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Chairman, United Liberation Movement for West Papua - Benny Wenda Sep 18, 2019

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Indonesia has the right kind of assets in terms of population, natural resources and strategic position to be a 21st century superpower; but there are clouds on the horizon. For five decades Jakarta has suppressed a Papuan independence movement, and in recent months tensions have flared into violence. Stephen Sackur interviews Benny Wenda, exiled leader of the West Papuan Liberation Movement. Can he take on Jakarta and win?

Image: Benny Wenda (Credit: United Liberation Movement for West Papua/AFP)

Anson Chan - Chief Secretary of Hong Kong, 1993-2001 Sep 16, 2019

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Extraordinary events have become the norm in the last three months in Hong Kong. The territory has become a cockpit of political protest and sporadic violence as many thousands continue to demand democratic reform. Stephen Sackur interviews Anson Chan; she was the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong during the handover from British to Chinese rule. She is still close to the centre of the storm, as Beijing now accuses her of fomenting the protest. Is Hong Kong’s fragile status quo irretrievably broken?

Independent MP, UK - Heidi Allen Sep 13, 2019

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Is there any clarity and coherence to the opponents of Brexit? Stephen Sackur speaks to MP Heidi Allen, who quit the Conservative party earlier this year to co-found a new pro-remain centrist party. With Prime Minister Boris Johnson apparently intent on ignoring the will of parliament and exiting the EU at the end of October, the eye of the Brexit storm is fast approaching.

Image: Heidi Allen (Credit: Isabel Infantes/AFP/Getty Images)

French MEP and former Europe Minister - Nathalie Loiseau Sep 11, 2019

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has positioned himself as the country’s Brexit champion, but his pledge to take Britain out of the EU on October the 31st is in trouble. Parliament has passed a law requiring him to seek a deadline extension from the EU; so either he negotiates a new exit deal in short order, or he attempts to defy the law. How is this British melodrama being viewed in Europe? Stephen Sackur interviews French MEP and former Europe Minister Nathalie Loiseau. Has EU patience with British indecision run out?

Image: Nathalie Loiseau (Credit: Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images)

Former UK Lord Chancellor - Lord Falconer Sep 06, 2019

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British politics is in full-on meltdown mode. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has lost a series of key votes on Brexit, AND his parliamentary majority. He’s now seeking a general election in mid-October to let British voters decide whether Brexit should happen, come what may, at the end of next month. But will the Labour opposition agree to a snap poll? Stephen Sackur interviews former Labour cabinet minister Lord Falconer. Is Labour in any fit state to win an election amid Britain’s Brexit chaos?

Sea Rescue Captain - Carola Rackete Sep 04, 2019

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The number of migrants making the sea crossing from North Africa to southern Europe has fallen dramatically in the last two years; tragically, the number of deaths hasn’t declined as fast. Humanitarian activists blame the anti-migration policies of EU member states. Stephen Sackur speaks to Carola Rackete, who defied the Italian authorities to land the rescue-ship Sea Watch 3 in Sicily with 50 migrants on board. To some, she’s a humanitarian hero; but will her actions merely encourage more people smuggling and more suffering?

Image: Carola Rackete (Credit: Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters)

IT entrepreneur and philanthropist - Dame Stephanie Shirley Sep 02, 2019

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Eighty years ago, hundreds of Jewish children were smuggled out of Nazi occupied Europe by train in a covert humanitarian mission which became known as the ‘kindertransport’. Stephen Sackur speaks to Dame Stephanie Shirley, who was one of those children. She went on to live an extraordinary life of achievement and philanthropy, blazing a trail for women in business, science and technology. What lessons can we learn from a woman determined to make the most of a life so nearly extinguished in childhood?

Gabon's Minister of Forests and Environment - Lee White Aug 28, 2019

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Our planet is haemorrhaging natural resources at an alarming rate. Biodiversity is under threat as forests are felled, wild animals illegally hunted. Stephen Sackur speaks to Lee White, newly appointed Environment Minister in the West African state of Gabon. He is on the front line of the effort to conserve and protect what remains, in a country famed for its tropical forests, its elephants and gorillas, but also notorious for systemic corruption and inequality. Can Gabon find a sustainable balance between the needs of man and nature?

Mia Khalifa: Former adult actress Aug 26, 2019

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The human preoccupation with sex is nothing new – but the internet has made it so much easier to explore and exploit every shade of desire. The online porn industry makes billions of dollars in profit every year, but the big winners are corporate players, not the women and men performing the sex acts. Stephen Sackur interviews Mia Khalifa; she was briefly a porn actress, garnering worldwide notoriety when she appeared in a sex video wearing the Islamic hijab. After years of threats and insecurity, she’s speaking out; what does her story tells us about the porn industry and 21st century culture?

Kang Kyung-wha – Foreign Minister, South Korea Aug 23, 2019

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Donald Trump, the self-proclaimed ‘deal maker extraordinaire’, is finding the Korean Peninsula tough going.

For all his claims of friendship with the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, Pyongyang seems no closer to giving up its nuclear arsenal. America's strategic partnership with South Korea is looking increasingly strained too.

Stephen Sackur interviews South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha. Her country is currently out of step with both the US and Japan; how vulnerable does that make South Korea?

Image: Kang Kyung-wha (Credit: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

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