Can anything stop the cycle of violence in the Middle East? Dennis Ross is a veteran U.S. diplomat who’s spent decades working to achieve peace in the region, while Khaled Elgindy is a former adviser to the PLO. They speak with Bianna Golodryga, who’s sitting in for Christiane.

The U.S. meantime moving forward on mask guidance, telling vaccinated Americans that they may refrain from wearing masks indoors. While many cheered the new guidance, others were puzzled by it. To discuss all this and other areas of COVID-19 concern, infectious disease specialist Dr. Céline Gounder joins the show.

The Associated Press, Al Jazeera and media advocacy groups are demanding answers after an Israeli airstrike destroyed a building that housed offices belonging to news outlets in Gaza on Saturday. Journalist Safwat al-Kahlout worked in that building and fled on Saturday after a warning went out that it would soon be hit. He joins the show from Gaza.

Jory Fleming first made headlines as the University of South Carolina student with near-perfect grades, and he’s just completed his Master’s at Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He speaks with Walter Isaacson about his new book “How to Be Human: An Autistic Man’s Guide to Life” and the profound value in what some regard as a disability.

Unrest is happening outside of Gaza too, with clashes breaking out in the occupied West Bank, as well as violence erupting in some mixed cities inside Israel between Arab and Jewish neighbors. Reporter Ben Wedeman joins the program from Jerusalem with the latest.

Robi Damelin lost her son David to a Palestinian sniper, while David served in the Israeli army, and Bassam Aramin lost his daughter Abir when she was 10 years old, shot with a rubber bullet by Israeli border police. And yet they have rejected revenge and chosen instead to join in spreading the message that “enemies” must talk to each other, or the cycle of violence will continue.

Oscar-winning actor and producer Matthew McConaughey rose to Hollywood stardom in romantic comedies before pivoting to heftier roles, starring in blockbuster hits like “Interstellar,” “The Wolf of Wall Street” and HBO smash hit “True Detective.” Now he’s put pen to paper, as he raids decades of diaries for his frank memoir “Greenlights.” He joins the show from Austin, Texas to discuss.

Congresswoman Liz Cheney was kicked off the House Republican leadership team for refusing to accept "the Big Lie" -- that the election was stolen from former President Trump. What does this say about democracy in America and the Republican Party’s willingness to protect it? Francis Rooney was a GOP Congressman until January this year and joins the show from Florida.

Political analyst Jamal Simmons talks to Michel Martin about “The 4% Problem” and the need for a radical rethink if corporate America really is committed to reckoning with systemic racism. Their conversation is part of our ongoing initiative about poverty, jobs, and economic opportunity in America called Chasing the Dream.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry says it’s not the right time for a ceasefire as violence escalates. Israeli airstrikes continue, and Palestinian militants in Gaza have fired dozens of rockets. The dead include seven Israelis and at least 83 Palestinians. Yesterday Christiane spoke with Israel’s Ambassador in London, and today we hear from activist and lawyer Noura Erakat.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called for a meeting of four international mediators to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The U.S. and Russia have much to discuss: cyber attacks, election interference, Ukraine and the treatment of opposition leader Alexey Navalny. All this may be discussed at a summit between Biden and Putin. The Russian Ambassador to the EU joins the show.

Hilary Mantel’s award-winning “Wolf Hall” series launched her into the literary stratosphere, as readers flocked to devour her depiction of Thomas Cromwell, who served – and then was beheaded – by King Henry VIII. The last in the trilogy, “The Mirror and the Light”, is now out in paperback, and Mantel joins the show to discuss her books and her sometimes difficult journey to late-in-life success.

The pandemic is exacerbating society’s inequalities. Globally, women account for more than 64 million jobs lost last year, which is 5% of all the jobs held by women; by comparison, men lost just 3.9%. Washington Post opinion columnist Helaine Olen has been tracking this backsliding, and speaks with Michel Martin about the longterm implications.

To discuss the unrest and ongoing protests in Columbia, Christiane speaks with the country’s President Iván Duque in an exclusive interview about what responsibility his government bears.

Seven Israelis and at least 56 Palestinians have been killed in the worst violence there in years. To discuss her government’s actions, Israel’s Ambassador to the U.K. Tzipi Hotovely joins the show.

Renowned historian Niall Ferguson has bad news: We’re getting worse, not better, at handling disasters like the pandemic. This is the argument he lays out in his new book “Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe”, which sets 2020 into wider context and asks why many countries’ initial responses to coronavirus were so slow. He speaks with Walter Isaacson about what the next big disaster might be.

Israel says it is launching 80 military aircraft to target militants in Gaza tonight, after a massive explosion resulted in the collapse of a 13-floor residential building there. Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to step up attacks against Hamas. To discuss the escalating conflict and a possible route out, Christiane speaks with veteran diplomats from America and Jordan.

The UN has warned that more encroachments into our natural world will lead to more pandemics in the future. Healthy ecosystems are key to protecting us from sickness, and indigenous communities play a vital role in their conservation. To discuss this, Christiane speaks with the American Museum of Natural History’s Ana Porzecanski.

After years of violent crimes against the minority Yazidi people, a UN Security Council team has complied evidence, witness testimonies, and ISIS internal documents to bring the perpetrators to justice. Head of this team, Karim Khan, talks with Christiane to discuss what they found.

Stav Shaffir, head of the Israeli Green Party and former Member of the Knesset, and Mustafa Barghouti, secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative discuss the crisis in the Middle East.