NEWTOWN MASS SHOOTING

Was the horrific mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut a “game changer” in the debate over stricter gun laws in the United States? Will the National Rifle Association or NRA continue to oppose concrete measures such as a ban on military assault rifles and stronger background checks to combat the epidemic of gun violence in America? Jim Kessler, co-founder and Senior Vice President for Policy at Third Way, and Gregg Carter, professor of sociology at Bryant University and author of numerous books about gun violence, tell host Carol Castiel that the NRA will continue to be a formidable obstacle, but are hopeful that a coalition of gun control advocates, spearheaded by President Obama’s new taskforce, may challenge their political and monetary clout.

CLIMATE CHANGE AFTER DOHA

David Waskow, Climate Change Director at Oxfam America and Andrew Light, Senior Fellow and Director of International Climate Policy the Center for American Progress speak with host Carol Castiel about what was achieved (and not achieved) at the latest round of UN climate talks in Doha and the challenges ahead for both developed and developing countries in forging a consensus on addressing the causes and consequences of climate change.

FUTURE OF AFGHANISTAN

Will Afghan security forces be ready to take over after US combat troops withdraw in 2014? What is the status of “talks” with the Taliban? How significant are the upcoming 2014 presidential elections in Afghanistan? Akmal Dawi, Managing Editor for VOA’s Dari Radio Service, and Ahmad Majidyar, senior research associate for South Asia at the American Enterprise Institute, discuss these issues with host Carol Castiel in addition to the pivotal roles of the United States, Pakistan, and Iran in the region.

CONFLICT IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Alexis Arieff, Africa Analyst at the Congressional Research Service, and Raymond Gilpin, director of the Center for Sustainable Economies at U.S. Institute of Peace discuss the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo with host Carol Castiel. They explore the political and economic roots and ramifications of the violence in the Eastern DRC, what drives the rebel forces (M23) and their alleged patrons in Rwanda, the perceived incompetence and corruption in Kinshasa, and what the international community must do to contain the conflict lest it spill over destabilize the region anew.

OIL & GAS PRODUCTION IN THE U.S.

The Paris-based International Energy Agency predicts that the United States will surpass Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil producer by 2020. Energy analysts David Goldwyn, former senior advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, now President of Goldwyn Global Strategies, and Daniel J. Weiss, Director of Climate Strategy at the Center for American Progress, discuss the domestic and geopolitical ramifications of the surge in oil and gas production in the United States with host Carol Castiel.

EAST ASIA SUMMIT

In keeping with his pivot to the Pacific, US President Barack Obama travels to Southeast Asia for the East Asia Summit in Cambodia. He will also make a historic stop in Burma, being first sitting American President to do so. Will the trip help to reinforce and accelerate the reform process in Burma or is the visit premature as some human rights advocates assert. Will the visit antagonize the Chinese who see America’s pivot as threat to their hegemony? What’s on the agenda at the East Asia Summit and to what extent will tensions over the South China Sea, of great importance to ASEAN nations, be addressed? Host Carol Castiel discusses this and more with East Asia specialists Patrick Cronin, Senior Director and advisor of the Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and Catharin Dalpino, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy under President Clinton, now a visiting scholar in Southeast Asia Studies at John’s Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

U.S. ELECTION AFTERMATH

John Fortier, Director of the Democracy Project at the Bi-Partisan Policy Center, and David Wasserman, editor of the Cook Political Report, discuss with host Carol Castiel President Obama’s victory and Mitt Romney’s defeat, the make-up of the new 113th Congress, and to what extent President Obama’s victory and Democratic pick-ups in the Senate and the House of Representatives, mean he has more leverage with Congress.