Chris Murphy became Connecticut’s junior senator in 2012 -- less than a month after the Sandy Hook massacre -- and is now one of the nation's leading advocates for gun control. He explores the country’s fascination with firearms in his new book.

The cover of Vanity Fair’s September issue, which is dedicated to “art, activism, and power in 21st century America,” is adorned with Breonna Taylor's portrait. Few contemporary writers have deconstructed racial injustice like Ta-Nehisi Coates, guest editor of the issue. He joins Christiane alongside Vanity Fair’s Radhika Jones, who as editor-in-chief has made diversity her priority.

Historian and journalist Rick Perlstein has been called the “chronicler extraordinaire of American conservatism.” His new book "Reaganland" is the latest in a series exploring how conservative politics came to dominate America. The author speaks with Walter Isaacson about how this sequence of events led to the current political climate in America.

Increasing numbers of high-level Republican Party members are admitting publicly that they just can’t vote for him. Former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake has been a leader in the Republican anti-Trump movement ever since he withheld his vote from the GOP candidate in 2016. This November he will vote for Joe Biden, calling it the only way to save conservatism.

A damning bipartisan Senate Intelligence report detailing Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election passed virtually unnoticed when released 10 days ago. Moreover, Russia is believed to be interfering in the current election campaign. Former U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice joins Walter Isaacson to discuss this and the shooting of Jacob Blake.

The Republican Party sees a path to electoral college victory through the suburbs, and it is once again targeting the narrow coalition of voters who pushed President Trump over the top in 2016. It’s a group that is whiter, older, and more evangelical than much of America. The strategy appears to offer short-term advantages but will not prove sustainable, according to author Robert P. Jones.

America’s top athletes are united in an unprecedented display of solidarity and protest. From women’s and men’s basketball to major league soccer and baseball games, professional players across the United States have walked out over the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. ESPN Columnist Howard Bryant joins the program to weigh in on this moment in history.

The political fallout of the situation in Kenosha, Wisconsin was on display in Vice President Pence’s speech, which emphasized law and order above all else. Is this the party’s rallying cry for November? To discuss, Christiane speaks with Ohio’s former secretary of state and Trump campaign advisor Ken Blackwell.

Mia Love broke through the glass ceiling in 2015 when she became America's first Black Republican Congresswoman. The daughter of Haitian immigrants and a Mormon convert, Love represented Utah’s fourth district until she lost her seat in 2019. A proud conservative, Love spoke at the 2012 RNC. Whether she supports President Trump today is not an easy question to answer, as she tells Michel Martin.

To discuss the racial and political ramifications of events in Wisconsin, President Obama’s former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson joins the program.

Scientists say there's no doubt that recent extreme weather is driven by climate change. Yet the RNC will have nothing to say about it. Environmentalist and Republican Benji Backer grew up knocking on doors for John McCain and Mitt Romney. In college, he created the American Conservation Coalition to engage young conservatives on climate change and push the GOP to take action.

Alcohol is back on sale in South Africa, after previously being banned by South African President Ramaphosa to stave off domestic abuse. Josina Machel was blinded in one eye in a brutal attack by her partner five years ago. The incident led her to set up the Kuhluka Movement to empower women. She joins the program to tell her story and the discuss how the pandemic fuels domestic violence.

The effects of coronavirus on the human body are still unclear. Michael Reagan was fit and healthy before contracting COVID-19 in March. Since then he has been admitted repeatedly to New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital with serious, recurring symptoms. He speaks with Hari Sreenivasan about his experience, alongside the doctor running Mount Sinai’s Center for Post-COVID Care.

After President Trump's inauguration in 2017, one of his first guests to Mar-a-Lago was Chinese President Xi Jinping. But after three years of trade wars, tariffs, and a coronavirus war-of-words, a new U.S. intelligence report states that Beijing would prefer Trump lose the 2020 election because he is “unpredictable.” To discuss this, Christiane speaks with experts from the U.S. and China.

The Republican National Convention is underway. President Trump has doubled down on his unsubstantiated claim that mail-in voting is riddled with fraud. Yet in the crucial battleground state of Florida, he’s actively encouraging the practice and is making use of it himself. To discuss the latest, Christiane speaks with former Florida governor and current GOP Senator Rick Scott.

Afua Hirsch is a prominent British writer, and in her book "Brit-ish," she laid out the consequences of Britain's ongoing denial of its imperial past. In her latest BBC series, "African Renaissance," she turns her gaze to Africa's art, history, and liberation culture. She joins the program to discuss the toxic legacy of racism.

As he accepted the GOP nomination, the President once again challenged the validity of mail-in ballots and of the upcoming election in general. The Republican National Committee has chosen not to draft a party platform this election cycle and instead to "enthusiastically support the President's America-First agenda." What can the U.S. expect from four more years of Trump? Scott Jennings discusses.

Beth Fukumoto served three terms in the Hawaii House of Representatives, but the GOP forced her resignation after she publicly denounced President Trump's policies and rhetoric. She's now a Democrat and openly acknowledges what she calls her "political failings." She tells Michel Martin what led to her resignation.

One of President Trump's top campaign promises is tackling coronavirus. On Sunday, the President announced emergency authorizations of Convalescent Plasma Therapy as a potential treatment. Dr. Paul Offit is the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He joins Christiane to explain the science behind the treatment.

How does this year's DNC fit in with the history of party conventions past? Doris Kearns Goodwin is perhaps the nation's best known presidential historian. For decades she has studied the highest office in the land -- and at one time viewed it from up close, as a young aide to Lyndon Baines Johnson. She recently wrote the book "Leadership in Turbulent Times" and she joins Christiane from Boston.