Eric Farnsworth, Vice President of the Council of the Americas and the Americas Society, and Eric Olson, Associate Director of the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, talk with host Carol Castiel about the re-election of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, as well as the upcoming, potentially divisive election in Venezuela pitting a conservative former senator against a leftist former rebel.

Eric Farnsworth, Vice President of the Council of the Americas and the Americas Society, and Eric Olson, Associate Director of the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, talk with host Carol Castiel about the re-election of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, as well as the upcoming, potentially divisive election in Venezuela pitting a conservative former senator against a leftist former rebel.

John Fortier, Director of the Democracy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center, and Jim Kessler, Vice President for Policy at Third Way talks with Encounter host Carol Castiel about results of recent primary contests in the run-up to mid-term congressional elections and the latest twists and turns in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential elections.

John Fortier, Director of the Democracy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center, and Jim Kessler, Vice President for Policy at Third Way talks with Encounter host Carol Castiel about results of recent primary contests in the run-up to mid-term congressional elections and the latest twists and turns in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential elections.

From unilaterally exiting the Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA) to reshaping the rules of global trade, the Trump administration is upending decades of traditional bipartisan consensus on US foreign policy. Daniel Twining, President of the International Republican Institute and Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow in the National Security program at the Center for American Progress, spar over the repercussions of US foreign policy under the Trump administration with host Carol Castiel.

From unilaterally exiting the Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA) to reshaping the rules of global trade, the Trump administration is upending decades of traditional bipartisan consensus on US foreign policy. Daniel Twining, President of the International Republican Institute and Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow in the National Security program at the Center for American Progress, spar over the repercussions of US foreign policy under the Trump administration with host Carol Castiel.

On this edition of VOA's Encounter: Iraqis head for the polls to vote in their 5th parliamentary elections since the fall of Saddam Hussein and the first since the fall of the so-called Islamic State. Daniel Serwer, Scholar at the Middle East Institute and Professor at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, and Bilal Wahab, fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, join host Carol Castiel to discuss what is at stake in these elections for Iraq, the region and the United States.

On this edition of VOA's Encounter: Iraqis head for the polls to vote in their 5th parliamentary elections since the fall of Saddam Hussein and the first since the fall of the so-called Islamic State. Daniel Serwer, Scholar at the Middle East Institute and Professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, and Bilal Wahab, fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, join host Carol Castiel to discuss what is at stake in these elections for Iraq, the region and the United States.

What are prospects for formally ending the Korean War and getting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to abandon his nuclear arsenal and ICBMs? What are the impediments and challenges for a potential meeting between US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un? Jean Lee, Director of the Center for Korean History and Public Policy at the Woodrow Wilson Center, and Bruce Klingner, Senior Research Fellow at the Asian Studies Center at the Heritage Foundation discuss the significance and implications of the recent mini-summit between the leaders of North and South Korea with host Carol Castiel.

What are prospects for formally ending the Korean War and getting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to abandon his nuclear arsenal and ICBMs? What are the impediments and challenges for a potential meeting between US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un? Jean Lee, Director of the Center for Korean History and Public Policy at the Woodrow Wilson Center, and Bruce Klingner, Senior Research Fellow at the Asian Studies Center at the Heritage Foundation discuss the significance and implications of the recent mini-summit between the leaders of North and South Korea with host Carol Castiel.