On this edition of “VOA Encounter” - East Africa – from Kenya north to Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Sudan has been wracked for years by insurgent and inter-political violence. Added to that volatility is Muslim extremism such as al-Shabaab and separatist forces such as in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. Soufan Center and former RAND terrorism expert Colin Clarke and Kenyatta University/Nairobi analyst Xavier Francis Ichani discuss the state of East Africa and the best role for the U.S. Africa Command in bringing peace to the region.

President Joe Biden has introduced immigration reform legislation that would reverse many of former President Donald Trump’s restrictive measures. Ali Noorani, President & CEO, National Immigration Forum and Lora Ries, senior research fellow in homeland security, The Heritage Foundation spar over the merits of President Biden’s immigration reform proposal with host Carol Castiel.

Daryl Johnson, former senior analyst at the Department of Homeland Security and author of “Hateland: A Long Hard Look at America’s Extremist Heart” and Jason Blazakis, Director of the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism at the Middlebury Institute of International studies and senior fellow at the Soufan Center, discuss with host Carol Castiel the roots of domestic terrorism, why it poses a major threat to US democracy and national security and how to combat it.

Against the backdrop of unprecedented security and coronavirus social distancing restrictions, Joseph R. Biden is inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States. Kamala D. Harris is the first woman and person of South Asian and African-American descent to be sworn in as Vice President. Frances E. Lee, Professor of Politics and Public affairs at Princeton University and Elaine Kamarck, Senior Fellow at the Governance Studies Program at the Brookings Institution, discuss the domestic and international ramifications of this transfer of power with host Carol Castiel.

On this annual edition of Encounter, Georgetown University professors Anthony Arend and Mark Lagon react to President Donald Trump’s second impeachment and outline the national security and foreign policy priorities and challenges for the incoming Biden administration with host Carol Castiel.