The Interview
BBC World Service
Conversations with people shaping our world, from all around the globe. Listen to The Interview for the best conversations from the BBC, the world's most trusted international news provider.
We hear from titans of business, politics, finance, sport and culture. Global leaders, decision-makers and cultural icons. Politicians, activists and CEOs.
Each interview is around 20-minutes, packed full of insight and analysis, covering some of the biggest issues of our time.
How does it work? Well, at the BBC, our journalists interview amazing people every single day. And on The Interview, we bring them to you.
It’s your one-stop-shop to the best conversations coming out of the BBC, with the people shaping our world, from all over the world.
Get in touch with us on emailTheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
We hear from titans of business, politics, finance, sport and culture. Global leaders, decision-makers and cultural icons. Politicians, activists and CEOs.
Each interview is around 20-minutes, packed full of insight and analysis, covering some of the biggest issues of our time.
How does it work? Well, at the BBC, our journalists interview amazing people every single day. And on The Interview, we bring them to you.
It’s your one-stop-shop to the best conversations coming out of the BBC, with the people shaping our world, from all over the world.
Get in touch with us on emailTheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Dec 16, 2013 • 23min
Douglas Alexander – Labour Chief Foreign Policy Spokesman
Under Tony Blair's leadership the world grew used to a British Labour government that was the United States’ staunchest ally in a series of military interventions. But with the Blair era long gone and the party preparing for an election battle in 2015 has Labour's world view changed? Hardtalk speaks to Labour's Chief Foreign Policy Spokesman Douglas Alexander. Does Labour have a compelling vision of Britain’s role in the international arena?
Dec 13, 2013 • 23min
Director General, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons - Ahmet Üzümcü
When the Nobel Committee awarded this year’s Peace Prize to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), its staff was on the ground in Syria overseeing the removal and destruction of the country’s chemical weapons. Sarah Montague travelled to Oslo to speak to the Director General of the OPCW, Ahmet Üzümcü as he collected the prize. Does the work of his organisation mean peace is more likely in Syria?
Dec 11, 2013 • 23min
South African Rugby Team Captain, 1993 - 1996: Francois Pienaar
Francois Pienaar was captain of the South African rugby team when it won the World Cup in 1995. Before the game Nelson Mandela walked into the stadium in Johannesburg wearing the Springbok rugby jersey, which was once seen as a symbol of white minority rule. It came to be viewed as a defining moment for the emerging ‘Rainbow Nation’. Francois Pienaar went on to develop a friendship with Nelson Mandela. George Alagiah asks him whether the hope and optimism generated that day is still alive today.(Photo: Springbok captain Francois Pienaar (R) receives the Rugby World Cup from President Nelson Mandela at Ellis Park, Johannesburg, June 1995. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)
Dec 9, 2013 • 23min
Republican Senator, Florida - Marco Rubio
Viewed from across the Atlantic, American politics is a mess. A stand-off between Congressional Republicans and President Obama temporarily shut down the federal government. Healthcare reform is a battleground and immigration reform is blocked. Hardtalk speaks to Florida Senator, Marco Rubio. He is widely seen as a Republican contender for the White House in 2016. Do the Republicans have what it takes to win a national election?(Photo: Senator Marco Rubio, Republican Florida, speaks at the 2013 Values Voter Summit. Credit: Getty Images)
Dec 6, 2013 • 23min
Martin Schulz
For the last few years the EU has been under enormous strain. Amid the bail outs, austerity and rising unemployment some Europeans have come to see the EU as part of the problem, not the solution. HARDtalk speaks to Martin Schulz, the President of the European Parliament. He'€™s one of Europe'€™s most powerful advocates of more integration, but is he out of tune with Europe'€™s mood?
Dec 2, 2013 • 23min
EU Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner - Laszlo Andor
Is the stability and unity of the European Union threatened by internal migration? Over the past decade millions of people from the accession countries of Eastern Europe have taken advantage of the EU's integrated economic space to live and work in the union's richer countries. But now there are signs of a political backlash, not least here in Britain. Hardtalk speaks to the EU commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, Laszlo Andor. Has Europe's freedom of movement gone too far?(Photo: Laszlo Andor, EU commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)
Nov 29, 2013 • 23min
Journalist - Glenn Greenwald
When Edward Snowden leaked American intelligence secrets the whole world became aware of the extent of US-UK surveillance of global phone and internet traffic. Have the revelations flagged up a corrosive infringement of individual liberty, or undermined efforts to protect the world from terrorism? Hardtalk speaks to journalist, Glenn Greenwald - the man who broke the Snowden story. His mission, he says, is to hold power to account. Is this a journalistic crusade that's gone too far?
Nov 27, 2013 • 23min
Ukrainian Businessman and Politician - Petro Poroshenko
Ukraine had a historic opportunity this week to move toward full integration with the European Union. EU leaders wanted to seal an association agreement which would have drawn one of Europe's largest nations firmly into Brussels' orbit. But Ukraine's president walked away from the deal, in favour of closer ties with Russia. Why? Hardtalk speaks to Petro Poroshenko, Ukrainian billionaire-businessman and former minister. East or West - where do Ukraine's real interests lie?
Nov 25, 2013 • 23min
Medical Ethicist - Julian Savulescu
From genetic engineering to bioscience, human beings are close to acquiring the ability not just to combat disease, but to enhance and perfect our species. But should we seek to do it, or should we shy away from a path that led to Nazi eugenics? Hardtalk speaks to the Australian born, Oxford based medical ethicist Julian Savulescu. Can we trust ourselves to be wise masters of our own biology?
Nov 21, 2013 • 23min
Performer and Mental Health Campaigner - Ruby Wax
Mental illness is the invisible scourge of modern life, and it comes with a stigma. To admit to depression, or another illness of the mind, has been to risk being labelled as weak, self-indulgent or mad. Ruby Wax wants to change that. She made her name as a comedian and TV entertainer; long experience of depression eventually took her into neuroscience and psychotherapy. Mental illness raises difficult questions, where did she find answers?Picture: Ruby Wax
