GZERO World with Ian Bremmer is returning to your screens this week, kicking off Season 9 in a summer of sweltering global tensions. The United States is celebrating its 250th birthday, a war has reshaped the Middle East, AI is forcing humanity to confront profound ethical choices, and democracies around the world are bracing for what comes next. Host Ian Bremmer is here to make sense of it all.

The season opens with a timely conversation with comedian and political commentator Bill Maher, reflecting on what America's semiquincentennial means in today's fractured political landscape. Subsequent episodes will dive into the latest developments in Iran and the Middle East, including a conversation with acclaimed Lebanese journalist Kim Ghattas, as well as an exploration of AI ethics following Pope Leo XIV's landmark encyclical, featuring Vatican advisor and theologian Fr. Paolo Benanti. Tune in for later episodes as Ian examines the economic and political fallout of a full decade of Brexit, looks ahead to the US midterm elections, and marks the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.