Hardtalk

Ghana has been hailed as a shining example to all of Africa - a model of democracy, decent governance and responsible economic management in a continent struggling to fulfil its potential. But if Ghana looks like a success story to outsiders, how does it look to Ghanaians themselves?Nana Akufo-Addo is the leader of the main opposition party and candidate for president. Stephen Sackur asks him if Ghana can use its resource wealth and inward investment to benefit the many, not just a few.

Turkey is a rising power in a strategically vital region, but does it have the ability to shape events beyond its borders? Officials in Ankara would like to see Turkey inside the EU and providing leadership in the Middle East, but both goals remain elusive.Stephen Sackur talks to Egemen Bagis, Turkey's minister for Europe. His country is flexing some diplomatic muscle, but is it having the desired effect.

Politics can be a cruel business. No one knows that better than Britain's former foreign secretary David Miliband. He was hot favourite to lead the UK's Labour party after its dismal 2010 election defeat, but he lost out to his younger brother Ed. His steady rise to the political summit was halted, but he remains a Labour MP, and he still makes carefully timed interventions in foreign policy and national politics. Without the trappings of power, how does David Miliband maximise his influence?

The 10th anniversary of the end of Angola's devastating post-independence civil war is being marked in 2012. What a difference a decade makes. Angola is now one of Africa's powerhouse economies, enjoying growth that puts the West to shame, and exploiting China's insatiable demand for commodities, especially oil.Stephen Sackur speaks to Angola's foreign minister, Georges Chikoti. For Angola and Africa, this is an era of opportunity; will it be seized or squandered?

Stephen Sackur speaks to the president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, currently on a visit to London. He took power in Kampala at the head of a rebel army in 1986 and has delivered stability and economic progress in a country previously laid low by brutal dictatorship. But in recent years, he has faced questions about his commitment to democracy and human rights. When he took power, he said Uganda's - and Africa's - problem was leaders overstaying their time in power. Has he fallen into the same old trap?(Image: President of Uganda Yoweri K Museveni. Credit: Associated Press)

This summer Ukraine is co-hosting the European football championships, but don't be deceived by the sporting camaraderie - Ukraine's political relationship with the EU is in crisis. The most pressing dispute concerns Yulia Tymoshenko, the former Ukrainian prime minister imprisoned for seven years after a trial dismissed as a political charade by many in the West. Stephen Sackur speaks to Yulia Tymoshenko's daughter, Eugenia. What does the Tymoshenko story say about Ukraine?

Some politicians claim that they would be willing to die for their beliefs. Fawzia Koofi is an Afghan politician who says that she expects to be killed."I am resigned to this fate", she says.She is currently an MP in the Afghan parliament and has been a prominent national figure since she was first elected in 2005. She has already survived several assassination attempts. So what, in that case, does she believe she can achieve in running for the presidency of her country in 2014? She talks to Tim Franks.

What's the key to world class sporting performance?Top coaches will tell you the biggest prizes don't necessarily go to the best natural athletes, but to those best prepared. Science, technology and psychology - all are used to gain a competitive edge. Stephen Sackur speaks to Sir Clive Woodward, coach of England's World Cup winning rugby team in 2003, and now performance director for the British Olympic team preparing for London 2012. Are sporting champions born or made?(image: Sir Clive Woodward. Credit: Getty Images)

Hardtalk is in the financial heart of New York City to meet one of the country’s most respected and enduring policy makers. Paul Volcker was chairman of the Federal Reserve in the Reagan years and in all he served five presidents, most recently advising the Obama administration in regulating the banks and engineering an economic recovery. America has lost its economic swagger; Stephen Sackur asks - can it get it back?

Can the Republican Party find a presidential candidate capable of turfing Barack Obama out of office? The battle to win the Republican nomination is proving to be protracted and brutal, and right now the main beneficiary appears to be the man currently occupying the White House. Senator John McCain is the Republican candidate who ran against Obama and lost four years ago. Is the struggle to find a convincing Presidential nominee indicative of a Republican Party that has lost its way?(Image: John McCain. Credit: Getty Images)

Anti-doping authorities in Britain will carry out more than 7,000 drugs tests on athletes at the London Olympics and Paralympics later this year, more than at any previous games. They're also warning potential cheats that the 2012 Games will be the 'riskiest yet' with a greater chance of them getting caught.But, despite the rhetoric, the British Olympic Association also faces the overturning of its lifetime Olympic ban for any athlete banned for more than six months for a doping offence. The World Anti-Doping Agency says the BOA's stance is not compliant with its code. What message does this send in an Olympic year, and what can WADA do to combat what it sees as the growing role of organised crime in the trafficking of performance enhancing drugs? Tim Franks speaks to WADA's President, John Fahey.

South Sudan became independent in July 2011 after waging a five-decade war against the north in what was Africa's longest running civil war. But secession has brought neither peace, stability nor prosperity, despite the country's vast oil wealth. Hostilities with its northern neighbour leave the two countries teetering on the brink of war, and ethnic clashes and rivalries between southern tribes have left many thousands dead.Zeinab Badawi speaks to the UN head of mission for South Sudan, Hilde Johnson. Is the country effectively already a failed state?(Image: Victims of ethnic violence in Jonglei, South Sudan. Credit: Associated Press)

In-depth, hard-hitting interviews with newsworthy personalities.

Mary King is a sportswoman like few others. She's 50-years-old and still at the pinnacle of her sport. That sport is three-day eventing. Next year, she's hoping to collect her first Olympic gold medal - at what will be her sixth games. But is equestrianism - as its enthusiasts insist - the toughest sport in the world?Or is it less a test of the person - more of the horse - and a preserve of the rich?(Image: Mary King. Credit: Press Association)

Gene Sharp is a political thinker whose influence is now spoken of in same breath as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. But he is no platform speaker or figurehead at a demonstration. Rather, a quietly spoken political philosopher who's been writing about non-violent struggle for 50 years. What's changed is that his most celebrated pamphlet - From Dictatorship to Democracy - is now grabbing attention around the world. He's been hailed as having helped mould protest movements from Burma to Serbia to Egypt. What is it that Gene Sharp has been able to unlock?(Image: People flash the V (peace) sign during a demonstration. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Living as an openly gay man in socially conservative Africa is hard enough, but Edwin Cameron went even further.He was the first public official in South Africa to reveal his HIV positive status. Nelson Mandela appointed him a judge and he now serves on South Africa's Constitutional Court. There remains high levels of homophobia on the continent - why are gay activists like Cameron losing the argument?

Gus O'Donnell has been at the heart of government in Britain for 30 years, working closely with the last four British prime ministers. He was John Major's press secretary; under Tony Blair he took on the top job in the civil service, a position he held when Gordon Brown took over. And that meant that at the last election he was the one overseeing the negotiations for Britain's first full coalition government since the Second World War. After nearly two years with David Cameron as prime minister he has now retired. And with his former role being split into three jobs - does even the man who signed his letters by his initials G.O.D - recognise he was just too powerful?

Sir Patrick Stewart has an acting career spanning more than 50 years. He was an accomplished Shakepearean actor when he took on the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation which brought him international acclaim.He talks to Sarah Montague about his decision to join the Star Trek cast and why it wasn't supposed to be successful. He also recalls his childhood where family rows often resulted in his mother becoming a victim of domestic violence.Sir Patrick is now a patron of the charity Refuge which helps victims of domestic violence.(Picture: Sir Patrick Stewart. Credit: AFP)

The satellite TV station Al Jazeera, is credited with giving ordinary Arabs a platform from which to challenge their governments. And day by day it's been covering the dramatic events of the Arab Spring using the latest slick technology on both its Arabic and English channels.But is it selective in who it criticises?Zeinab Badawi speaks to Wadah Khanfar. He was the boss of Al Jazeera for nearly ten years. Was the station's coverage biased on his watch? And why did he leave Al Jazeera in the midst of the biggest news events in the Arab World for decades?(Image: Wadah Khanfar. Credit: Getty Images)

The British artist and film-maker Steve McQueen - whose new film Shame is about sex addiction - says the condition is very real and is destroying people's lives.He tells HARDtalk's Zeinab Badawi that both men and women can have an unhealthy relationship with sex in the same way they can with food where the craving for it becomes a compulsion making everything else in life become secondary.