With 20 million cases and more than 350,000 deaths, COVID-19 has ravaged America while also exposing many of the country’s deepest societal and structural failings. What went wrong – and what lies ahead? Veteran journalist Lawrence Wright has spent these months studying the destruction caused by the virus in America, as reported in his epic piece for The New Yorker titled “The Plague Year.”

2020 brought a new focus to the structural racism that persists in America, with books such as "So You Want to Talk About Race" hitting the bestseller list in the wake of George Floyd’s killing. Now, author Ijeoma Oluo has a new book for this time. In "Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America" she explores how society reinforces racial hierarchy regardless of merit.

Of the 20 million vaccinations promised before the new year, just over four million have been administered. Dr. Vivek Murthy is co-chair of President-elect Biden’s COVID-19 Advisory Board, and is set to step back into his former role of America’s surgeon general under the new administration. He speaks with Walter Isaacson about what is holding up the distribution and how to get it back on track.

The Georgia senate runoff election on Tuesday will determine the balance of power in Congress -- and President-elect Biden’s capacity to get his legislative agenda through. How likely is it that the state’s two senate seats will flip blue?

The COVID-19 vaccine rollout is struggling to get up to speed. The virus is surging in many countries around the world, and new variants are causing concern amongst scientists. Christiane speaks with virologist Peter Piot who currently acts as adviser to the President of the European Commission on pandemic response.

Ten former defense secretaries have signed an unprecedented letter warning against calling in the armed forces over election disputes. One of the co-signers, former Republican senator William Cohen, joins Christiane to explain the urgency of this issue.

As the COVID-19 numbers continue their rise in the U.S., the largest vaccine rollout in American history is now underway. Vice President Mike Pence received his vaccination publicly today, sending the clear message: “Safe and effective.” Noubar Afeyan, Moderna’s co-founder, speaks with Walter Isaacson about what the vaccine means for the nation and the world -- and some potential challenges.

Political prisoner Nasrin Sotoudeh is a world-renowned human rights lawyer who defends women, children, and those seeking freedom. Global outcry was raised last year when her husband told the world she'd been sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes. Her fight for justice is the subject of a new documentary four years in the making. The creators join the show to discuss Sotoudeh's mission.

25 years ago, the Dayton Accords brought peace to Bosnia after a river of blood flowed through the Balkans. A crucial trigger for that negotiation was the 1995 massacre of an estimated 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, under the noses of UN peacekeeping troops who were sent to protect them. Now, a highly acclaimed new movie tells the story of a local translator who bore witness to it all.

Alenka Artnik's sport of choice is freedivingm where she's more than 100 meters below sea level, with no mask and no oxygen tank. Artnik is a four-time world champion who holds the women’s freediving record; last month she spent more than three and a half minutes underwater while holding her breath. She has since come up for air, and joins the show from France.

Derek Black was raised in a family dedicated to white supremacy. His father was founder of a notorious white nationalist website, and his godfather was the infamous David Duke. Black spread his own racist beliefs, and coined the term "white genocide," as host of a popular radio program. Black eventually renounced his views. He discusses all this with Michel Martin.

One country that has been held up as a model for effective handling of the pandemic has been South Korea, which detected its first positive case on the same day as the U.S. and won praise for its response. But South Korea is now grappling with an alarming rise in new infections. In an exclusive interview, Christiane speaks with the country’s foreign minister.

The chart-topping singer and Oscar-winning actress Cher has been ruling the entertainment world since the 1960s. Her latest role is that of animal rights activist. Last month, Cher helped relocate an elephant called Kavaan – known as the world’s loneliest elephant – from an Islamabad zoo to a Cambodian refuge. She sat down with Christiane in London to discuss the rescue effort and her career.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) is one of the lawmakers working around the clock to push through a $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill, which would be a critical financial lifeline for millions of Americans. But time is running out, and there are serious questions about whether this relief would be enough. Senator Cassidy joins the show from Washington to discuss where the negotiations stand.

This year has seen a renewed assault on democracy and freedom in Hong Kong, as China continues to crack down on pro-democracy opposition. Ted Hui was a pro-democracy lawmaker in Hong Kong who made a daring escape last month. He is now in self-imposed exile in the UK, and faces a series of criminal charges back home that threaten to put him behind bars for life.

Unemployment has surged during the pandemic and experts say there’s more hunger in America today than at any point since 1998. To discuss this dire situation, Hari Sreenivasan speaks with Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, who as CEO of Feeding America oversees the country’s largest network of foodbanks, alongside David Krepcho, who runs the Second Harvest foodbank in Florida.

With Christmas fast approaching, though, experts fear this holiday season will result in another spike in COVID infections. Pediatric surgeon and critical care specialist Cornelia Griggs has been manning the frontlines of this pandemic. She reflects on the past nine months.

As Russia’s main opposition leader, Alexey Navalny knows what it’s like to be a Kremlin target. Navalny nearly died in August on a flight to Moscow after he was poisoned with a nerve agent at a hotel the night before boarding the plane. Now a new investigation by Bellingcat, CNN and others reveals an undercover squad working for Russia’s federal security service had tracked Navalny for years.

Hanan Ashwari is internationally recognized as a key voice for the Palestinian people and has won numerous peace prizes – yet has chosen this moment to resign from the Palestine Liberation Organization's executive committee. Why now? She joins the show to explain.

2020 has been an historic year, and The Atlantic has been on the frontlines of it all. The magazine first warned readers about the lack of preparation for a pandemic two years ago. A more recent piece from editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg reported that President Trump had called fallen soldiers “losers” and caused a big splash during the election. Goldberg joins Walter Isaacson to reflect on 2020.