Hardtalk

It is out with the old and in with the new at the European Union as EU member states conduct the usual bout of horse-trading that follows elections for the European Parliament. They are selecting a new set of officials including the key post of commission president. The choice of EU insider Jean-Claude Juncker has led to a bitter and public row between the UK and other member states. How far has this damaged the reputation of the EU and what does it tell us about the future direction of the European Union? HARDtalk speaks to one of the EU's most experienced politicians, Sweden's Foreign Minister, Carl Bildt.

The kidnap and murder of four teenagers - three Israeli and then one Palestinian - has triggered protests and violent clashes in both Israel and the Occupied Territories and unleashed the heaviest rocket fire between Israel and Hamas for nearly two years. Israel blames Hamas for the abduction and killings of the Israelis. The tensions flared over the past week after the bodies of the Israeli boys were found on the West Bank. Two days later a sixteen year old Palestinian boy Mohammed Abu Khdair was killed in Jerusalem. Jewish suspects have been arrested for his murder. This latest crisis has exposed the abyss between the two communities - could it escalate into a wider conflict? HARDtalk speaks to Dore Gold - advisor to the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Most of us probably don't associate local government with racing pulses and grave danger. But few local government jobs are like the Mayor of Mogadishu's. HARDtalk speaks to Mohamoud Nur who had that post for more than three years, trying to improve life in one of the most violent, most corrupt, most rundown capital cities in the world. So what persuaded him to leave home life in London to take up the post? And, with the benefit of distance now, what hope does he hold out for Somalia?

Is rising inequality the sickness that could yet kill capitalism? It's a debate currently raging in politics as well as economics. President Obama says income inequality is the defining challenge of our time. The influential American economist Deirdre McCloskey thinks that is to misunderstand 300 years of global growth and enrichment. She focuses on the enduring power of innovation, rather than wealth distribution. So is it ok for the rich to enjoy a party to which no one else is invited?

The extremist group Isis is expanding its foothold in Syria after its recent gains in neighbouring Iraq. The first town it seized was Raqqa in northern Syria a year ago, it holds parts of Aleppo province in the north as well as more territory on the border with Iraq. Isis is now engaging in battles with other rebel groups in Syria splintering efforts by the opposition who now find themselves battling both Isis forces and government troops. What does the advance of Isis mean for moderate secular opposition groups inside Syria? HARDtalk speaks to Salih Muslim Mohammed, leader of the Syrian Kurdish party, the PYD, which is part of the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change, a secular, pro-democracy coalition inside Syria.

More than sixty journalists have been killed in Syria's civil war. Across the world journalists have become targets as never before, murdered, kidnapped and, in the case of three Al Jazeera journalists in Egypt, locked up by the state for doing their jobs. HARDtalk speaks to Anthony Loyd, the award winning war correspondent of The Times newspaper, who was shot and seriously injured in Syria last month. Is the fear factor forcing journalists to retreat from the front line?

Three years ago Ireland was a basket case economy; hollowed out by broken banks, bad debts and a property crash. What about now? Ireland was the first of the Eurozone bail out countries to emerge from the economic emergency room. HARDtalk speaks to Patrick Honohan, Governor of Ireland'€™s Central Bank. Growth has returned, optimism is on the rise, but is it justified?

Imagine life without aging. You could live for hundreds of years with the mental and physical attributes of your 25 year old self. Would you be tempted? HARDtalk speaks to a scientist and futurologist who believes it's a proposition that 21st century biotechnology will soon be able to deliver. Aubrey de Grey's Californian research foundation is spending millions of dollars in a bid to conquer the aging process. Is his vision inspiring, daft, or downright dangerous?

Is flying always going to be this affordable and accessible? Low cost airlines have revolutionised the European aviation business over the past 25 years - offering cheap flights, no frills and a service sometimes to be endured rather than enjoyed. How much further can the budget airlines grow? HARDtalk speaks to Carolyn McCall, the CEO of easyJet.

HARDtalk is in the gallery district of London’s West End to meet one of the most successful and controversial fashion and celebrity photographers of the last thirty years, David LaChapelle. His story revolves around sex, drugs and provocative pictures. He has the ability to shock and offend, but does his work go deeper?

The UK Independence Party topped the UK polls in the recent European elections putting pressure on the Conservative and Labour Parties to re-consider their position on immigration and the UK’s relationship with the EU ahead of the 2015 general election. HARDtalk speaks to veteran Labour MP, Jack Straw, who held successive senior positions in government between 1997 and 2010. Is the Labour Party under Ed Miliband in tune with voters and capable of winning next year’s general election?

How should we make sense of Nigeria's 21st Century identity? Newly anointed as Africa's number one economy, it is an oil-rich emerging power. But it is also beset by corruption, poor governance and a wave of internal conflict that could threaten the very unity of the state. HARDtalk speaks to the highly acclaimed Nigerian novelist, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Her fiction explores her country's troubled past and current challenges. How does this writer see Nigeria's story unfolding?

It took the abduction of more than 200 school girls to focus international attention on the appalling level of violence and insecurity in North Eastern Nigeria. The brutal conflict between the Islamist militant group Boko Haram and government security forces has killed thousands. HARDtalk speaks to Doyin Okupe, a senior adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan. Are Nigeria's leaders capable of rescuing their country?

HARDtalk's Zeinab Badawi talks to Dr Kizza Besigye, a former ally of Uganda’s President Museveni who has become his biggest critic and the country’s best known opposition figure. He was the leader of the main opposition party – the Forum for Democratic Change – and ran unsuccessfully three times in elections against President Museveni. He has called for popular protests in Uganda like the ones that led to the uprisings of the Arab Spring.

How far can Vladimir Putin push his iron-fist foreign policy? Crimea is now his, but Russia's next move in eastern Ukraine is much less clear cut, as is the extent of the Kremlin's neo-imperialist ambition. HARDtalk speaks to Sergey Karaganov - one of Russia's most influential foreign policy thinkers and until recently, an advisor to President Putin.