No world leader better epitomises the strong man style of political leadership than President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines. One hallmark of his rule? A visceral dislike of scrutiny from the independent media. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to journalist Maria Ressa who founded the Rappler news website and has just been convicted of cyber-libel in a case that has raised worldwide concern. Is press freedom being strangled by populist politics?
Holding placards outside the funerals of dead soldiers and celebrating the deaths of children after school massacres, Westboro Baptist Church has been called the ‘most obnoxious and rabid hate group in America’. From the age of five, Megan Phelps-Roper had stood on the picket lines, and carried those hate-filled signs. But, as an adult firing off tweets to her online critics, Megan began to doubt. Can she really still regard those who abused her mind and taught her to hate, as her ‘beloved’ parents? She talks to Shaun Ley.
The coronavirus pandemic has presented humanity with an almighty shock. Our evermore interconnected and technologically advanced societies are now in lockdown and we are fearful for our health and economic futures thanks to an invisible virus. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to the Israeli historian and best-selling author Yuval Noah Harari. What 21st century lesson can we draw from the spread of Covid-19?
In July 2019, HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur spoke to Lady Hale, President of the UK Supreme Court. Her role was brought into the spotlight this week when she delivered the verdict of 11 Supreme Court judges which ruled British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's suspension of Parliament was unlawful.
HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi is in New York for a rare interview with Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif who is attending high level talks at the UN. Hostilities between Iran and the US are at a historic high; recently, President Trump said he was ‘ten minutes away from war with Tehran’. Could the two countries stumble into a war? And is Iran raising the stakes in the Persian Gulf after Washington tore up the nuclear deal last year?
