President Trump touted a booming economy in his State of the Union address—but do his claims live up to reality? The Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, was on hand to deliver the Democratic Party’s response to the address, arguing that American workers are not thriving. She joins Christiane to explain her stance.

David Byrne’s Broadway show "American Utopia" is all about hope and connection between people, an antidote to these divisive times. Byrne is best known as front man of the Talking Heads, a band that influenced generations of performers and music lovers with hits like “Burning Down the House” and “Psycho Killer." He joins Christiane to discuss the vision behind the show.

The city of Wilmington, North Carolina once stood out as a vibrant, mixed-race community. That came to a dramatic end in 1898 when white supremacists staged a bloody coup in which the city’s government was overthrown and 60 black men were killed. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Zucchino sits down with Walter to explain how his new book "Wilmington's Lie" chronicles it all.

On Sunday, movie lovers around the world will tune in to watch the Oscars, but the program has once again come in for criticism. All but one of this year's Best Actor and Actress nominees are white, and not one woman is nominated for Best Director. Christiane discusses the state of diversity in Hollywood with entertainment reporter Nischelle Turner and British activist Shola Mos-Shogbamimu.

Chaos and confusion reigned Monday night and into Tuesday, as technical issues combined with human error to turn the Iowa caucuses results into a muddled mess. There are serious questions about the integrity of the U.S. electoral system – and whether the Iowa caucus should be abolished. Journalist and host of “Iowa Press” David Yepsen joins Christiane to discuss.

As one of the masterminds of President Obama’s victorious 2008 campaign, David Axelrod remembers Iowa with particular fondness. He tells Christiane why the current mess is so damaging to the process and why he thinks the Iowa caucuses are dead as we know them.

In the presidential election, healthcare is the number one issue for voters in both parties. Paige Winfield Cunningham is a national reporter at the Washington Post, focusing specifically on healthcare policy. Despite the healthcare wars within the Democratic Party—and between Democrats and the GOP—Cunningham tells Hari that neither party will make major changes.

The 2020 election season is off to the races. With the first major contest in Iowa wrapping up, voters are revealing which topics they care about most and who they think can address them. But when it comes to actual economic policy, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman argues that it won’t matter much which Democrat wins the nomination. He joins Christiane to explain his views.

After the White House’s Middle East peace plan was unveiled last week, the plan was unanimously rejected this past weekend with a sharp statement from the Arab League. Journalist Kim Ghattas has been covering the Middle East for 20 years. She joins the program to discuss her new book "Black Wave," which chronicles the enduring 40 year rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Petra Costa’s latest film "The Edge of Democracy" is nominated for Best Documentary at the Oscars. It’s an intimate look at the rise and fall of former Brazilian presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff. The current president, Jair Bolsonaro, is also featured, and he has already called the film "a work of fiction." Costa joins Hari to discuss the dangers to democracy in Brazil.

After a 47-year marriage, the U.K.’s bitter split from the European Union has finally happened. It’s taken the best part of four years, ever since the Brexit referendum, which divided a nation right down the middle and caused both celebration and mourning. David Dimbleby, a titan of British broadcasting who for decades has been the face of the BBC, joins Christiane to reflect on this moment.

As the rape trial of fallen Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein ramps up, a new film is examining the toxic workplace culture which enables predatory behavior and vilifies those who speak up. "The Assistant" tracks a day in the life of an assistant at a high pressure production company, and is the latest work from writer and director Kitty Green. She joins the program from New York to discuss.

St. Louis, Missouri was the epicenter of the Black Lives Matter movement in the summer of 2014. Now, Kim Gardner – the city’s first African American chief prosecutor – is investigating police violence. She joins Michel to explain why she filed a lawsuit accusing the city of St. Louis and its police union of a “racially motivated conspiracy to deny the civil rights of racial minorities."

China is facing a growing health emergency as the government confronts the coronavirus outbreak. The illness originated in Wuhan, central China, and has since spread throughout the world. Fear and paranoia are on the rise. To break down the reality of the virus and the Chinese response, Christiane speaks with two experts.

In the last four presidential elections, the Democratic candidate who won the Iowa caucuses went on to win the nomination. Former Colorado Senator Gary Hart helped shape the Iowa caucuses into the important contest that it is today, first as a campaign manager and then as a candidate. He joins the program to look ahead to Monday’s crucial contest.

Ahmed Albasheer is an Iraqi comedian and host of "Albasheer Show," a weekly satire program about Iraqi politics and one of the most popular shows in the country. Albasheer started the show in 2014 as a tool to fight corruption, extremism and terrorism. He tells Hari how a suicide bomber changed his life and how "Albasheer Show" is fueling the demonstrations currently taking place in Iraq.

President Trump’s Middle East peace plan has been strongly rejected by the Palestinians, despite being described by the president as a win/win. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh joins the program to explain his reasoning.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sided with President Trump today and urged UK lawmakers to push Palestinians to engage with the American plan, but is it in the UK’s best interest? To explore the changing U.S./U.K. dynamics, Christiane speaks with Philip Hammond, who has served in multiple top roles in the UK government.

Ted Koppel is an iconic journalist and member of the Broadcasting Hall of Fame, having made his name as anchor of ABC News’ Nightline for over two decades. Amongst his many achievements, in 1988 he hosted an unprecedented town hall meeting between Israelis and Palestinians live from Jerusalem. Koppel speaks to Walter about the state of journalism and democracy today.

To dig deeper into President Trump’s Middle East peace proposal, Christiane speaks with two people who have been in the room during previous peace negotiations: Aaron David Miller has worked for American presidents from both political parties, while Marwan Muasher served as Jordan’s foreign minister during the Arab peace initiative in 2002.