Brazil's COVID-19 infections are skyrocketing, but President Jair Bolsonaro consistently plays down the threat of the virus and is urging businesses to reopen across the country. Bolsonaro sparred publicly with his health minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta--a qualified physician–before firing him in April. Mandetta joins the program from Brasilia to discuss his former boss’s response to the virus.

Recessions are predicted all around the world. While governments desperately try to kickstart their economies, one crucial question is whether a fairer and more just future will emerge from the wreckage. Mariana Mazzucato is an economist and founder of the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose at University College London. She joins the program to discuss the outlook.

Imagine fleeing civil war and then ending up on the frontlines of another battle in your new home. Hassan Akkad is a Syrian refugee-turned-filmmaker, whose nail-biting journey to the UK formed part of a BAFTA-winning documentary. But now he’s joining the fight against coronavirus and working as a cleaner on a London hospital ward, a story he discusses with Christiane.

The pandemic has brought with it an overwhelming raft of information -- and with the science changing so fast, it’s fertile ground for conspiracy theories. Dr F. Perry Wilson calls it a “perfect storm,” a global crisis trapped between the medical and political worlds. He is a world-renowned clinical researcher at Yale University and is documenting his life working in a COVID-19 ward.

What is America’s roadmap out of the pandemic? Journalist Donald G. McNeil Jr. knows better than most, having covered science, health and infectious diseases for the New York Times for more than two decades. He joins the program from New York.

Nearly every U.S. state is beginning to relax restrictions, but more than 80,000 lives are lost and the official death toll continues to rise. This as the WHO cautions countries to exercise extreme vigilance as they lift COVID-19 restrictions. Donna Shalala holds the record as the longest-serving Secretary of Health and Human Services. She joins the program to react to today’s Senate hearing.

Iceland continues to record no new COVID-19 cases. The North Atlantic island nation has experienced around 1,800 cases, but just 10 reported deaths. This is in part due to rigorous testing and contact tracing. But Iceland's economy -- heavily dependent on tourism -- is taking a beating. To help recover, the government is lifting its travel ban on June 15. The Prime Minister speaks with Christiane.

From restaurants closing their doors to crops rotting in fields, global supply chains are in disarray due to COVID-19. Amanda Little, author of "The Fate of Food: What We’ll Eat in a Bigger, Hotter, Smarter World,” joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss the complexities of the food production process.

Tomorrow, the Supreme Court takes on the biggest presidential immunity cases since Watergate, as they consider whether President Trump can block congressional and criminal inquiries into his financial practices. As business investigations editor at The New York Times, David Enrich is a leading expert on President Trump’s deeply tangled financial history. He joins the program to discuss the stakes.

In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is trying to ease the lockdown, while mindful that the nation’s infection and death rates are the highest in Europe. But moving the country from “stay at home” to “stay alert” has been derided as vague at best, confusing and contradictory at worst. Sir David King, the UK’s former chief scientific adviser, joins the program to discuss.

Tom Ridge is an American veteran and former governor who has strong words for the armed protestors opposing lockdown measures across the country. Ridge served in Vietnam and went on to become America’s first Secretary of Homeland Security in the aftermath of 9/11. He speaks with Michel Martin about the need for self-sacrifice and unity in times of crisis.

Dr. Jane Goodall's pioneering work with chimpanzees revolutionized primatology. As we self-isolate, it is our very interconnection with nature that she invites us to think about. A new documentary, "Jane Goodall: The Hope," celebrates her six decades of groundbreaking work.

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. But this year, there were no crowds in the streets, no big parades, no pomp and no pageantry. Modern presidents and prime ministers have been quick to call themselves wartime leaders. How well are they measuring up to the challenge? To discuss, Christiane speaks with historians Max Hastings and Doris Kearns Goodwin.

President Trump faces a tough re-election campaign, as the once buoyant economy deflates into recession. How will this affect his chances in November? The New Yorker's Evan Osnos says one answer lies in what he calls a "persistent mystery" at the ballot box. For his latest piece, he looks to his hometown of Greenwich, Connecticut to explore how Republicans there came to support the president.

More than 100 potential COVID-19 vaccines are in the works, but how soon can we expect positive results? Dr. Richard Hatchett served as an adviser on pandemics for the White House under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Hatchett is now CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, which is working to speed up vaccine development.

British folk singer Laura Marling thought she would be touring the UK and the U.S. right now. Confined her to her home by the pandemic, she decided instead to give us some music to get us through: a surprise early release of her new album, "Song for Our Daughter." She joins the program from home.

When UC San Francisco's medical center was running low on PPE--personal protective equipment for healthcare workers, the chancellor turned to his billionaire friend Marc Benioff, founder and chief executive of software giant Salesforce, to acquire the necessary equipment. Why go to a tech company to help unblock a medical supply chain? Walter Isaacson speaks with Benioff to find out.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has called the pandemic "the most complicated and difficult challenge" he has ever observed, and is now devoting the full resources of his institute towards creating a strategy for pulling countries out of lockdown.

Questions about voter safety during the presidential election in November are casting doubt on a process already fraught with security concerns. Stacey Abrams is frequently touted as a potential running mate for Joe Biden, and--until the pandemic hit--she was leading the fight for free and fair elections as the founder and chair of the activist group Fair Fight.

As the U.S. Treasury begins bailing out businesses across America, it's important to know which companies are getting the money and how it's being spent. Bharat Ramamurti was the first appointee to the Congressional Oversight Commission, tasked with policing coronavirus corporate relief loans. He speaks with Sheelah Kolhatkar about his new role.