Hardtalk

Stephen Sackur visits the grand presidential palace in Tunis to speak to the Tunisian President, and former human rights campaigner, Moncef Marzouki. During his presidency, Tunisia’s status as the success story of the Arab uprising has been threatened by growing internal tensions. What has happened to Tunisia’s revolution?

Zeinab Badawi talks to Lord Bilmoria on HARDtalk. Britain and India are two countries united by two hundred years of shared history but now with an ever growing distance in ties. India is a rising global economic powerhouse: Britain a former imperial power in search of a global boost to its ailing economy. When the British prime-minister David Cameron visited India in February, he took a one hundred strong trade delegation with him. Amongst them was the Indian born British entrepreneur, Karan Bilimoria, who was founding chairman of the UK-India Business Council.

HardTalk speaks to Timo Soini, longserving leader of Finland's populist, nationalist movement known as the Finns. He commands almost one-fifth of the seats in the Finnish parliament thanks to a stunning electoral advance in the election of 2011. His campaign was built upon hostility to the European Union in general, and the bail out of the Eurozone's debt-ridden southern periphery in particular. It's a party fuelled by popular anger with the status quo and the ruling elites in Helsinki and Brussels.

Henry Winkler talks to HardTalk's Stephen Sackur about his long career as an actor. He found international fame playing the Fonz, the cool dude at the centre of the US TV show Happy Days, which was a worldwide hit in the 70s and 80s. Winkler overcame undiagnosed dyslexia and an unhappy childhood to achieve success as a actor.

On Hardtalk, Tim Franks talks to Isareli author A. B. Yehoshua. Given the failure of the politicians and the diplomats, the militants and the liberals to resolve the Middle East crisis, what should we take from the words of the writer? A.B. Yehoshua is known as one of Israel’s great men of letters. His latest book is seen by some as a powerful allegory of the journey Israeli Jews need now to take. So can he chart a way through the quagmire? And why does he have such a low opinion of Jews outside Israel?

On Hardtalk, Zeinab Badawi talks to Father Bernard Lynch, priest and psychotherapist. The Catholic Church has been rocked by controversies and surprise resignations in the past few weeks. Father Lynch is one of the Catholic church's few gay priests, he talks to Zeinab about the church's attitudes towards homosexuality. How will the church recover from these embarrassing blows at a time of historic transition?

HARDtalk speaks to one of the most influential women in the history of the modern feminist movement. Gloria Steinem grew up in an America where women were expected to put husband and children first. But that was never her intention. She forged a successful career as a writer . She co-founded Ms magazine; and she became one of the world’s best known campaigners for gender equality. So how much of what she hoped for and fought for, has been achieved?

The US Republican Party is in a mess. Badly beaten in the race for the White House, seemingly out of touch with mainstream opinion on issues from immigration to gun control and in danger of being outmanoeuvred by President Obama in the continued stand-off over the federal budget. HARDtalk speaks to the former Republican candidate Jon Huntsman - a moderate frequently at odds with his own party. Is the American right on the wrong road?

The political supremacy of the ANC in post-apartheid South Africa has never been seriously threatened - but could that be about to change? HARDtalk speaks to Mamphela Ramphele, anti-apartheid activist, prominent public figure and former partner of the late Steve Biko, one of the heroes of the liberation struggle. She's launched a new political movement with an outspoken attack on the failings of ANC governance. She says she's on a journey to realise South Africa's dreams, but how far will she get?

Sean Ley talks to Enrique Garcia, The veteran President of Latin America’s Development Bank. He says times have never been so good. But as the world slows, can growth be sustained? The region’s politicians are divided – talking about free trade deals for years even as some impose ever more restrictions on competition from the world outside. Which side will he come down on to make the good times last?

Ireland currently holds the Presidency of the European Union; a symbolic leadership role in Europe at the very time it is struggling to emerge from the economic straitjacket imposed by the EU/IMF bailout of its economy. Stephen Sackur talks to Lucinda Creighton - Ireland's Minister of State for European Affairs. Can Dublin convince the world that it has bounced back from the brink of disaster?

On this edition of HARDtalk, Zainab Badawi speaks to the newly appointed Foreign Minister of Guatemala, Fernando Carrera.The government of Guatemala has promised to tackle the high murder rate of a country living under the threat of gangs, organised crime and drug traffickers. Some have expressed fears that it could become a narco-state, with state institutions that are weak or corrupted by criminal activity. When President Otto Perez Molina took office just over a year ago he said the war on drugs has failed and that it is time to consider decriminalising them.

Stephen Sackur’s guest on HARDtalk is a former Iranian nuclear negotiator, Hossein Mousavian.Can there be a negotiated way out of the high stakes stand-off between Iran and the West over the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions? A new round of talks is planned for later this month but the basic facts haven’t changed, Iran's enrichment programme gets ever more sophisticated, international sanctions on Tehran bite deeper and the warnings from the West grow darker. Does diplomacy have a chance?

Zeinab Badawi talks to renowned British plastic surgeon Dr Mohammad Jawad,who helps reconstruct the faces of women disfigured by acid attacks. He featured in an Oscar-winning documentary about his humanitarian work in his native Pakistan. His high public profile has helped raise awareness about the life-destroying nature of acid attacks in Pakistan and elsewhere in Asia but can it bring about real change and action to help bring down the level of such violence against women?

HARDtalk speaks to the designer of one of London's newest and most controversial buildings, he Shard. Renzo Piano is one of the world's most accomplished and feted architects; and one used to dividing opinion. Back in the 1970s he designed Paris's€™ Pompidou Centre and since then has taken on high profile developments all over the globe. His latest creation is already loved, but it is also loathed. What does the Shard say about us? And why build it so big?