NSA LEAK CONTROVERSY

Rudy deLeon, former US Deputy Secretary of Defense and Senior Vice President of National Security and International Policy at the Center for American Progress, and Steven Bucci, Director of Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation discuss the national and international fallout from the NSA leak of classified information regarding US surveillance programs and the debate it has re-kindled about the proper balance between security and civil liberties in American with host Carol Castiel.

US - CHINA SUMMIT

Cheng Li, Director of Research & Senior Fellow at Brookings’ China Center, and David Lampton, Professor and Director of China Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) discuss the long-term significance of this informal meeting as well as the major issues topping the agenda between US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping with host Carol Castiel. Lampton and Li hope that beyond the “laundry list” of issues, the two leaders will discuss a broad strategic framework for constructive relations in the years to come.

AFTER AU SUMMIT

On the 50^th anniversary of the African Union (including previous Organization of African Unity), Jennifer Cooke, Director of the CSIS Africa Program, and Peter Pham, Director of the Africa Center at The Atlantic Council assess progress and shortcomings to date as well as debate issues discussed at the recent African Union Summit: Mali security, Boko Haram, and Sudan violence, with host Carol Castiel.

US POLITICS: OBAMA'S SECOND TERM BLUES?

Veteran political analysts Stuart Rothenberg, Editor and Publisher of “The Rothenberg Political Report” and John Fortier, Director of Democracy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center, take a historic look at second-term presidents and discuss to what extent a spate of recent controversies threatens to derail President Obama’s political agenda during his second and final term in office.

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.