As the delivery of vaccines now gathers pace worldwide, discussion abounds about who should get those precious initial doses. Dr. Moncef Slaoui is the chief scientific adviser to Operation Warp Speed, the federal program that helped get the vaccine to the U.S. market in record time. He speaks with Walter Isaacson about the effort and why safety is the key issue.

Yusuf/Cat Stevens shot to stardom 50 years ago with music and lyrics that were full of poetry and spirituality. The year 1970 saw the release of two seminal albums, "Tea for the Tillerman" and "Mona Bone Jakon." To mark the anniversary of their release, Yusuf is not just re-releasing them, but reimagining them. He joins the show to discuss his life and career, and to give an impromptu performance.

Can the Black Lives Matter movement finally lead to actual change? Author and minister Michael Eric Dyson explores America’s troubled racial history in his new book, in which he addresses the many martyrs to the cause of the Black struggle.

President-elect Biden has a clear and consistent message on foreign policy: America is “back at the head of the table.” While some world leaders may welcome a restoration of stable U.S. foreign policy, is Biden’s vision fit for purpose? Peter Beinart argues it’s not in his latest piece for the New York Times. He joins the show to debate this topic with former Pentagon official Kori Schake.

With COVID deaths at an all time high, America is facing a bleak winter before the rollout of a vaccine takes effect. New York City was one of the hardest hit places in the country and is once again suffering a significant rise in cases. Mayor Bill de Blasio joins the show to discuss how the city is coping and what lessons he learned from the spring.

In such a difficult year, sometimes all you can do is laugh to stay sane. That’s the attitude of friends, comedians and "Politically Re-Active" podcast co-hosts W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu. They speak with Hari Sreenivasan about what they call the “dumpster fire that is American politics.”

Jonathan Alter is an award-winning journalist and author of three bestselling presidential biographies. His latest, "His Very Best," examines the life and career of one-term president Jimmy Carter. Alter tells Walter Isaacson why he believes President Carter’s tenure in the White House has been grossly underrated.

UK health regulators gave emergency authorization for the Pfizer BioNTech coronavirus vaccine. Britain is the first country to place its seal of approval on this extraordinary feat of science. To discuss Britain’s approval of the vaccine and the projected rollout in the U.S., Christiane speaks with public health experts on both sides of the Atlantic.

For musicians, sound is their life. What if it all falls silent? The new film "Sound of Metal" follows a heavy metal drummer whose life is thrown into free fall when he loses his hearing. British actor Riz Ahmed stars in the lead role as a man trying to hold together his career, his sobriety, and his relationship all at once. He joins the show to discuss the project alongside the film’s director.

Three senior members of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) -- one of Egypt's most respected human rights groups -- have just been arrested and jailed on terrorism charges. Karim Ennarah is one of them. His wife Jess Kelly and EIPR founder Hossam Bahgat discuss the situation.

In the new National Geographic series "Trafficked," award-winning investigative journalist Mariana Van Zeller pulls back the curtain on black markets across the world. She joins Christiane to explain what she learned from this project.

In her latest 10-part series, "Sincerely Michelle," Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary gets personal about race and finance. In an emotional conversation, she tells Michel Martin why she wrote this series and what she hopes readers will take away from it.

Today is World AIDS Day, and this year marks the 30th anniversary of "Red Hot + Blue," an album created by John Carlin and Leigh Blake to raise money and awareness for the AIDS crisis. The album brought together musicians like Debbie Harry, Annie Lennox, David Byrne and k.d. lang, to re-interpret the music of Cole Porter. John Carlin and k.d. Lang join Christiane to reflect on the project.

America is bracing for a coronavirus winter. The numbers nationwide continue to rise, and every day in November the number of new infections surpassed 100,000. Best-selling author Scott Galloway speculates about what the country could look like after the pandemic in his new book "Post Corona: From Crisis to Opportunity." He speaks with Hari Sreenivasan about the road ahead.

European leaders are watching the waning days of the Trump administration, many hoping for a return to multilateral norms. Now, against the advice of his own top brass, President Trump is aiming to remove half of all U.S. forces from Afghanistan before January 20. NATO's Secretary General speaks with Christiane about the possibility that President Biden will usher in a U.S./NATO reset.

Ta-Nehisi Coates’ 2015 book "Between the World and Me" has become a modern classic, addressing essential questions of racial justice and identity in today’s America. Now it has been transformed into a star-studded adaptation for HBO. Actor Wendell Pierce joins the show to explain why he felt compelled to be a part of this unique project.

Even before assuming office, President-elect Joe Biden faces major issues on the global stage. Most immediate is the Thanksgiving weekend assassination of Iran’s top nuclear scientist, which could thwart Biden’s aim to bring the U.S. back into the Iran nuclear deal. The EU called the assassination criminal and Iranian hardliners have sworn revenge. Ellie Geranmayeh joins the show to discuss.

What will a Biden administration mean for U.S. relations with Venezuela? Christiane asks opposition activist Leopoldo López, who -- after six years in custody -- fled Venezuela last month for Madrid, where he now lives in exile.

The Justice Department has scheduled the executions of five federal prisoners in the final days of President Trump’s term -- despite President-elect Biden's stated wish to eliminate the death penalty at the federal level. It will be the first multiple execution during a presidential transition since 1884, as well as being the first federal execution of a woman in nearly 70 years.

In 2017, Sheku Kanneh-Mason shot to fame playing the cello at Harry and Meghan’s Windsor Castle wedding. But he is not alone in his talents; in fact, he’s one of seven musical siblings. Together they have just released their first joint album, "Carnival of the Animals." Four members of this unusually musical family join the show to discuss their creative collaboration during lockdown.