be resoundingly re-elected in upcoming elections. His most dangerous political opponent is dead. Is it game over for the anti-Putin movement?

Ericka Huggins: Do the Black Panthers have lessons for Black Lives Matter? Mar 13, 2024

Show notes

Stephen Sackur is in Oakland, California, to speak to Ericka Huggins, an original member of the 1960s Black Panther Party. She experienced violence, imprisonment and vilification in the controversial campaign for black power. Do the Panthers have lessons for the Black Lives Matter movement?

Riyad Mansour: Why are the diplomats failing? Mar 13, 2024

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Stephen Sackur speaks to Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian Ambassador to the UN. Talks to end, or at least suspend, the war in Gaza haven’t worked. The humanitarian situation for two million Palestinians and the 100-plus Israeli hostages is desperate. Why are the diplomats failing?

Sathnam Sanghera: Britain's imperial legacies Mar 06, 2024

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Stephen Sackur speaks to the writer Sathnam Sanghera, whose own identity as the British son of Indian immigrants led him to look afresh at the legacy of the British Empire.

Salome Zourabichvili: Where does Georgia's destiny lie? Mar 01, 2024

Show notes

Russia’s neighbour Georgia is closely watching what happens in Ukraine. It shares a 900km border with Russia, who invaded in 2008. Russian troops are stationed in two separatist regions. Georgia has just been granted EU candidate status and talks of joining NATO, yet its government is seen by some as sympathetic to Russia. Sarah Montague talks to the Georgian President, Salome Zourabichvili. Where does Georgia's destiny lie - with Russia or the West?

Ciarán Hinds: Is Northern Ireland a creative powerhouse? Feb 28, 2024

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Stephen Sackur interviews Northern Irish actor Ciarán Hinds, whose career took him from the troubled streets of Belfast to an Oscar nomination. Right now, Northern Ireland is a creative powerhouse; why, and will it last?

Jens Stoltenberg: Is Russia really preparing for a war with Nato? Feb 26, 2024

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Sarah Montague is at Nato’s headquarters in Brussels to speak to its outgoing Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Two years after Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine, is Vladimir Putin now preparing for a war with Nato?

HARDtalk: Defying Putin Feb 23, 2024

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In a special programme in the run up to Russia’s presidential election in March, HARDtalk looks back on interviews with those few Russians who have been ready to stand up to Vladimir Putin. From the late Boris Nemtsov to Alexei Navalny whose death was announced recently, what motivates those ready to risk everything to challenge Putin?

Nikolai Denkov: Is Bulgaria a weak link in Europe's security? Feb 21, 2024

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Stephen Sackur speaks to Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov. His country is trying to wean itself off Russian energy, and sends weapons to Ukraine, but many Bulgarians are still pro-Russian. As Europe tries to beef up its own security, is Bulgaria a weak link?

Alexey Navalny: The interview Feb 19, 2024

Show notes

Russian authorities have announced the death of one of the country’s most significant opposition leaders Alexey Navalny in a remote penal colony in the Arctic Circle. Stephen Sackur spoke to him in Moscow in 2017 about the risks involved in being a prominent critic of President Putin.

(Photo: Alexey Navalny. Still from his 2017 interview with Stephen Sackur)