i'm stephen sackur. of all the football—mad cities in the world, few can compete with this one, home to two of the world's biggest clubs, united and city. for all of football's global appeal it's wrestling with big problems, from financial greed to residual racism. my guest today is former manchester united and france star patrice evra. now he's done something most footballers never do. he's opened up about the emotional scars he's carried through his career. so why has he done it? patrice evra, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. what has happened to you? �*cause as a professional footballer, when you saw journalists you tended to turn the other way, you didn't really want to talk to journalist. but now here you are, you're a massive star on social media, you've just written a searingly honest memoir. what has changed for you? maybe i'm more open, more ready, i think emotionally, more open, getting rid of that toxic mass community. —— toxic masculinity. i met the woman of my life to help me to open

now on bbc news it's hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. what do we go to the cinema for? well, for many, the answer seems to be escape. what other explanation could there be for the seemingly endless supply of franchise—friendly superhero films? my guest today makes films based on an entirely different premise. forfive decades, acclaimed british director mike leigh has told stories about believable characters facing very human dilemmas. they are painstakingly put together and not always easy to watch. is the demand for his kind of artistic vision dwindling? mike leigh, welcome to hardtalk. it's very nice to be here. it is great to have you here. we've all lived through difficult times thanks to the covid pandemic. in these, of all times, do you buy into this notion that escapism is a key motivation that gets people to the cinema? well, people want to escape, but people also want to be stimulated. so, i think the false notion is that there is either escapist material or there's boring stuff that isn't escapist, and therefore nobody wants

i'm stephen sackur. turn on the tv or go online, and it's not hard to find political content of all kinds, often delivered with all the nuance of a ten—tonne truck. rare is the tv show which offers commentary on the human condition, which is both entertaining and wildly popular. but it can be done, and my guest today knows it from personal experience. george takei was a fixture on the original star trek series as lieutenant sulu. the show�*s progressive values dovetailed with his personal activism, which continues to this day. do the values of star trek still resonate? george takei, welcome to hardtalk. good to be here. you're known to many around the world as an actor. do you see yourself more these days as an activist? both, as a matter of fact. i am an actor and an activist, as well. which is more important to you? acting is my passion, the theatre is my passion. but i was defined by my childhood imprisonment, and that has made me an activist in my adult life, so they're both equally important to

now on bbc news, it's hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. kosovo has enjoyed independent statehood for 13 years, but almost half the world doesn't recognise it. poverty and corruption is endemic and its own prime minister seemingly has doubts about the desirability of independence. and that prime minister is my guest today. albin kurti has had a turbulent career. he's been a political prisoner, he launched five tear gas attacks on his own parliament and he has a vision of kosovo unifying with albania. so is he a source of instability in the balkans? theme music plays. prime minister albin kurti in pristina, welcome to hardtalk. thank you for having me. prime minister, your predecessors as leaders of kosovo have all put a big priority in trying to normalise relations with serbia, trying to make peace with serbia. you say it is not even a priority for you. why? we won on 14th of february elections with a landslide victory, with a ticket ofjobs and justice. i don't want to neglect normalisation of relations with serbia, but economic development

now on bbc news it's hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. next spring, the eu's most controversial leader, prime minister viktor orban of hungary, will seek a new mandate. his grip on power in budapest is tight, covering the parliament, the media and the economy. his opponents at home, and in brussels, call him an autocrat, but can he be beaten at the ballot box? well, my guest is peter marki—zay, who will lead a united opposition front into that election. now, he's a small—town mayor with big ambition, but is being the candidate who is not orban enough? peter marki—zay, in south—eastern hungary, welcome to hardtalk. well, nice to have you. nice to be on your show. it's great to have you on the show. ijust called you "a small—town mayor with very big ambitions". do you think that's fair? and if it is fair, how do you persuade hungarians that you have what it takes to be the nation's leader? well, hopefully, my experience as a mayor of a town of a4,000 inhabitants qualifies me, since hodmezovasarhely, my town, has been a fidesz stro

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. if money is power, then one of the world's most powerful institutions is probably one you've never heard of. located in oslo and worth more than a trillion dollars, norway's sovereign wealth fund owes its existence to the country's vast reserves of oil and gas. it claims to be an ethical investor, so there was some consternation when it appointed my guest today, nicolai tangen, as its new boss. is a risk—taking, flamboyant hedge fund manager the right man to steer the worlds biggest sovereign wealth fund? nicolai tangen, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much. you currently manage a sovereign wealth fund which is worth roughly $1.1; trillion — an unimaginable sum of money which is not your money — it is actually the people of norway's money. why should they trust you to manage it for them? well, in a way, you should ask the people that hired me. but i think the reason i think i got thejob was because i have been running capital for 30 years. i've been in that business for a ve

now on bbc news, it's hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk, i am stephen sackur. the trump presidency challenged many public officials to make a choice, obey directives from the white house against their betterjudgement or take a stand and face the wrath of the pro—trump movement. my guest today, fiona hill, former russia adviser at the white house, took a stand. she was a key witness in the president's first impeachment and has since had time to reflect on what trump meant for america and its geopolitical standing. has america learned the right lessons from the last five yea rs 7 fiona hill, in bethesda, maryland, welcome to hardtalk. thanks, stephen. you've had quite a lot of time to reflect in the last couple of years, reflect on some key decisions that you were involved in so let's start off with a very basic one. do you now regret your decision to take up that opportunity to join the national security council inside the trump white house? i don't actually because the motivation forjoining the administration back in 2017 was what had happened in 2016 when th

i'm stephen sackur. scratch the surface of everyday american life and you find a society deeply polarised. donald trump may have left the white house, but the culture wars that he inflamed are still raging. my guest today is an increasingly influential young conservative activist, ryan girdusky. he says that america's schoolchildren are being brainwashed about race, and he is going to stop it. what does it say about america that the classroom has become a battleground 7 ryan girdusky, welcome to hardtalk. thank you, stephen. it's a pleasure to have you on the show. let me start with a simple question — do you accept the premise that american children, as they go through school, should learn the truth about race and racism in america? i believe that children should learn history about race and racism in america. i believe that they should learn about slavery. they should learn about the civil rights movement. they should learn about the underground railroad. what i don't believe that the children should

welcome to hardtalk i'm stephen sackur. kosovo has enjoyed independent statehood for 13 years, but half the world doesn't recognise it. corruption is endemic in its own prime minister seemingly has doubts about the desirability of independence. and that prime minister is my guest today. albin kurti has had a turbulent career. he's been a political prisoner, he launched

welcome to hardtalk from manchester, i'm stephen sackur. of all the football—mad cities in the world, few can compete with this one, home to two of the world's biggest clubs, united and city. for all of football's global appeal it's wrestling with big problems, from financial greed to residual racism. my guest today is former manchester united and

welcome to hardtalk, i am stephen sackur. this challenge may public officials to make a choice. 0bey directives from the white house against their betterjudgment, ortake the white house against their betterjudgment, or take a better judgment, or take a stand betterjudgment, or take a stand and face the wrath of the pro—trump movement. my guest today, fiona hill, former adviser of the white house, took a stand. she was a key witness in the

i'm stephen sackur. scratch the surface of everyday american life and you find a society deeply polarised. donald trump may have left the white house, but the culture wars that he inflamed are still raging. my guest today is an increasingly influential young conservative activist, ryan girdusky. he says that america's schoolchildren are being brainwashed about race, and he is going to stop it. what does it say about america that the classroom has

i'm stephen sackur. today, i'm in the south bronx, the poorest part of new york city, and by many measures, the poorest district in the whole of the united states. it is in places like this that joe biden�*s promise to build america back better will bejudged. my guest today is the young democratic party congressman who represents this place, ritchie torres. now, he's a rising young star of his party, but right now, he faces a troubling question — are the democrats bungling their opportunity to put america on a new course? congressman richard torres, welcome to hardtalk. it's a pleasure to be here. it's great to see you, congressman. i'm tempted to begin by saying a year is an awful long time in politics. if we cast our minds back to january of this year, the democrats were euphoric. you were taking control of both chambers of the us congress. joe biden was moving into the white house. that euphoria has well and truly disappeared. what's gone wrong? well, we were never euphoric. i was cautiously optim

welcome to hardtalk i am stephen sackur. he has enjoyed independent statehood for 13 years ? kosovo but half the world does not recognise. corruption is endemic in its own prime minister has doubts about the desirability of independence and that prime minister is my

now on bbc news, it�*s hardtalk with stephen sackur.

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. if money is power, then one of the world's most powerful institutions is probably one you've never heard of. located in oslo and worth more than a trillion dollars, norway's sovereign wealth fund owes its existence to the country's vast reserves of oil and gas. it claims to be an ethical investor, so there was some consternation when it appointed my guest

i'm stephen sackur. it is tempting to be sceptical about a conference billed by some as humanity's last chance to save the planet. but the truth is the cop26 meeting in glasgow is a very big deal. global heating is real. it threatens to inflict existential harms on all life on earth, unless greenhouse gas emissions are effectively eliminated within a generation. can it be done? well, my guest is fatih birol, boss of the international energy agency. he believes the answer is yes, but is he ignoring the political realities that he'll encounter in glasgow? fatih birol in paris, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much, mr sackur. well, it's a pleasure to see you in your headquarters in paris. of course, very, very soon, you'll be in glasgow as a delegate at the cop26 conference. how unfortunate do you think the timing of the conference is, amid an energy cost crisis, a supply crisis, but also with the covid pandemic still with us? it is very unfortunate, both of them, and we are seeing energy prices, coal,

i'm stephen sackur. today, i'm in the south bronx, the poorest part of new york city, and by many measures, the poorest district in the whole of the united states. it is in places like this that joe biden�*s promise to build america back better will bejudged. my guest today is the young democratic party congressman who represents this place, ritchie torres. now, he's a rising young star of his party, but right now,

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. turn on the tv or go online, and it's not hard to find political content of all kinds, often delivered with all the nuance of a ten—tonne truck. rare is the tv show which offers commentary on the human condition, which is both entertaining and wildly popular.

i'm stephen sackur.

i'm stephen sackur. india is the world's biggest and arguably noisiest democracy. newspapers, news channels and online platforms are filled with political argument 21w. but is this real media freedom or a misleading veneer? what happens to journalists who speak uncomfortable truths to power? well, my guest is rana ayyub, an investigative reporter and author who has faced threats, intimidation and legal action after digging deep into the past and present of india's prime minister, narendra modi. is freedom of expression on life support in india? rana ayyub in mumbai, welcome to hardtalk. thank you so much for having me, stephen. it's a pleasure having you on the show. at the last count, and it's a little confusing, but the last count, i think you are now facing four different legal actions. given the legal constraints upon you right now, has your voice, in effect, been silenced? well, that's the intention, stephen, to silence my voice. unfortunately, the government has not been victorious on that count. neither has it been victorious over the last 15 years of myjour

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur, and today i'm in the south bronx, the poorest part of new york city, and by many measures, the poorest district in the whole of the united states. it is in places like this thatjoe biden�*s promise to build america back better will bejudged.

i'm stephen sackur. what do we go to the cinema for? well, for many, the answer seems to be escape. what other explanation could there be for the seemingly endless supply of franchise—friendly superhero films? my guest today makes films based on an entirely different premise. forfive decades, acclaimed british director mike leigh has told stories about believable characters facing

now on bbc news, hardtalk�*s stephen sackur speaks to the former manchester united and

welcome to hardtalk i'm stephen sackur. kosovo has enjoyed independent statehood for 13 years,