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
Nov 12, 2021 • 23min
Pawel Jablonski: Could Poland exit the EU?
Poland is the biggest rebel in the European family, and matters are coming to a head over its latest disputes with the EU. Brussels accuses the centre-right government in Warsaw of a blatant disregard for EU law, in particular over changes it wants to make to the judicial system. Zeinab Badawi speaks to Pawel Jablonski, the country's deputy foreign minister. Could Poland follow Britain’s lead and exit the EU?(Photo: Pavel Jablonski appears on Hardtalk via video link)
Nov 10, 2021 • 24min
Patrice Evra: The flaws in football
Football's global appeal can’t disguise the problems facing the game. Some fans say the sport is being ruined by financial greed, and racism is still to be rooted out. Stephen Sackur speaks to the former Manchester United and France star, Patrice Evra. He’s just done something most footballers never do, by revealing his deep emotional scars. What made him do it?
Nov 8, 2021 • 23min
Mike Leigh: Art and the cinema
Stephen Sackur speaks to Mike Leigh, the acclaimed writer and director of films such as Secrets and Lies, Vera Drake, Happy-Go-Lucky and Mr Turner. For five decades, he has told stories about believable characters facing very human dilemmas. They’re painstakingly put together and not always easy to watch. But is the demand for his kind of artistic vision dwindling?
Nov 5, 2021 • 23min
Prime Minister Albin Kurti: Is he a source of instability in the Balkans?
Kosovo has enjoyed independent statehood for 13 years but almost half the world does not recognise it. Stephen Sackur speaks to Prime Minister Albin Kurti who has had a turbulent career. He has been a political prisoner, he launched five tear gas attacks on his own parliament and he has a vision of Kosovo unifying with Albania. Is he a source of instability in the Balkans?(Photo: Prime Minister Albin Kurti appears on Hardtalk via videolink)
Nov 3, 2021 • 23min
Fiona Hill: What did Trump mean for America and the world?
The Trump Presidency challenged many public officials to make a choice: obey directives from the White House against their better judgment, or take a stand and face the wrath of the pro-Trump movement. Fiona Hill, a former Russia adviser at the White House, took a stand. She was a key witness in Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, and has since had time to reflect on what his presidency meant for America and its geopolitical standing.(Photo: Fiona Hill, the National Security Council’s former senior director for Europe and Russia. Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Nov 1, 2021 • 23min
Fatih Birol: Can greenhouse gas emissions be eliminated?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency. He believes greenhouse gas emissions can effectively be eliminated within a generation. But is he ignoring the political realities he’ll encounter at the COP26 summit in Glasgow?
Oct 28, 2021 • 23min
Bruno Le Maire: Is France looking for a new economic direction?
Stephen Sackur speaks to French finance minister Bruno Le Maire. France is in recovery mode after the damaging impact of Covid but is struggling to deliver on long promised economic reform. With a presidential election looming, is France looking for a new direction?(Photo: Bruno Le Maire, Economy and Finance Minister for France. Credit: Oan Valat/EPA)
Oct 26, 2021 • 23min
Ariel Dorfman: Ghosts of the past
Stephen Sackur speaks to the acclaimed novelist and playwright Ariel Dorfman. His life has been shaped by political upheaval and exile. He fled Chile after General Pinochet seized power in 1973 and his books were banned and burned. Dorfman’s work explores humankind’s capacity for sin and salvation. Do we have it in us to overcome our worst instincts?
Oct 24, 2021 • 23min
David Baddiel, Comedian and writer
Stephen Sackur speaks to writer and comedian David Baddiel, who has a gift for finding the funny in some of the darkest corners of the human psyche. Now he is taking on our often toxic online culture - is comedy becoming a casualty of the culture wars?
Oct 21, 2021 • 23min
Andrew Forrest: Mega-polluter turned climate revolutionary
Stephen Sackur speaks to Andrew Forrest, an Australian billionaire mining magnate who is using a chunk of his fortune to push a green, hydrogen-based energy solution. In the run up to the Glasgow climate change summit, his conversion to decarbonisation is timely, but is it credible?(Photo: Andrew Forrest in the Hardtalk studio)
