that means it is time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk with me, zeinab badawi. what is going on in poland? injuly, the badawi. what is going on in poland? in july, the european badawi. what is going on in poland? injuly, the european union began legal action against the polish government over proposed reforms, that critics say will politicise the legal system. it has threatened to withdraw funding and suspend voting rights in eu. my guess today is witold waszczykowski. it is poland turning away from liberal democracy? and what does this mean for its people and its place in europe and the world. —— my guest tiday. —— today. foreign minister witold waszczykowski, and warsaw, welcome to hardtalk. your party won the elections but is now facing criticisms. what has gone wrong?” criticisms. what has gone wrong?|j don't criticisms. what has gone wrong?” don't think anything is wrong in poland. we are running the country for the last 21 months. we have very strong democratic mandates from our people in poland. and we are trying to modernise the country, deve

welcome to hardtalk with me, zeinab badawi. what is going on in poland? injuly, the european union began legal action against the polish government, over controversial proposed reforms, that critics say will politicise the legal system. it's threatening to withdraw funding and suspend poland's voting rights in eu. my guest today is the polish foreign minister witold waszczykowski. it is poland, that was a country held up as a model of post—soviet transition, turning away from liberal democracy? and what does this mean for its people and its place in europe and the world? foreign minister witold waszczykowski, in warsaw, welcome to hardtalk. 20 months ago, your law and justice party won the elections, now it is facing a lot of criticisms. what has gone wrong? i don't think anything is wrong in poland. we are running the country for the last 21 months. we've got a very strong democratic mandate from our people in poland. and we are trying still to modernise the country, develop the country, and, of course, to stay in the european union and in nato and imp

now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. when the aljazeera news network was launched in qatar in 1996, it had a seismic impact on the media landscape in the middle east. here was an arab broadcaster refusing to play by local rules. it was ambitious, punchy and provocative in its coverage of the region and the world. two decades on, maybe it's time for payback. saudi arabia and its closest allies recently demanded qatar close the network down. my guest is mostefa souag, director general of aljazeera. do his channel have a future? mostefa souag, welcome to hardtalk. good day, stephen. we have to start with the threat of closure that appeared to be hanging over aljazeera just a few short days ago. the threat of course which came from saudi arabia and its allies, which demanded the closing of the aljazeera network as a condition for lifting an economic blockade on qatar. be clear with me. is there still a risk you may have to shut down? well, first of all i would like to say that aljazeera has created a new media environment in

now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. for more than two decades, the anc has been south africa's impregnable political structure, but now cracks are appearing. at least 30 anc mps defied the party whip and supported a no confidence motion against party leader and national president, jacob zuma. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. cue bitter recriminations. my guest today is pravin gordhan, the man president zuma sacked as finance minister in controversial circumstances earlier this year. does the anc need to be broken up to enable south africa to thrive? pravin gordhan in johannesburg, welcome to hardtalk thank you, thank you for having me. long distance as it might be. let's consider what is happening in your country today and particularly the fallout from the motion of no—confidence against president jacob zuma, which didn't succeed, but got 177 votes, which was significant. it clearly included a substantial number of anc mps. how toxic is the atmosphere inside the anc as a result of that vote? there certainly is

now it is time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. venezuela's political and economic crisis is precariously poised. the maduro regime is determined to rewrite the constitution to strengthen its grip on power. the opposition is intent on using mass protest to bring the government down. the current stand—off is not sustainable, but which side will prevail? my guest is isaias medina, until last month the venezuelan diplomat at the un. now an anti—maduro dissident. can maduro outlast his enemies? isaias medina, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. thank you so much, stephen. i would like to express my gratitude not only to you personally but to hardtalk and the bbc for representing objectively the hardships that the venezuelan people are living in right now in my country. well, let's examine the situation in your country in some detail. let's start with a simple explanation, if you like. why did you change sides? cos, for the last couple of years you've been a diplomat at the united nations, representing venezuela and the venezuelan gover

now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. venezuela's political and economic crisis is precariously poised. the maduro regime is determined to rewrite the constitution to strengthen its grip on power. the opposition is intent on using mass protest to bring the government down. the current stand—off is not sustainable, but which side will prevail? my guest is isaias medina, until last month the venezuelan diplomat at the un. now an anti—maduro dissident. can maduro outlast his enemies? isaias medina, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. thank you so much, stephen. i would like to express my gratitude not only to you personally but to hardtalk and the bbc for representing objectively the hardships that the venezuelan people are living in right now in my country. well, let's examine the situation in your country in some detail. let's start with a simple explanation, if you like. why did you change sides? because for the last couple of years, you've been a diplomat at the united nations, representing venezuela and the venezuelan g

now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. venezuela's political and economic crisis is precariously poised. the maduro regime is determined to rewrite the constitution to strengthen its grip on power. the opposition is intent on using mass protest to bring the government down. the current stand—off is not sustainable, but which side will prevail? my guest is isaias medina, until last month the venezuelan diplomat at the un. now an anti—maduro dissident. can maduro outlast his enemies? isaias medina, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. thank you so much, stephen. i would like to express my gratitude not only to you personally but to hardtalk and the bbc for representing objectively the hardships that the venezuelan people are living in right now in my country. well, let's examine the situation in your country in some detail. let's start with a simple explanation, if you like. why did you change sides? because for the last couple of years you've been a diplomat at the united nationsrepresenting venezuela and the venezuelan gove

now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. venezuela's political and economic crisis is precariously poised. the maduro regime is determined to rewrite the constitution to strengthen its grip on power. the opposition is intent on using mass protest to bring the government down. the current stand—off is not sustainable, but which side will prevail? my guest is isaias medina, until last month the venezuelan diplomat at the un. now an anti—maduro dissident. can maduro outlast his enemies? isaias medina, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. thank you so much, stephen. i would like to express my gratitude not only to you personally but to hardtalk and the bbc for representing objectively the hardships that the venezuelan people are living in right now in my country. well, let's examine the situation in your country in some detail. let's start with a simple explanation, if you like. why did you change sides? cos, for the last couple of years you've been a diplomat at the united nations, representing venezuela and the venezuelan gover

now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. venezuela's political and economic crisis is precariously poised. the maduro regime is determined to rewrite the constitution to strengthen its grip on power. the opposition is intent on using mass protest to bring the government down. the current stand—off is not sustainable, but which side will prevail? my guest is isaias medina, until last month the venezuelan diplomat at the un. now an anti—maduro dissident. can maduro outlast his enemies? isaias medina, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. thank you so much, stephen. i would like to express my gratitude not only to you personally but to hardtalk and the bbc for representing objectively the hardships that the venezuelan people are living in right now in my country. well, let's examine the situation in your country in some detail. let's start with a simple explanation, if you like. why did you change sides? cos, for the last couple of years you've been a diplomat at the united nations, representing venezuela and the venezuelan gover

now it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. when the aljazeera news network was launched in qatar in 1996, it had a seismic impact on the media landscape in the middle east. here was an arab broadcaster refusing to play by local rules. it was ambitious, punchy and provocative in its coverage of the region and the world. two decades on, maybe it's time for payback. saudi arabia and its closest allies recently demanded qatar close the network down. my guest is mostefa souag, director general of aljazeera. do his channel have a future? mostefa souag, welcome to hardtalk. good day, stephen. we have to start with the threat of closure that appeared to be hanging over aljazeera just a few short days ago. the threat of course which came from saudi arabia and its allies, which demanded the closing of the aljazeera network as a condition for lifting an economic blockade on ka ntar. condition for lifting an economic blockade on kantar. weekly with me. -- qatar. is there still a risk you may have to shut down? well, first of all i would l

now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk. —— 2:30am. welcome to hardtalk. . i am stephen sackur. politicians and civil serva nts sackur. politicians and civil servants usually abandon their offices in the dog days of august, but not this year in london, where brexit is now an overwhelming political priority. theresa may's government has issued a raft of proposals on what trade, border and legal arrangements might look like post brexit, with a striking focus on continuity rather than change. my guest to one of the conservative party's staunchest brexiteers, mep daniel hannan. if brexit isn't a clean break, then what's the point? daniel hammond, welcome to hardtalk. we are six months into a two—year process that will end with the departure of the uk from the european union. are you satisfied with what has happened in those first six months? yes i am. i think it is gone better than many expected. we were told during the referendum campaign that the very act of voting leave would trigger a downturn. i don't think anyone now argues that happen. we grew faster in the six months after

now it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. when the aljazeera news network was launched in qatar in 1996, it had a seismic impact on the media landscape in the middle east. here was an arab broadcaster refusing to play by local rules. it was ambitious, punchy and provocative in its coverage of the region and the world. two decades on, maybe it's time for payback. saudi arabia and its closest allies recently demanded qatar close the network down. my guest is mostefa souag, director general of aljazeera. do his channel have a future? mostefa souag, welcome to hardtalk. good day, stephen. we have to start with the threat of closure that appeared to be hanging over aljazeera just a few short days ago. the threat of course which came from saudi arabia and its allies, which demanded the closing of the aljazeera network as a condition for lifting an economic blockade on qatar. be clear with me. is there still a risk you may have to shut down? well, first of all i would like to say that aljazeera has created a new media environment in

it's time now for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i am stephen sackur. venezuela's political and economic crisis is precariously poised. the maduro regime is determined to rewrite the constitution to strengthen its grip on power. the opposition is intent on power. the opposition is intent on using mass protest to bring the government down. the current stand—off is not sustainable, but which side will prevail? my guest is isaias medina. until last month the venezuelan diplomat at the un. now an anti— maduro dissident. can maduro al asked his enemies? —— at last. isaias medina, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. thank you so much. i would like to express my gratitude not only to you personally but to hardtalk and the bbc for representing a jet of leith hardships the venezuelan people are living in right now. —— objectively the hardships. we would do that in detail. let's start with a simple explanation, if you like. why did you change sides? for the last couple of years you have been a diplomat at the un representing venezuela and the venezuelan g

now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. for more than two decades, the anc has been south africa's impregnable political structure, but now cracks are appearing. at least 30 anc mps defied the party whip and supported a no confidence motion against party leader and national president, jacob zuma. cue bitter recriminations. my guest today is pravin gordhan, the man president zuma sacked as finance minister in controversial circumstances earlier this year. does the anc need to be broken up to enable south africa to thrive? pravin gordhan in johannesburg, welcome to hardtalk thank you, thank you for having me. long distance as it might be. let's consider what is happening in your country today and particularly the fallout from the motion of no—confidence against presidentjacob motion of no—confidence against president jacob zuma, which motion of no—confidence against presidentjacob zuma, which didn't succeed, but got 177 votes, which was significant. it clearly included a substantial number of anc mps. how toxic is the a

now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk. welcome to a special edition of hardtalk. i am stephen sackur and today i am joined by an audience here at the bbc radio theatre to celebrate 20 years of hardtalk interviews. who better to have on our birthday than sir ian mckellen? whether you think of him as richard iii or gandalf, he has won hearts and accolades around the world. not just for decades of work on screen but his passion of public campaigning, particularly on the issue of gay rights. please give a warm welcome to ian mckellen. cheering and applause. that was quite a welcome. ian mckellen, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. there's a lot to talk about both personal and in terms of yourcampaigning. but there are very few actors with the diversity you have offered your audiences, from the great shakespearean roles to comic book characters in x—men. is there a common thread through everything you have done? the common thread is there is no common thread. there is a variety. what i always admired in my youth was people playing different sorts of parts in different e

now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to a special edition of hardtalk. i am stephen sackur and today i am joined by an audience here at the bbc radio theatre to celebrate 20 years of hardtalk interviews. who better to have on our birthday than sir ian mckellen? whether you think of him as richard iii or gandalf, he has won hearts and accolades around the world. not just for decades of work on screen but his passion of public campaigning, particularly on the issue of gay rights. please give a warm welcome to ian mckellen. that was quite a welcome. ian mckellen, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. there's a lot to talk about both personal and in terms of yourcampaigning. but there are very few actors with the diversity you have offered your audiences, from the great shakespearean roles to comic book characters in x—men. is there a common thread through everything you have done? the common thread is there is no common thread. there is a variety. what i always admired in my youth was people playing different sorts of parts in different environments. i was prou

now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk. welcome to a special edition of hardtalk. i am stephen sackur and today i am joined by an audience here at the bbc radio theatre to celebrate 20 years of hardtalk interviews. who better to have on our birthday than sir ian mckellen? whether you think of him as richard iii or gandalf, he has won hearts and accolades around the world. not just for decades of work on screen but his passion of public campaigning, particularly on the issue of gay rights. please give a warm welcome to ian mckellen. that was quite a welcome. ian mckellen, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. there's a lot to talk about both personal and in terms of yourcampaigning. but there are very few actors with the diversity you have offered your audiences, from the great shakespearean roles to comic book characters in x—men. is there a common thread through everything you have done? the common thread is there is no common thread. there is a variety. what i always admired in my youth was people playing different sorts of parts in different environments. i was prou

now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, with me, zeinab badawi. my guest is one of the most influential voices in global finance today. he was made governor of the central bank of france following a sting as governorfor 12 years. prior to that he was a vice president for the central bank and has worked with just about every leading financial institution. christian noyer has been tasked with making the case for paris as a financial hub following brexit. is he making too tough a sell and potentially damaging ties with the uk? christian noyer, in paris, welcome to hardtalk. this is the fourth president that you are serving under in some senior capacity. emmanuel macron is a former banker. is he the right president at the right time for france? well, first, thank you very much for inviting me. i think, yes, absolutely. for the first time for many years, we have a president who was elected with a clear political programme for deep economic reforms, and he has a clear mandate to make difficult reforms in the labour market, in the tax regime, to have som

now on bbc news: hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, with me, zeinab badawi. my guest is one of the most influential voices in global finance today. he was made governor of the central bank of france following a sting as governor for 12 yea rs. before that, he was the vice president of the european central bank and has worked with every leading financial institution. christian noyer has been tasked with making the case for paris as a financial hub following brexit. is he making too tough a sell and potentially damaging ties with the uk? christian noyer, in paris, welcome to hardtalk this is the fourth president that you are serving under in some senior capacity. emmanuel macron is a former banker. is he the right president at the right time for france? well, first, thank you very much for inviting me. i think, yes, absolutely. for the first time for many years, we have a president who was elected with a clear political programme for deep economic reforms, and he has a clear mandate to make difficult reforms in the labour market, and the tax regime, to have som

now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. relations between the united states and north korea have long been difficult. the recent toe—to—toe confrontation between donald trump and kim jong—un raised fears of a conflagration on the korean peninsula. my guess today has a unique perspective on north korea's often impenetrable mindset. kenneth bae is an american christian missionary of korean descent who was arrested inside north korea and spent two years in a pyongyang prison. what does his experience tell us about the world's most secretive country? kenneth bae, welcome to hardtalk. let's begin with your decision to go and live in china in 2006. quite soon afterwards, you began undertaking tours into north korea, that special economic zone inside north korea, close to the chinese border. why did you undertake those tours? i was sent as a missionary to china, and i was living in the chinese community. while i was serving in the chinese community, i was able to meet with north korean defectors and others. i ended up visiti

now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. relations between the united states and north korea have long been difficult. the recent toe—to—toe confrontation between donald trump and kim jong—un raised fears of a conflagration on the korean peninsula. my guest today has a unique perspective on north korea's often impenetrable mindset. kenneth bae, an american christian missionary of korean descent who was arrested inside north korea and spent two years in a pyongyang prison. what does his experience tell us about the world's most secretive country? kenneth bae, welcome to hardtalk. let's begin with your decision to go and live in china in 2006. quite soon afterwards, you began undertaking tours into north korea, that special economic zone inside north korea, close to the chinese border. why did you undertake those tours? i was sent as a missionary to china, and i was living in the chinese community. while i was serving in the chinese community, i was able to meet with north korean defectors and others. i ended up visiting

now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. donald trump promised to be a disruptive president. right now the thing he's disrupting the most is his own white house team. he now has a new chief of staff and a new director of communications, but what he seems unable to shift is the sense of a presidency in crisis, at odds with republicans in congress and still dogged by federal investigations of russia's alleged meddling in last year's election. my guest is sebastien gorka, a deputy assistant to the president on national security. where does the trump presidency go from here? sebastian gorka in washington, welcome to hardtalk. thank you, stephen. i want to begin with something you just said five days ago, you said, "the atmosphere here in the white house is absolutely wonderful. we've got a new broom sweeping through the communications shop in anthony scaramucci and we are humming along on all cylinders." plenty has happened since then. what's the atmosphere in the white house like today? fabulous. i literally just left the oval

now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. there are writers of world renown whose reputation rests on one great book. there are others who write more prolifically but always in the same territory. and then there's my guest today. margaret atwood's output fizzes with energy, diversity and experimentation. she's best known for her novels, the handmaid's tale, the blind assassin, oryx and crake. but she's written poetry, blog fiction and, this year, a superhero comic book, too. she has a worldwide legion of fans. so what keeps her creative juices flowing? margaret atwood, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. ijust referred to your prolific and diverse output over many years. but you've just done something you've never done before. you've taken on adapting shakespeare. and you've always said shakespeare is pretty much your favourite author. so how daunting was that? very, very daunting. first of all you knew that you were going to get a lot of people saying that you shouldn't do it, and you can't improve on shakespeare, etc. and secon

now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. for more than two decades, the anc has been south africa's impregnable political structure, but now cracks are appearing. at least 30 anc mps defied the party whip and supported a no confidence motion against party leader and national president, jacob zuma. cue bitter recriminations. my guest today is pravin gordhan, the man president zuma sacked as finance minister in controversial circumstances earlier this year. does the anc need to be broken up to enable south africa to thrive? pravin gordhan, in johannesburg, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. thank you for having me. long distance as it might be. let's consider what is happening in your country today and particularly the fallout from the motion of no—confidence against president jacob zuma, which didn't succeed, but got 177 votes, which was significant. it clearly included a substantial number of anc mps. how toxic is the atmosphere inside the anc as a result of that vote? there certainly is an active debate and discussion of ide

now, it's time for hardtalk. now, it's time for welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. there are writers of world renown whose reputation rests on one great book. there are others who write more prolifically, but always in the same territory. and then there's my guest today. margaret atwood's output fizzes with energy, diversity and experimentation. she's best known for her novels, the handmaid's tale, the blind assassin, oryx and crake. but she's written poetry, blog fiction and, this year, a superhero comic book, too. she has a worldwide legion of fans. so what keeps her creative juices flowing? margaret atwood, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. ijust referred to your prolific and diverse output over many years. but you've just done something you've never done before. you've taken on adapting shakespeare. and you've always said shakespeare is pretty much your favourite author. so how daunting was that? very, very daunting. first of all you knew that you were going to get a lot of people saying that you shouldn't do it, and you can't improve on shakespeare, etc. and seco

now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. for more than two decades, the anc has been south africa's impregnable political structure, but now cracks are appearing. at least 30 anc mps defied the party whip and supported a no confidence motion against party leader and national president, jacob zuma. cue bitter recriminations. my guest today is pravin gordhan, the man president zuma sacked as finance minister in controversial circumstances earlier this year. does the anc need to be broken up to enable south africa to thrive? pravin gordhan in johannesburg, welcome to hardtalk thank you, thank you for having me. long distance as it might be. let's consider what is happening in your country today and particularly the fallout from the motion of no—confidence against president jacob zuma, which didn't succeed, but got 177 votes, which was significant. it clearly included a substantial number of anc mps. how toxic is the atmosphere inside the anc as a result of that vote? there certainly is an active debate and discussion of ideas

now on bbc news, time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. relations between the united states and north korea have long been difficult. the recent toe—to—toe confrontation between donald trump and kim jong—un raised fears of a conflagration on the korean peninsula. my my guess today has a unique perspective on north korea's often impenetrable mindset. kenneth bae, an american christian missionary of korean descent who was arrested inside north korea and spent two years in a pyongyang prison. what does his experience tell us about the world's most secretive country? kenneth bae, welcome to hardtalk. let's begin with your decision to go and live in china in 2006. quite soon afterwards, you began undertaking tours into north korea, that special economic zone inside north korea, close to the chinese border. why did you undertake those tours? i was sent as a missionary to china, andi tours? i was sent as a missionary to china, and i was living in the chinese community. while i was serving in the chinese community, i was able to meet with no

now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. in the late 70s, roman polanski admitted to having unlawful sex with a 13 year old girl. he spent 42 days in prison, and then fled the us because he feared being given a longer sentence. in the nearly a0 years since, much has been said and written about what happened. but we have hardly heard anything from the girl herself, samantha geimer. i have come to new york to hear her account of what happened, and how it shaped her life. samantha geimer, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. you have struggled to protect your privacy for nearly a0 years, so why are you choosing to speak up now? i just wanted to tell the story, the true story, my story, on my own terms rather than as a reaction to whatever might be bringing it up in my life, which happens from time to time. so i thought it was time to, on my own terms, at my own time, tell the truth and say the things i wanted to say. those who say, this is about making some money out of a story that has gone quiet, what would you say to them? it nev

now on bbc news, it is time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. for more than two decades, the anc has been south africa's impregnable political structure, but now cracks are appearing. at least 30 anc mps defied the party whip and supported a no confidence motion against party leader and national president, jacob zuma. cue bitter recriminations. my guest today is pravin gordhan, the man president zuma sacked as finance minister in controversial circumstances earlier this year. does the anc need to be broken up to enable south africa to thrive? pravin gordhan in johannesburg, welcome to hardtalk thank you, thank you for having me. long distance as it might be. let's consider what is happening in your country today and particularly the fallout from the motion of no—confidence against president jacob zuma, which didn't succeed, but got 177 votes, which was significant. it clearly included a substantial number of anc mps. how toxic is the atmosphere inside the anc as a result of that vote? there certainly is an active debate and discussion of ideas

now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. in the late 70s, roman polanski admitted to having unlawful sex with a 13 year old girl. he spent 42 days in prison, and then fled the us because he feared being given a longer sentence. in the nearly a0 years since, much has been said and written about what happened. but we have hardly heard anything from the girl herself, samantha geimer. i have come to new york to hear her account of what happened, and how it shaped her life . samantha geimer, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. you have struggled to protect your privacy for nearly a0 years, so why are you choosing to speak up now? i just wanted to tell the story, the true story, my story, on my own terms rather than as a reaction to whatever might be bringing it up in my life, which happens from time to time. so i thought it was time to, on my own terms, at my own time, tell the truth and say the things i wanted to say. those who say, this is about making some money out of a story that has gone quiet, what would you say to them? it ne

now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. my guest today has been called america's greatest living crime writer. in his la quartet and many other novels, james ellroy has painted a uniquely dark portrait of this city of angels, a nightmare world of psychotic killers, corrupt cops and depraved appetites. ellroy writes of what he knows, his own mother was murdered when he was a child. and is that simple, terrible fact the key to understanding all the words he's ever written? james ellroy, welcome to hardtalk. hey, boss, what's shaking? we are going to talk about 35 years of novel writing and of your books has been set in and around los angeles. absolutely untrue, right off the bat, bam. i've wrote three novels, the underworld usa trilogy, the american tabloid, which was time magazine's novel of the year year in 1995. the cold six thousand and blood's a rover are set outside la. right, but southern california is your world. i'm from there and it's where i go when women divorce me. i suppose what i'm getting at is whether you've

now on bbc news, hardtalk. hello and welcome to hardtalk, i'm sure they. it's the divorce of the century but who will pay the bill? as the uk negotiates its exit from the european union, the optimists believe it can reshape local trade, freeing it from the barriers to outsiders that any customs union of group of countries creates. that task is harder, though, because british running as the theresa may threw away her parliamentary majority in a general election that's left the government severely weakened. my guest today nicky morgan is worried about brexit, and indeed opposed it, and her view matters, not just indeed opposed it, and her view matters, notjust because she used to be in the british cabinet but because she has taken the chair of one of the uk's most important watchdogs, the treasury select committee. she has described herself as an insurgent, who or what is she prepared to overthrow? nicky morgan, welcome to hardtalk. after you were dismissed from the cabinet by theresa may when she became prime minister you said i'm revelling in being part of

now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. politicians and civil servants usually abandon their offices in the dog days of august, but not this year — not in london, where brexit is now an overwhelming political priority. theresa may's government has issued a raft of proposals on what trade, border and legal arrangements might look like, post—brexit. there is striking focus on continuity rather than change. my guest is one of the conservative party's staunchest brexiteers, daniel hannan. if brexit isn't a clean break, then what's the point? daniel hannan, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. we are six months into a two—year process which will end with the departure of the uk from the european union. are you satisfied with what has happened in those first six months? yes, iam. i think it's gone better than a lot of people expected. we were told during the referendum campaign that the very act of voting leave would trigger an immediate economic downturn. i don't think anyone now argues that that happened. we grew faster in the

now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. in the late 70s, roman polanski admitted to having unlawful sex with a 13 year old girl. he spent 42 days in prison, and then fled the us because he feared being given a longer sentence. in the nearly a0 years since, much has been said and written about what happened. but we have hardly heard anything from the girl herself, samantha geimer. i have come to new york to hear her account of what happened, and how it shaped her life. samantha geimer, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. you have struggled to protect your privacy for nearly a0 years, so why are you choosing to speak up now? i just wanted to tell the story, the true story, my story, on my own terms rather than as a reaction to whatever might be bringing it up in my life, which happens from time to time. so i thought it was time to, on my own terms, at my own time, tell the truth and say the things i wanted to say. those who say, this is about making some money out of a story that has gone quiet, what would you say to them? it nev

now on bbc news it's hardtalk. stephen sackur talks sebastian gorka, deputy assistant to president trump. just to mention that the interview was recorded before news of anthony scaramucci's dismissal from the white house. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. donald trump promised to be a disruptive president. right now, the thing he's disrupting the most is his own white house team. he now has a new chief of staff and a new director of communications, but what he can't is the sense of a presidency in crisis, at odds with republicans in congress and still dogged by federal investigations of russia's alleged meddling in last year's election. my guest is sebastian gorka, a deputy assistant to the president on national security. where does the trump presidency go from here? sebastian gorka in washington, welcome to hardtalk. thank you, stephen. i want to begin with something you just said five days ago, you said, "the atmosphere here in the white house is absolutely wonderful. we've got a new broom sweeping through

now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. donald trump promised to be a disruptive president. right now the thing he's disrupting the most is his own white house team. he now has a new chief of staff and a new director of communications, but what he seems unable to shift is the sense of a presidency in crisis, at odds with republicans in congress and still dogged by dederal investigations of russia's alleged meddling in 2016's election. my my guess is sebastien glory, a deputy assistant to the president on national security. where does the trump presidency go from here? —— my guest. sebastian gorka in washington, welcome to hardtalk. thank you, stephen. i want to begin with something you just said five days ago, you said the atmosphere here in the white house is absolutely wonderful. we've got a new broom sweeping through the communications shopin sweeping through the communications shop in anthony scaramucci and we are humming along on all cylinders. plenty has happened since then. what's the atmosphere in the white hous

now it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. there are writers of world renown whose reputation rests on one great book. there are others who write more prolifically but always in the same territory. and then there's my guest today. margaret atwood's output fizzes with energy, diversity and experimentation. she's best known for her novels, the handmaid's tale, the blind assassin, oryx and crake. but she's written poetry, blog fiction and, this year, a superhero comic book, too. she has a worldwide legion of fans. so what keeps her creative juices flowing? margaret atwood, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. ijust referred to your prolific and diverse output over many years. but you've just done something you've never done before. you've taken on adapting shakespeare. and you've always said shakespeare is pretty much your favourite author. so how daunting was that? very, very daunting. first of all you knew that you were going to get a lot of people saying that you shouldn't do it, and you can't improve on shakespeare, etc. and secon

ayad allawi, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. let's begin with the fallout from iraq's national army victory over so—called islamic state in mosul. your prime minister, mr abadi, hailed it as a great victory for iraq. there was a sense of triumphalism in his voice. are you feeling triumphant today? not really. winning a battle or two was not like winning the war. we want to win the war against extremism and

now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. politicians and civil servants usually abandon their offices in the dog days of august, but not this year — not in london, where brexit is now an overwhelming political priority. theresa may's government has issued a raft of proposals on what trade, border and legal arrangements might look like, post—brexit. there is a striking focus on continuity rather than change. my guest is one of the conservative party's staunchest brexiteers, daniel hannan. if brexit isn't a clean break, then what's the point? daniel hammond, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. we are six months into a 2—year process, which will end with the departure of the uk from the european union. are you satisfied with what has happened in those first six months? yes, iam. i think it's gone better than a lot of people expected. we were told during the referendum campaign that the very act of voting leave would trigger an immediate economic downturn. i don't think anyone now argues that that happened. we grew faster in t

i will be back in half now, but first, it's time for hardtalk. -- i will hardtalk. —— i will be back in half an hour. hardtalk is on the road in benghazi, libya. i'm stephen sackur. this city has been ripped apart by six years of conflict. thousands have been killed, tens of thousands have fled. eastern libya and the west are run by rival political institutions but there is now something resembling a functioning authority here, imposed by the military strongman in eastern libya, marshal khalifa haftar. can the commander who once served kadhafi pull libya back from the brink? myjourney to libya starts with a little piece of history. the first scheduled flight bound to benghazi in three years. the city's airport was closed down by heavy fighting in 2014. back then, jihadists seized most of the city. those days are over. thank you. 0k, bye. so here we have one small sign of normality returning to one libyan city. the terminal building is nothing but a shed. there aren't many flights. but to the people of benghazi, this feels like the lifting of a siege. this is what the war left behind.

an bbc news, it's time for hardtalk this summer has that given iraqisa hardtalk this summer has that given iraqis a glimmer of hope amid all the darkness that has enveloped the country. mosul has been liberated from the so—called caliphate of islamic state and it is shrinking fast, but will any semblance of unity and stability followed? my guest is the veteran vice president of iraq. does iraqi have a viable future? ayad allawi, welcome to hardtalk let's begin with the fallout from iraqi's national army victory over so—called islamic state in mosul. hyderabad even claimed it as a great victory for iraq. there was a sense of triumphalism in his voice. are you feeling triumphant today? not really. it was not like winning the war. we want to win the war against extremism and terrorism, and mosul of course was a good achievement, but indeed we have not to lose sight of the people of mosul, what their stea dfastness of the people of mosul, what their steadfastness did, and what the international community did, including the united kingdom and america and australia and so on. what we w

now on bbc news, it is time for hardtalk. hello and welcome to hardtalk, i'm shaun ley. it's the divorce of the century, but who will pay the bill? as the uk negotiates its exit from the european union, the optimists believe it can reshape global trade, freeing it from the barriers to outsiders that any customs union of group of countries creates. that task is harder, though, because british running as the theresa may threw away her parliamentary majority in a general election that's left the government severely weakened. —— british prime minister. my guest today, nicky morgan, is worried about brexit, and indeed opposed it, and her view matters, notjust because she used to be in the british cabinet but because she's just taken the chair of one of parliament's most important watchdogs, the treasury committee. mrs morgan describes herself as an insurgent, what or who is she prepared to overthrow? nicky morgan, welcome to hardtalk. after you were dismissed from the cabinet by theresa may when she became prime minister you said, "i'm revelling in being part of the awkwa

now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk. hello and welcome to hardtalk, i'm shaun ley. it's the divorce of the century but who will pay the bill? as the uk negotiates its exit from the european union, the optimists believe it can reshape global trade, freeing it from barriers to outsiders that any customs union of a group of country creates. the task is harder because british prime minister theresa may threw away her parliamentary majority in a general election that has left the government severely weakened. my guest today, nicky morgan, is worried about brexit and indeed opposed it and her view matters, not because she used to be in the british cabinet, but because she has just taken the chair of one of parliament's most important watchdogs, the treasury committee. mrs morgan describes herself as an insurgent. what or who is she prepared to overthrow? nicky morgan, welcome to hardtalk. after you were dismissed from the cabinet by theresa may when she became prime minister, you said, "i'm revelling in being part of the awkward squad." should the government be worried? w

james ellroy, welcome to heart block -- hardtalk. hey, boss, what's shaking? i have but i came back. i made a conscious decision with my new novel to craft a second la quartet, taking characters from the initial la quartet, said in a lay between 1946 and 1958, and initial la quartet, said in a lay between 1916 and 1958, and the aforementioned underworld usa trilogy, three novels set in america at large between 58 and 72. characters from those two bodies of work and place them in los angeles during world war two as significantly younger people so i made quite the conscious decision to go back to la. going back is something i want to do with you as we talk about the evolution of your fiction because it seems to me, and you've talked about it a great deal, that you can't discuss james ellroy‘s body of work without spending a little bit of time talking about the long—running impact of that terrible period in your life which began with your pa re nts' your life which began with your pa rents' breakup, your life which began with your parents' breakup, marriage f

that means it's time for hardtalk welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. this summer has perhaps given iraqis a glimmer of hope amid all of the darkness that has enveloped their country for so long. mosul, iraq's second city, has been liberated from the jihadists of so—called islamic state, and their caliphate is shrinking fast. but will any semblance of unity and stability follow? my guest today is the veteran vice president of iraq, ayad allawi. does iraq have a viable future? ayad allawi, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much. let's begin with the fallout from iraq's national army victory over so—called islamic state in mosul. your prime minister, mr abadi, hailed it as a great victory for iraq. there was a sense of triumphalism in his voice. are you feeling triumphant today? not really. winning a battle or two was not like winning the war. we want to win the war against extremism and against terrorism. in mosul of course this was a good in achievement but indeed we have not to lose sight of the people of mosul, their steadfastness did, and what

it is time for hardtalk. my my guest is one of the most influential voices in global finance. he was made governor of the central bank of france following extent of being governor for 12 yea rs. before extent of being governor for 12 years. before that, he was the vice president of the european central bank and has worked with every leading financial institution. he has been tasked with making the case for paris as a financial hub following brexit. is he making too difficult a cell and damaging ties with the uk —— sell. christian noyer in paris, welcome to hardtalk this is the fourth president that you are serving under in some senior capacity. emmanuel macron is a former banker. is he the right president at the right time for france? well, first, thank you very much for inviting me. i think yes, absolutely. for the first time for many years, we have a president who was elected with a clear political programme for deep economic reforms, and he has a clear mandate to make difficult reforms in the labour market, and the tax regime, to have something much more business friend

now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. this summer has perhaps given iraqis a glimmer of hope amid all of the darkness that has enveloped their country for so long. mosul, iraq's second city, has been liberated from the jihadists of so—called islamic state, and their caliphate is shrinking fast. but will any semblance of unity and stability follow? my guest today is the veteran vice president of iraq, ayad allawi. does iraq have a viable future? ayad allawi, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much. let's begin with the fallout from iraq's national army victory over so—called islamic state in mosul. your prime minister, mr abadi, hailed it as a great victory for iraq. there was a sense of triumphalism in his voice. are you feeling triumphant today? not really. winning a battle or two was not like winning the war. we want to win the war against extremism and against terrorism. in mosul of course this was a good in achievement but indeed we have not to lose sight of the people of mosul, their steadfastness did, and what

it's time now for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, i am stephen sackur. this summer, iraqis can perhaps see a glimmer of light amid the darkness that's enveloped their country for so long. the country's second city, mosul, is no longer in the hands ofjihadist fanatics, with the so—called islamic state caliphate shrinking fast. but will any semblance of stability and unity follow? my guest today is veteran vice president ayad allawi. does iraq have a viable future? ayad allawi, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. let's begin with the fallout from iraq's national army victory over so—called islamic state in mosul. your prime minister, mr abadi, hailed it as a great victory for iraq. there was a sense of triumphalism in his voice. are you feeling triumphant today? not really. winning a battle or two was not like winning the war. we want to win the war against extremism and against terrorism. in mosul of course this was a good in achievement but indeed we have not to lucite of the people of most oar and what he international community did —— mosul. and i

now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. my guest today has been called america's greatest living crime writer. in his la quartet and many other novels, james ellroy has painted a uniquely dark portrait of this city of angels, a nightmare world of psychotic killers, corrupt cops and depraved appetites. ellroy writes of what he knows, his own mother was murdered when he was a child. and is that simple, terrible fact the key to understanding all the words he's ever written? james ellroy, welcome to hardtalk. hey, boss, what's shaking? we are going to talk about 35 years of novel writing and of your books has been set in and around los angeles. absolutely untrue — right off the bat, bam. i've wrote three novels, the underworld usa trilogy, the american tabloid, which was time magazine's novel of the year year in 1995. the cold six thousand and blood's a rover are set outside la. right, but southern california is your world. i'm from there and it's where i go when women divorce me. i suppose what i'm getting at is whether you'