The Heat: Now Every Weeknight @ 9:30 PM EDT

The Heat

An in-depth program on Afghanistan has marked the launch of a new daily, global talk program produced by CCTV America, the American arm of China Central Television. “The Heat,” nightly at 9:30 PM US EDT debuted on Monday, April 7th, 2014, on the CCTV News channel. Hosted by veteran anchor Anand Naidoo, from CCTV America’s Washington studios, the new show aims to stir up vigorous debate and discussion of international issues.

On the debut show, Former Interior Minister of Afghanistan, The Honorable Ali A. Jalali shared their thoughts on the future of Afghanistan through the prism of both his recent trip and decades of service within the central government. Former Afghanistan Ambassador to France and Canada, Omar Samad and Peter Galbraith, debated the future of Afghanistan and the pros and cons of U.S. intervention. Ambassador Galbraith served as United Nation’s Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan in 2009, when he helped investigate charges of fraud during the Presidential Elections that year. The show also featured reporting from CCTV News correspondent Sean Callebs in Kabul, exploring the viability of any Afghan government given an increasingly precarious security situation.

On Friday (April 11), The Heat shifted focus to global space cooperation and talked to Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield. Hadfield, a veteran of three space missions, gained fame as “the most social media savvy astronaut ever to leave Earth.” His tweets from the International Space station in 2013 earned him more than a million followers. Before returning to earth, Hadfield, with guitar in orbit, performed from the space station a version of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” The video drew more than 20 million views on YouTube. Talking to Anand Naidoo, Hadfield urged the United States and Europe to cooperate more with China on space missions. As he put it, “we must work together to conquer the complexity and cost of space exploration.”

The launch of The Heat is part of an expansion of US prime time programming in April from CCTV America as it ramps up production.

Host Anand Naidoo is a veteran journalist. Starting in South African television, Naidoo has been an anchor on CNN International and Al Jazeera English, before coming to CCTV America in 2013.

The Heat can be seen 9:30 Mondays U.S. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on CCTV News and live streamed at https://america.cgtn.com/livenews/ The show is seen across ASIA: China, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines at 9:30 each morning Tuesday through Saturday.

CCTV News in America can be seen on DISH Network Channel 279. It airs in Washington DC on Comcast 273 and digital channel 3 in the DC area. Viewers in New York can watch Time Warner 134 and FIOS 277. In Los Angeles Time Warner 155 and Charter 562. Check local listings in other regions.