In a world filled with violence and polarization, new studies show that there are significant health benefits to even the smallest acts of kindness, like holding open a door or buying someone a coffee. Now UCLA has set up the world’s first institute to study kindness, and aims to research how it catches on. Christiane speaks with the institute’s inaugural director, anthropologist Daniel Fessler.

As tensions with Iran take center stage, Customs and Border Protection have denied reports of Iranian Americans being detained and refused entry at the border between Canada and Washington state. As Lieutenant Governor of Washington, Cyrus Habib is the highest ranking Iranian American elected official in the U.S, and he sits down with Hari Sreenivasan to discuss the situation.

The U.S. increasingly believes Iran mistakenly shot down the Ukrainian passenger plane that took off from Tehran on Tuesday amid military confrontation between Iran and the U.S. All 176 people on board were killed, soon after Iran launched missiles at two American bases in Iraq. To gain insight into the situation, Christiane speaks with Fred Pleitgen on the ground in Tehran.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex say they are stepping back as senior royals. In the couple’s statement on Wednesday they say they want to work to become financially independent and will split their time between the UK and North America. Christiane discusses the controversy with former royal insider Dickie Arbiter and New York Times London bureau chief Mark Landler.

Democrats say that in killing Soleimani, Trump acted without properly notifying Congress, and today the House is expected to vote to force the president to halt any military action against Iran unless Congress authorizes it. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine has introduced a similar bill in the Senate and joins the program from Capitol Hill.

Antony Blinken was Deputy National Security Advisor to President Obama during Iran nuclear negotiations, and now works as senior foreign policy advisor to presidential candidate Joe Biden. He joins the program from D.C. to respond to the latest developments, examine prospects for a possible deal between the U.S. and Iran and explain Biden’s views on this fast-moving situation.

With the Middle East once again embroiled in crisis and the U.S. presence there again under scrutiny, Christiane speaks with journalist and editor Mina Al-Oraibi, to get her perspective from the region.

Iran standing down – those are the words of President Trump as he addressed the nation in the wake of Iranian attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq. The belief in the administration seems to be that Iran chose to send a message rather than take action that would have provoked a substantial U.S. military response. David Urban, a close confidant of the president, joins the show to explain Trump's thinking.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned that his country’s missile strikes were not enough of a punishment for the U.S. killing of Soleimani. For perspective from Tehran, Christiane speaks again with political analyst Mohammad Marandi.

Both Iraq and Iran claim that, when he was killed, Soleimani was in Baghdad to discuss easing tensions between Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia. Both Saudi officials and the U.S. Secretary of State reject that claim, but the Saudis are nonetheless leading the effort for a de-escalation of tensions. Christiane discusses Saudi concerns with Turki Al-Faisal, the former Saudi Ambassador to the U.S.

Allies of the U.S. met today to call for both America and Iran to de-escalate the crisis over the killing of Qasem Soleimani, as emotionally charged scenes flooded the streets of Iran for the fourth straight day. U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper joins the program to discuss the fast-moving situation.

Inside Iran, their parliament is already taking action in response to the killing of Qasem Soleimani, unanimously voting to designate all U.S. forces as terrorists. Massoumeh Ebtekar is an Iranian Vice President in the government, and she joins the program from Tehran.

In Washington D.C., Congress awaits a full briefing from the Trump administration on the intelligence that led to the targeted killing of Soleimani, and Democrats want to limit the president taking the country to war. Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin has been tasked with drawing up a war powers resolution and can draw on her background as a former CIA analyst who served two tours in Iraq.

Political analyst Mohammad Marandi joins Christiane Amanpour to discuss the explosion of national mourning and emotion in Iran following the death of military mastermind Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad last Friday.

Former U.S. National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley discusses the death of Qasem Soleimani and what the future will look like for the U.S. and Iran.

Apocalyptic wildfires are decimating Australian flora and fauna, with one expert saying that hundreds of millions of animals have probably been killed. To assess this dire situation, its causes and whether there is any cause for hope, Christiane speaks with Australia’s best known climate scientist Tim Flannery.

Former Prime Minister of Iraq Ayad Allawi discusses his country's role in U.S.-Iran tensions and the Iraqi parliament's vote to expel U.S. forces from Iraq.

Senator Chris Murphy joins Christiane to analyze escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran following the death of Qasem Soleimani.

Back in 2017, Carmen Bambach, a curator at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, shaped the most historic and expansive exhibit of Michelangelo to date. Now, on the 500th anniversary of his death, she dives into Leonardo's groundbreaking work in a new book. She sits down with our own Leonardo expert, Walter Isaacson, to discuss the Italian master.

The news today is enough to send anxiety levels through the roof, but Dr. Rangan Chatterjee is here to help. He argues that stress today is making us sick - some 80% of the health issues he treats in his patients can be traced back to stress, made much worse by the blurring of work and home life. He joins the show to diagnose the issue and give us a prescription for how it could be fixed.