The U.S. has imposed economic sanctions on Cuban officials accused of human rights abuse during the crackdown on protestors. Cuba, in turn, blames the protests, as well as the country's wider problems, on the U.S. and its sanctions. Carlos Fernández de Cossío is the most senior Cuban official in charge of Cuban/U.S. relations and joins the show for a rare interview.

Theologian Russell Moore is one of the most influential figures in evangelical Christianity today, but back in May he sent shockwaves through his community after resigning his leadership in the Southern Baptist Convention. A leaked letter alleging “raw racist sentiment” was one of the many damning reasons he walked away, and he speaks with Michel Martin about the Church and these troubling issues.

The world’s greatest gymnast, the USA’s Simone Biles, has pulled out of the Olympic team final in Tokyo. The four-time Olympic gold medalist said she has to focus on her mental health. As a former teammate, Aly Raisman knows Biles well, and the six-time Olympic medalist and former USA Gymnastics captain joins the show to reflect on Biles’ decision.

In Tunisia, after months of quarrelling over a dire economic situation and botched handling of COVID-19, the country’s president has sacked its government. There were celebrations in the street, but many called it a coup. A curfew is now in place and public gatherings are banned. Ten years ago, Tunisia was the first country to call for democracy in what became the Arab Spring. What went wrong?

Today four police officers recounted their efforts to stop the Capitol rioters on January 6. It was a day that saw lives lost and over 100 officers injured, yet many Republicans have downplayed the incident and obstructed the House investigation. To discuss the committee and how the investigation will proceed, Christiane speaks with Tom Kean about this.

Evanston, Illinois is the first state in the U.S. to make reparations available to some of its Black residents, and is now working out how best to make payouts. Robin Rue Simmons proposed the program and joins the show alongside Professor Robert Beckford who has long documented the legacy of colonialism and slavery in the UK.

As the pandemic unfolded, the role of social media in spreading distrust, division and misinformation appeared to become increasingly indisputable. Now a new book by reporters Cecilia Kang and Sheera Frenkel reveals what they claim are Facebook’s deliberately dark strategies in the “battle for domination,” as they explain to Hari Sreenivasan.

Despite all the promises of vaccine sharing, the rich world has used up over 80% of the global supply. This week, Africa finally starts receiving doses of Johnson & Johnson’s offering, at a time when the continent is experiencing its deadliest wave. Dr. Matshidiso Moeti and Jeremy Farrar join the program to discuss.

A recent study by UCLA shows that minority women make up just one quarter of film writers and one fifth of directors. Actress Poorna Jagannathan speaks with Aarti Shahani about her role as a tiger mom in the hit Mindy Kaling Netflix show "Never Have I Ever," and discusses why diversity is so important in this golden era of streaming.

It was an Olympic opening ceremony like no other: athletes in masks marching in a mostly empty stadium. COVID-19 cases are rising in Japan, the host country, whose population remains largely unvaccinated. Olympic officials hope to shift public focus away from the public health crisis to the competition, and to creating great sporting moments for the history books. Selina Wang reports.

In the past 18 months, millions of children have fallen out of the education system due to the pandemic, and experts warn many may never return. Next week the U.K. and Kenya are co-hosting a high-level global education summit to call for action. Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard will be taking part, and joins the show from London to talk about making up the education shortfall.

How will the athletes handle these unprecedented Olympic Games? Briana Scurry is an Olympic legend, having won two gold medals as goalkeeper for the U.S. women’s soccer team in both 1996 and 2004.

Julie Brown wrote series of explosive articles for the Miami Herald, which revealed how influential money manager Jeffrey Epstein was able to sexually abuse girls and young women for years – and largely escape accountability thanks to lenient prosecution and a host of enablers. She details it all, and pulls back the curtain on her reporting process, in her new book.

As CEO of Xerox, Ursula Burns was the first Black woman to run a Fortune 500 company. Now she sits on the boards of Uber, ExxonMobil, Nestlé, and more. Her new memoir charts her incredible rise to the top, from growing up on welfare to controlling a multi-billion dollar company. Burns speaks with Walter Isaacson about getting more women and people of color into STEM.

Today marks 10 years since Norway’s darkest day, which saw a right-wing terrorist kill 77 people: eight in a bombing in Oslo, and 69 in a rampage on the nearby island of Utoya. Jens Stoltenberg was Norway’s Prime Minister at the time and one of the terrorist’s intended targets. Correspondent Fred Pleitgen sat down with Stoltenberg for a rare personal reflection on the day.

Republicans are boycotting a bipartisan investigation into the January 6 insurrection after Nancy Pelosi rejected two of their picks for the committee on the grounds that they would undermine its integrity. It’s another casualty of Washington gamesmanship. Here to discuss are historian Anne Applebaum and Richard Ben-Veniste, who was a member of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission.

John Kerry, traveling the globe as President Biden’s envoy on the climate crisis, is pointing at politics and the profit motive as the root of the problem. Looking ahead to the upcoming climate summit in Glasgow, he says that in around 100 days, we can save the next 100 years. How many more meetings will it take to effect measurable, meaningful change? Kerry joins the show from Rome.

A group of Texas state legislators have come to Washington D.C. to battle restrictive new voting laws. The Republican-backed bills disproportionately obstruct voting access amongst ethnic minorities. State representative James Talarico speaks with Michel Martin about what needs to be done to protect national voting rights.

Why is it so hard to talk about climate in a way that drives real change? Katharine Wilkinson is an environmentalist and educator who was named one of “fifteen women who will save the world” by Time Magazine. She is also co-editor of All We Can Save, an anthology of women’s writing on the climate crisis.

Inaction can be a matter of life and death during a pandemic, especially when it comes to vaccine inequity. Reporter Larry Madowo had a shocking and deeply personal experience in his home country of Kenya, where just 1.1% of the population has been fully vaccinated -- in stark contrast to almost 50% in the United States. Madowo reports on this divide and the deadly implications for his own family.