US-RUSSIA

On the anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s return to the Russian presidency, host Carol Castiel talks with Helle Dale, senior fellow in Public Diplomacy Studies at the Heritage Foundation and Andrew Kuchins, senior fellow and director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at CSIS, about the ups and downs in the US-Russia relationship since Putin returned to the helm as well as efforts to reconcile differences on a variety of issues from counter-terrorism (Boston Marathon bombings case) to Syria (joint efforts to stage a peace conference in Geneva), to the recent spy incident.

SYRIA CONUNDRUM

As US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, ramp up efforts to promote a political transition in Syria, guest host Doug Bernard elicits contrasting views on how to end the bloodshed from Paul Pillar, Visiting Professor at Georgetown University for Security Studies and a member of the Center for Peace and Security Studies and Mahmoud Khattab, Chairman of the Syrian American Alliance.

PAKISTAN ELECTION PREVIEW

Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, former Pakistan ambassador to the US, and former High Commissioner of Pakistan to the UK, and Daniel Markey, Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations discuss with host Sarah Zaman, TV Reporter of VOA’s Urdu Service a potential outcome of Pakistan’s general election, and the future of the US-Pakistani relations.

BOSTON BOMBINGS

Charles “Cully” Stimson, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation and Matt Duss, policy analyst for the Middle East at the Center for American Progress, discuss with host Carol Castiel the latest developments in the Boston Marathon bombings case, including the motives of suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and the revelation that they intended to target New York City.

US POLITICS: GUNS & IMMIGRATION

John Fortier, director of the Democracy Project at the Bi-Partisan Policy Center and Sarah Trumble, an expert on domestic policy at the centrist think tank, Third Way, talk with host Carol Castiel about the latest developments on gun control and immigration reform efforts in the US Senate and the politics of these issues, which are key components of President Obama’s second term domestic agenda.

TURKEY AT A TURNING POINT

Restoration of diplomatic ties between Turkey and Israel and the ceasefire announced by jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan – both prompted in part by the deteriorating situation in Syria – bode well for Turkish domestic and international politics. Host Carol Castiel talks with Soner Cagaptay, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Matt Duss, policy analyst for the Middle East at the Center for American Progress about the reasons behind and implications of these two diplomatic breakthroughs.

NORTH KOREA TENSIONS

Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, and Alexandre Mansourov, a visiting scholar at the U.S.-Korea Institute at SAIS speak with host Carol Castiel about the significance and implications of escalating rhetoric and threats emanating from North Korea against the United States and South Korea.