For many Americans, the US election has been a reality show – filled with anger, acrimony, melodrama and plot-twists at every turn.

Helping to explain how we the nation got to this point, with rising pessimism on both sides, is award winning journalist and director of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, Frank Sesno and Cenk Uygur, the host and founder of The Young Turks, the largest online news show in the world, and CEO of TYT Network.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have said the world is waiting for U.S. to reclaim its pre-eminent position in the world. U.S. foreign policy has left the Middle East more dangerous and divided than before.

Sorting out the impact the next US president will have on policy towards the Middle East is Raghida Dergham, Columnist & Senior Diplomatic Correspondent for Al Hayat and Founder and Executive Chairman of the Beirut Institute; along with Abdel Bari Atwan, editor-in-chief of Rai al-Youm, an Arabic Independent newspaper.

The next U.S. President will have to deal with plenty of challenges in U.S.-China ties — widely called the world’s most important bilateral relationship.

To discuss how the next American president will shape Sino-U.S. relations especially in areas of security, The Heat is joined by Victor Gao, an international affairs commentator; and Abraham Sofaer, Senior Fellow Emeritus with the Hoover Institution.

As the world enters the 21st century, the global landscape is shifting. It’s being called the emergence of the Global South — a post-Western paradigm in which these nations are expected to play a bigger role in global trade, peacekeeping etc. China is already leading that movement – with AIIB, the One Belt One Road initiative, its increased role in UN peacekeeping, major investments in Africa, and much more. U.S. reaction to all of these developments has been negative.

To discuss the US reaction to changing global circumstances, The Heat speaks with Dmitry Babich, Political Analyst for Sputnik International and Liu Xin, CCTV’s Geneva Bureau Chief.