Update

This website is newly established though shall hopefully become a substantial archive of past Hardtalk interviews. Unfortunately due to copyright issues the interviews can not be stored and downloaded but can be streamed from the BBC website. The BBC Hardtalk official webpage (bbc.co.uk/hardtalk) always shows links to the past few interviews and allows you to search for historical interviews though there is no guide to who the past interviewees have been.

As the FAQ section states, there is not a full list of past interviews available as other 2000 have taken place since 2001. I hope to link to interviews as they take place and also previous interviews that I consider people may find of interest. These shall always be shown in Green as ‘From the Archive’.

From the Archives: John Le Carre

Originally transmitted on the 8th January 2004.

To view interview again: click here

I am a big fan of David Cornwell (aka John Le Carre) and am an avid reader of his works. This interview took place I believe back in 2004 and was prosided over by the great Tim Sebastian. The thoughts and ideas discussed in this programme are still of great importance given the current situation in both Iraq and with the upcoming election in the United States.

As always comments are welcome.

Zbigniew Brzezinski

Originally broadcast on the 14th October 2008.

To watch interview again : click here

I found this interview absolutely fascinating. It was the first interview I have watched recently on Hardtalk that seemed to struggle slightly in terms of pace and it has made me consider a lot about the types of questions asked of Mr Brzezinski.

Stephen did seem to get slightly stuck in terms of making a point about Obama having differing views to Mr Brzezinski. I would be interested to know about the downplaying of Obama’s relationship with Mr Brzezinski. Although Stephen was accused of ‘making a mountain out of a molehill’ I thought the line of questioning about the Pro-Israeli lobby and there power in US Politics was very interesting and timely.

The disconnect between stating unequivocably that Obama would meet with Ahmajinadad without pre-condition relative to the refusal to do so with Hamas I thought spoke a lot about the influences on Obama.

Really interested in peoples thoughts on this one.

William Kristol

Originally broadcast on the 13th October 2008.

To watch the interview again : click here

I studied International Politics at University and am familiar with the neo-con arguments. I thought Bill Kristol came across quite aloof though no doubt this comes from living in an inculcated bubble. I would have preferred it if Stephen Sackur dug a little more as to what makes Mr Kristol tick but on the whole enjoyed it. As always would love to hear others thoughts on this programme.

Walter Salles

Originally broadcast on the 8th October 2008.

To watch the interview again : click here

This was a very enjoyable interview with the Brazilian film maker Walter Salles. I think it was clear that Mr Salles passion for his craft and his country was infective and this made for a great interview. I thought the premise of the interview was interesting. I would be keen to hear others thoughts on this episode.

The First Post

I have enjoyed watching BBC Hardtalk since a student at University about 5 years ago now. I have always felt the programme is unique and allows privileged access to a world people rarely get to see. I have wished for an on-line repository of all BBC Hardtalk interviews and feel that given modern technology this would not be difficult to do. However, in the mean time I have created this blog in order to try and bring fans of this programme together. I know it has many fans around the world though feel the programme is poorly represented on the internet.

The intention of this blog is to be a space to supplement the email forum on the Hardtalk webpage and allow for debate and discussion. Please tell other fans of the programme about this site and help this to become something really worthwhile.