The latest figures show that 6.6 million Americans filed claims for unemployment benefits last week. That’s a surge of over 3000% since early March. The pandemic has so far knocked nearly 10 million people out of the country’s workforce. o examine these figures and what it means for the U.S. and world economies, Christiane speaks with former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been providing both funding and expertise since before the COVID-19 outbreak began, with Bill Gates in particular having sounded the alarm about pandemics for years. Christiane speaks with the CEO of the Foundation to discuss what needs to be done next to fight this outbreak.

Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, many college students struggled to balance school with work and the need to keep a roof over their heads and food on their plates. Now they find themselves in an impossible situation. Sara Goldrick-Rab is perhaps best known for her work combating food and housing insecurity. She tells Hari Sreenivasan what needs to be done for this vulnerable group.

Europe in particular is struggling to find a united approach to combat COVID-19, and one of the countries most in need is Greece -- the EU member nation that was hardest hit by both the 2008 economic crisis and the 2015 migrant crisis. In an exclusive interview, Christiane speaks exclusively with Greece’s Prime Minister about how his country is coping.

Grammy Award-winning musician will.i.am collaborated with Bono, Jennifer Hudson, and Japanese rock star Yoshiki on a new single, “Sing for Life,” inspired by the resilience shown by the world's citizens during this global pandemic. He speaks with Christiane about why he believes that that though we are in self-isolation, we are not alone.

In the U.S., the death toll has surged to more than 4,000, making Tuesday the deadliest day so far in the pandemic, and driving home the desperate need for a better coordinated national response. To discuss the latest, Christiane speaks with the commander of the U.S. Northern Command, Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy, who in the worst case scenario would lead the country through the pandemic.

Republican strategist Stuart Stevens has advised key GOP campaigns like Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential bid. Now he has written a mea culpa for the Washington Post, laying the blame for what he calls President Trump’s failed response to today's pandemic at the feet of all Republicans. He addresses this and discusses his new book, "It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump."

William Burns is a distinguished veteran of the U.S. State Department and joins the program to explain how the crisis could yet present an opportunity to restore democratic leadership.

A new report from the United Nations warns that rates of domestic violence -- particularly against women -- will likely increase now that families are locked down at home. To discuss the good and bad aspects of such enforced closeness, Christiane speaks with sociologist Eric Klinenberg and Dr. Orna Guralnik, psychoanalyst and host of Showtime documentary series “Couples Therapy."

The World Health Organization has said that the best way to tackle this virus is to test, test, test. This is a call to action for pioneering biochemist Dr. Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues at UC Berkeley. They aim to use their biology labs to test up to 2,000 samples per day. Dr. Doudna co-invented the gene editing tool CRISPR, which she hopes will assist her in the battle against COVID-19.

As the battle against coronavirus fills the news, the 2020 presidential race has fallen somewhat to the wayside. The situation appears to be working to President Trump's advantage, with his approval ratings at near historic highs. But will this last until November? Christiane speaks with David Urban, a senior adviser to his re-election effort, about this unprecedented race.

Across the world, the harsh realities of the coronavirus pandemic are setting in. Beth Cameron was the Senior Director for Global Health Security and Biodefense on the White House National Security Council until John Bolton dissolved her office. She is also the author of the now famous, and unused, government pandemic playbook. She joins the show from Washington, D.C.

Extraordinary times require an extraordinary response, and many are looking to the logistical might of the U.S. military as a tool to be utilized right now. Retired four-star General Stanley McChrystal has some experience in this field, having led U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. He speaks with Christiane about how best to respond to this crisis.

Earlier this year, Republican Chuck Hagel and Democrat Chris Dodd – along with 68 other former senators – signed an open letter condemning growing partisanship in American politics. They join Michel Martin to explain why they think Congress is failing, why the Senate is to blame, and what the answer might be.

A historic $2 trillion stimulus deal was reached in the U.S., aimed at direct aid for American workers and employers. But it took time to hammer out, and while the White House and lawmakers were haggling, Denmark acted fast putting the country’s economy in deep freeze for three months. Danish Finance Minister Nicolai Wammen joins Christiane to discuss what his government is doing.

For centuries, people have turned to the words of the Bard in times of war, plague, romance and social upheaval. James Shapiro is a world-renowned Shakespeare scholar at Columbia University whose new book explores the playwright’s unique significance for Americans. As Shapiro explains to Christiane, Shakespeare has lessons and hope even for these challenging and uncertain times.

Grief is a natural part of the human condition. Amidst the pandemic, many people worldwide are united in their sadness. David Kessler, author of “Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief,” is one of the world’s foremost experts on loss and healing. He tells Michel Martin about how we can share our pain across these new boundaries.

Today, an extraordinary “virtual global summit” took place, with President Trump joining Chinese President Xi Jinping and the rest of the G20 leaders via teleconference to unite their efforts towards fighting the pandemic. The director general of the WHO has scolded world leaders for not acting fast enough against this pandemic, and his chief advisor joins Christiane to discuss the latest.

Spain has taken a particularly bad hit during this crisis, now overtaking China’s death toll with more than 3,400 COVID-19 fatalities. The situation is so dire in Madrid that an Olympic-sized ice rink was converted into a morgue earlier this week. Christiane speaks with Spain’s Foreign Minister, Arancha González Laya, about the worsening situation and the steps being taken to mitigate it.

Some governments have been forced to release prisoners to combat the spread of COVID-19. Last week, Iran released 85,000 inmates. New Jersey announced the release of up to 1,000 low-risk inmates at risk of spreading of the virus in overcrowded and often unsanitary prisons. Lawrence Bartley, director of the Marshall Project's "News Inside," speaks about what the crisis means for those incarcerated.