Good news for anyone interested in the health of American democracy: There was an unprecedented level of turnout and voter engagement this year – but this also revealed the bad news, with a dramatically disunited country laid bare. Christiane discusses what the election results so far can tell us with former Republican Governor Christine Todd Whitman and former Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu.

This year has seen support for the Black Lives Matter movement surge after police killings of unarmed African Americans such as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. One man is at the heart of all those cases is civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who frequently works as the lawyer for families seeking justice. He speaks with Michel Martin about what lies ahead.

As the world’s oldest continuous democracy, the U.S. holds itself up as the global gold standard and frequently holds other countries accountable for undermining their elections. Former editor of the Financial Times Lionel Barber has had his finger on the global pulse for years and he’s out today with a new book, "The Powerful and the Damned: Private Diaries in Turbulent Times."

The day after Election Day, and we don’t have a final result just yet. What is clear, though, is that the country saw record turnout. Ohio awarded an early win to President Trump, as predicted by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. He joins the show from his state to assess what this means for the GOP.

Despite President Trump’s handling of the pandemic -- and other controversial policies -- his core support has remained steadfast and actually has grown in many constituencies. To look at why this is occurring, Hari Sreenivasan speaks with two experts about identity politics and the possibility of restoring faith in democratic values.

Early this morning, President Trump declared he’d be going to the Supreme Court -- though for what purpose, and under what authority, was less clear. To assess legal avenues available to help resolve any questions over election results, Christiane speaks with constitutional expert Noah Feldman.

How is the international community processing the presidential election in the United States? European ambassadors are discussing the election at a meeting today -- at a moment when the transatlantic alliance between America and Europe is under particular strain. Norbert Röttgen, a close ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, joins the show from Berlin to discuss.

Many Democratic candidates faced unexpectedly tough races last night. Elissa Slotkin is one of these, though she may still hold onto her congressional seat in Michigan’s 8th district -- a key state for both Biden and Trump. Slotkin speaks with Christiane about her own race and her party's results last night.

No matter who wins the presidency ,one thing is certain: the United States will officially withdraw from the historic Paris Climate Accords, after Trump fulfilled his 2016 campaign promise to pull America out of the 2015 agreement. To discuss the state of the climate and whether we have cause for hope, Christiane speaks with the architect of the Paris Agreement, Christiana Figueres.

Are human behavioral studies giving us the complete picture? Joseph Henrich says no. As a Harvard professor of evolutionary biology, he argues that our understanding of human nature is skewed by the fact that the vast majority of people who volunteer to take part in studies are educated Westerners, who remain a psychologically peculiar crop. Henrich joins Walter Isaacson to explain his theory.

Fresh off the success of his hit podcast on the rise of Rupert Murdoch, veteran BBC journalist David Dimbleby returns with a look at another important story: the invasion of Iraq. In the new series, he focuses on the crucial 18 months between 9/11 and the 2003 invasion, and on the close relationship of British Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George W. Bush.

In 2019, novelist Bernardine Evaristo became the first Black woman to win the Booker Prize, and since then she has used her elevated profile to continue her fight for racial justice. One of her key aims is to ensure that the Black experience in Britain is properly represented, read and heard, after being overlooked for so long. Evaristo joins the program to discuss her new project, and to offer a

It’s the last day before the last day of voting – what we’d ordinarily call Election Day – and America stands at a crossroads. Tim Alberta is a veteran reporter who has closely documented the Republican Party for years, and joins the program to assess the state of the race – and of the GOP.

In his new HBO documentary "The Soul of America," historian Meacham contrasts the dark shadows of American history with what Lincoln called “the better angels of our nature.” In a rare departure from his normal practice, Meacham has also endorsed a 2020 presidential candidate. He is urging voters to select Biden, and he joins the show to explain why he felt the need to speak out.

Democrats are hoping Arizona might turn blue this year. This would reflect the bipartisan values the late Senator John McCain espoused as a lawmaker. McCain was a personal friend of Joe Biden's. But few knew McCain better than Mark Salter, his longtime speechwriter and closest aide. Salter’s new book, "The Luckiest Man," is a candid look at his former boss, as Salter explains to Walter Isaacson.

To discuss the upcoming election day and its aftermath, Christiane speaks with veteran political observer Norm Ornstein and historian Heather Cox Richardson, who writes the popular newsletter “Letters from an American.”

Yuval Noah Harari is an unlikely blockbuster author, with his 2015 book "Sapiens" having sold millions of copies and received praise from the likes of President Obama and Bill Gates. Now Harari is adapting the story into a graphic novel, opening it up to a much wider and younger audience. Christiane speaks with Harari about the new project and how our species is faring during its current crisis.

The parents of 545 children detained at the southern border between 2017 and 2018 cannot be found. Joe Biden has pledged to make an effort to reunite these migrant parents and children. Lawyer Bridget Cambria is co-founder of ALDEA – The People’s Justice Center, which offers free legal services to immigrant families. Cambria sits down with Hari Sreenivasan in Pennsylvania to discuss this topic.

For the first time in 17 years, the cast of "West Wing" has reunited for a theatrical staging of the “Hartsfield Landing” episode of the show, streaming free on HBO Max, all in the name of encouraging voter turnout. Actors Dulé Hill and Richard Schiff join the program to tell Christine more about the project.

Heightened drug abuse and opioid deaths are a significant consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Beth Macy is the author of "Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company That Addicted America." Tackling the opioid crisis was an early pledge of President Trump's. But Macy believes Joe Biden may have a coherent plan to end the suffering, as she explains to Michel Martin.