Hardtalk

Healing a society traumatised by sectarian violence is hard - anyone doubting it should take a look at Northern Ireland today. The de facto war between the IRA and the British state is over, but a legacy of bitterness remains. HARDtalk speaks to Geraldine Finucane, whose husband Pat, a Catholic lawyer, was murdered 25 years ago. The killing exposed collusion between the British security services and Protestant paramilitaries - the Finucane family still wants a full public inquiry. But for the greater good of Northern Ireland, is it time to move on?

The British military pull out from Afghanistan will soon be completed. Digesting the painful lessons from a 12 year deployment will take a whole lot longer. HARDtalk speaks to Richard Streatfield, a former infantry officer in Helmand during some of the toughest fighting with the Taliban. Back then he kept an upbeat audio diary of life on the frontline; now he takes a more jaundiced view of Britains Afghan commitment. Is it time to acknowledge failure?

In this special programme from Brazil, HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to the Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira. Her government says it is now protecting Brazil’s unique biodiversity. But agribusiness and urbanisation are still taking their toll. Is the rainforest safe in her hands?

HARDtalk is in Johannesburg to talk to the only black women in South Africa to head a mining company. Daphne Mashile-Nkosi has made a fortune out of her business ventures, but with much of the mining industry beset by strikes over pay and conditions, how far has the country’s mineral wealth benefitted its poorest people?

Zeinab Badawi speaks to the acclaimed South Sudanese singer and political activist, Emmanuel Jal. He was captured and forced to fight as a child soldier during the Sudanese civil war. His country South Sudan - the world's newest nation - may now be independent but it's descended into vicious ethnic fighting. What lies behind this new wave of conflict and how can it be stopped?

South Africa is holding elections in May and complaints from workers are getting louder. Unofficial figures show that nearly half of the working population doesn’t have a proper job. Zeinab Badawi talks to Zwelinzima Vavi,the now suspended head of COSATU, the powerful trade unions alliance – is it holding back South Africa’s progress?

HARDtalk is in the Zambian capital Lusaka to speak to Kenneth Kaunda – leader of the struggle for independence, he was sentenced to hard labour in prison by the British before he went on to become Zambia’s first President of the post-colonial era. It is a landmark year for Zambia – this is the fiftieth anniversary of its independence - and Kenneth Kaunda himself turns ninety in April. What has fifty years of freedom brought the people of Zambia?

HARDtalk is at London’s Barbican Theatre to speak to the Artistic Director and Lead Principal of the English National Ballet, Tamara Rojo. Her new production, a ballet about one of the bloodiest conflicts in the 20th century, is part of an attempt to modernise what is often a rather conservative repertoire in ballet. She’d like to do the same with training and technique too, but with some of the stars arguing that ballet should be tough and a new generation of dancers who have gone through a demanding training in Japan and China beginning to flourish, can Tamara Rojo triumph over tradition?

Since the financial meltdown of 2008, China has been the key driver of growth in the global economy. In Beijing, it is easy to see how the country's brand of command capitalism has transformed infrastructure and generated unprecedented wealth. But suddenly confidence has given way to insecurity. At the heart of it is a debt bubble that would threaten the whole world economy if it turned toxic. HARDtalk is in Beijing to speak to Jin Liqun, supremely well connected investment bank chief and former chairman of China's sovereign wealth fund. How worried should we be about the Chinese economy?

There has been widespread condemnation of Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin’s decision to absorb Crimea after its referendum to break away from Ukraine. But Moscow says that any further sanctions imposed against it by the EU over Crimea, will affect Europe as much as itself. HARDtalk speaks to the Bulgarian President, Rosen Plevneliev. Bulgaria is the EU’s poorest country and depends on Russia for 85% of its gas needs. Can Bulgaria, and the EU as a whole, afford to get tough with Moscow?

In a special edition of Hardtalk, Stephen Sackur speaks to Dmitry Peskov, spokesman to Russia’s President Putin following the decision of EU and US leaders to impose sanctions. With international pressure mounting against the Kremlin, does Russia stand to lose more than win from this crisis?

As part of the BBC’s Freedom Season, HARDtalk is in Beijing for a special interview with China’s most famous artist and dissident, Ai Weiwei. Under constant surveillance, prevented from leaving the country, how does this artist push back against the forces of repression?

We live in the internet age but perhaps most of us haven’t realised just how radically it will change our lives. As part of the BBC’s Freedom Season, HARDtalk speaks to Cody Wilson who is at the leading edge of an anarchist movement which wants to use the so called ‘dark web’- anonymous, borderless, and lawless - to empower individuals and undermine big government. His symbolic first move was to make a gun using open source software and a 3D printer. Is this really where we want the internet to take us?

It’s the biggest crisis confronting Western Europe in twenty years; Ukraine could be just days away from losing a key part of its territory. Russia stands on one side of this conflict, the United States and the European Union on the other. HARDtalk speaks to Poland’s Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski. He helped negotiate a deal to halt the bloodshed in Kiev and now warns President Vladimir Putin if Russia doesn’t deescalate, the EU will impose sanctions. However, last time such a crisis erupted it was the West that blinked first. Why does he believe things will be different this time?

How's this for a vision of earthly paradise? Sun, sand, sea and a tax rate of zero. It's that last bit that turned the tiny Cayman Islands into one of the most attractive offshore financial havens in the world. But now the US and EU are leading international efforts to rein in the world's tax dodgers. HARDtalk speaks to Alden McLaughlin, Premier of the Cayman Islands. Is his Caribbean haven about to lose its allure?