Friday, Feb. 4, 2005

Nuclear Challenge
In his State of the Union speech, President Bush identified Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Margaret Warner leads a discussion on how the United States should handle Iran's nuclear program with George Perkovich, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Paul Leventhal, founder of the Nuclear Control Institute.

On the Road
Kwame Holman reports on President Bush's road trip in Arkansas to promote his Social Security reform proposal.

Shields and Brooks
Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss President Bush's Social Security proposal and the likely selection of Howard Dean to head the Democratic National Committee.

Neglecting News
Terence Smith speaks with Nicolas de Torrente, executive director of Doctors Without Borders in the United States, about humanitarian stories underreported by the media.

In Memoriam
Legendary actor and civil rights advocate Ossie Davis died today in a Miami hotel at the age of 87. A look back at the man who was a central figure among black performers for many decades.

Thursday, Feb. 3, 2005

Newsmaker: Paul Volcker
A U.N. report released Thursday implicated the head of the U.N. Oil-for-Food Program in Iraq of bribery. Spencer Michels reports on the findings. Then, Margaret Warner talks with former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, who led the investigation.

Fixing Social Security
In his State of the Union address Wednesday, President Bush opened the Social Security debate. Kwame Holman looks at the congressional response to the president's proposal.

Then, Jeffrey Brown leads a discussion on the proposed reforms with Peter Orszag, senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institute, and Michael Tanner, director of health and welfare studies at the Cato Institute.

Historical Perspective
Presidential historian Michael Beschloss; Ellen Fitzpatrick, professor of history at the University of New Hampshire; and Richard Norton Smith, executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, put President Bush's Social Security proposal in historical context.

Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2005

Exit Strategy
Margaret Warner leads a discussion on when U.S. troops should pull out of Iraq with Eliot Cohen, director of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; Bobby Muller, founder and chair of Vietnam Veterans of America; and Ret. General William Odom, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.

Security Choice
Secretary of Homeland Security nominee Michael Chertoff appeared before the Senate on Wednesday. Kwame Holman reports on the confirmation hearings.

Ailing Pope
The Pope was hospitalized Tuesday for flu complications. Jeffrey Brown speaks with John Allen of National Catholic Reporter on the pope's current condition.

Darfur Report
A new outbreak of violence in Sudan last week left 14 dead and at least 15 wounded. Gwen Ifill looks at the United Nations' recent report on the regional violence with Salih Booker, executive director of Africa Action, and Edward Mortimer, adviser to the U.N. Secretary General.

Shields and Brooks
Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Jim Lehrer for a preview of the State of the Union address by President Bush.

Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2005

Neighborhood Views
The Iraqi elections are expected to have political ramifications for other nations in the Middle East. Ray Suarez leads a discussion on the region's reaction with Hisham Melhem, host of a weekly program on Al-Arabiya television; Khaled Dawoud, Washington correspondent for the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram; and Shibley Telhami, professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland.

Setting the Agenda
On the eve of President Bush's State of the Union address, Gwen Ifill speaks with Thomas "Mack" McLarty, President Clinton's chief of staff; Kenneth Duberstein, chief of staff in Ronald Reagan's second administration; and David Gergen, who served in the Clinton, Reagan, Ford and Nixon White Houses.

Dying Reefs
Correspondent Betty Ann Bowser of the NewsHour's Science Unit reports on the degradation of the world's coral reefs.

Essay: One Weird Country
Essayist Anne Taylor Fleming looks at contradictions she sees in American society.

Monday, Jan. 31, 2005

Iraq Votes

Then, Gwen Ifill speaks to John Burns, Baghdad bureau chief for The New York Times.

NewsMaker: Negroponte
Margaret Warner speaks with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq John Negroponte about his view on Iraq's first multi-party elections in 50 years.

Iraqi Election Analysis
Adeed Dawisha, professor of political science at the Miami University of Ohio, and Juan Cole, professor of Middle East history at the University of Michigan, who have been following political events in Iraq, discuss the elections.

All in the Family
Telecom giants SBC and AT&T announced Sunday their plans to merge. Jeffrey Brown leads a discussion on how the planned merger would affect the industry.