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Christiane Amanpour Presents: The Ex Files

Global

145 episodes

World-renowned journalist Christiane Amanpour and ex-husband Jamie Rubin, a former US State Department official, unpack today’s defining global crises. Drawing on decades of insider experience in global affairs, reporting from conflict zones, and grilling world leaders, they explain how we ended up where we are – and where we might be going.

More about the show

Forget about a new world order – right now, there’s no world order. From Trump and Putin to the war in Ukraine, China’s global rise, and chaos in the Middle East, geopolitics has never been more dangerous or unpredictable. The Ex Files provides unparalleled insight into the issues keeping world leaders, and the rest of us, awake at night.

With searing honesty, jaw-dropping stories, and candid humour, this is the foreign policy podcast for our fractured age. They’re no longer married, but when it comes to current affairs, Christiane and Jamie still finish each other’s sentences.

Christiane Amanpour Presents: The Ex Files is a Global production, available every Tuesday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

For advertising opportunities on this podcast, email: GlobalStudiosSales@global.com

Episodes page 1 of 3

  1. Israeli Elections: will a new round of the Iran War come next?

    · 42 min · Episode 99

    This week's historic elections in Israel are the first time the country has voted since the October 7th attacks, and the election may ultimately turn on a single question: will voters hold accountable the politicians…

  2. Protests in France, Musk's grip on Ukraine & rebuilding trust in America

    · 24 min · Episode 98

    Are protests in France spiralling out of control, or do they point to a deeper breakdown in trust between the public and its political leaders? Christiane and Tina examine what lies behind the unrest and what it…

  3. Does Trump's White House have a woman problem?

    · 38 min · Episode 97

    After Katie Zacharia lasted just 5 days as White House Press Secretary, Christiane and Tina Brown ask: is this story part of a wider pattern that shows Trump and his administration have a problem with women? They…

  4. Q&A: Has Pete Hegseth lost it?

    · 25 min · Episode 96

    Why has JD Vance condemned the idea of livestreaming Nidal Hasan’s execution, and what does it reveal about divisions within the Republican Party? Christiane and Jamie examine the debate and how it sits alongside the…

  5. Is Trump now funding Putin’s war machine?

    · 42 min · Episode 95

    President Trump has announced a deal with Russia, lifting his own diesel sanctions and committing to spend $4bn of American money to Russian fuel, in return for a ceasefire on energy infrastructure. As Zelensky calls…

  6. Q&A: Could Trump really invade Canada?

    · 28 min · Episode 94

    Christiane and Tina answer your questions on Trump's threats to make Canada the 51st state. Canada has reportedly prepared for the possibility of a US invasion- but how realistic is that threat, and is Mark Carney…

  7. Time for America to scrap the death penalty?

    · 41 min · Episode 93

    The gruesome botched execution of Christa Pike has prompted an international debate about the use of the death penalty. Should it prompt America - the only major western democracy which still uses capital punishment -…

  8. Q&A: Is the Iran War coming to Europe?

    · 23 min · Episode 92

    Christiane and Jamie answer your questions on the five men arrested over a suspected plot at RAF Fairford, one of the military bases the UK let the US use to bomb Iran. Is Iran's war now spilling into Britain and…

  9. Why did Trump let Xi off the hook?

    · 40 min · Episode 91

    Xi got the pomp, the pageantry and a trip to see the US Constitution. America got a promise of two pandas. In this episode, Christiane and Jamie ask what Trump's summit with Xi actually achieved? Why was there no AI…

  10. Q&A: Should the US fight the Houthis & will Merz be forced out?

    · 25 min · Episode 90

    Saudi Arabia wants to take the fight to the Houthis, so why is Washington so reluctant to help? Christiane and Jamie unpack what's holding the US back, and what it means for the relationship if America is no longer…

  11. Is the world turning its back on Trump's America?

    · 36 min · Episode 89

    How do you negotiate with a government you can't predict? That's the question preoccupying presidents and prime ministers this week, as leaders gather in New York for the UN General Assembly with every major global…

  12. Q&A: The race for AI supremacy & a new escalation in Ukraine?

    · 27 min · Episode 88

    Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei has called the US–China AI race his "toughest dilemma", Christiane and Jamie ask – how worried should we be that artificial intelligence is becoming the next arms race? Plus, they look at…

  13. Is Trump making America weaker?

    · 43 min · Episode 87

    Is Trump's war with Iran making America weaker? Christiane and Jamie examine what the conflict is costing the US – from military resources and its position in Europe and Asia to the risk of spreading America's power…

  14. Q&A: A historic far-right win & are we biased against Trump?

    · 33 min · Episode 86

    The AfD has won the Saxony-Anhalt state election - the first far-right win in a German election of this kind since the Nazi era. Christiane explains why it's so dangerous, and why Germany's "firewall" against the far…

  15. Did 9/11 put the US on a permanent war footing?

    · 45 min · Episode 85

    Twenty-five years after 9/11, Christiane and Jamie dedicate a special episode to their memories of the day the world changed forever. Christiane becomes emotional as she recalls the first time she saw the images of…

  16. Q&A: Trump’s failed diplomacy and a coup in the Kremlin? With Matt Frei

    · 27 min · Episode 84

    The CIA director has just been to Moscow, just as his predecessor did weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. That warning was ignored. Will this one be? Channel 4 & LBC Presenter Matt Frei joins Christiane to…

  17. Is the 'Court of Trump' collapsing? With Matt Frei

    · 37 min · Episode 83

    Why have Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin both surrounded themselves with advisers who tell them only what they want to hear? And is this same fatal flaw the reason that both the Ukraine War and America's conflict with…

  18. Fear & silence: inside the Taliban's Afghanistan - with Lyse Doucet

    · 46 min · Episode 82

    Five years after the Taliban swept back into Kabul, just how devastating has the impact been on the lives of Afghanistan's women and girls? And is the world simply choosing to look away? Christiane is joined by the…

  19. Q&A: Europe’s border crisis & AOC for President?

    · 35 min · Episode 81

    Tens of thousands of people breached Spain's North African border and Europe is reliving the nightmare of 2015. Christiane and Jamie unpack why this moment has rattled European leaders, why Spain's carefully managed…

  20. Disorder & dysfunction: inside Trump's White House - with Maggie Haberman

    · 45 min · Episode 80

    Maggie Haberman is one of the few journalists to have been granted behind-the-scenes access to Trump's second term. This week, she joins Christiane to talk in depth about what she found. Drawing on her new book Regime…

  21. Q&A: Is Poland Putin's Next Target & Netanyahu Defies Trump

    · 29 min · Episode 79

    A leaked US intelligence assessment suggests Putin is considering an attack on a NATO country and America's weapons stockpile is dangerously depleted after the Iran war. Christiane and Jamie assess whether the threat…

  22. How’s Trump’s new American Empire going?

    · 38 min · Episode 78

    Did the capture of President Maduro give Trump the confidence to start a war with Iran? Christiane and Jamie trace how January's Venezuela gamble led directly to a disastrous conflict - and ask whether 'might makes…

  23. Q&A: The most unpopular US conflict ever & why is Trump so hostile to journalists?

    · 21 min · Episode 77

    How do you challenge a president who calls you fake news and walks out? Christiane reflects on the futility of confrontational questioning, and why she'd rather ask Trump how he became who he is. Jamie argues the Iran…

  24. Imran Khan: how did a national hero become a 'political prisoner'?

    · 42 min · Episode 76

    Imran Khan - the legendary cricketer and former Prime Minister - has now spent three years in a Pakistani prison. The UN says he is being held in solitary confinement in 'inhumane' conditions, something the Pakistani…

  25. Q&A: India's 'Cockroach' Protests, Ukraine's path to NATO & another term for Trump?

    · 23 min · Episode 75

    A 22-year-old international student launched India's "Cockroach Party" and has successfully forced the education minister to resign. Christiane and Jamie unpack how a tongue-in-cheek protest movement exposed widespread…

  26. Trump’s Saudi nuclear deal: what was he thinking?

    · 34 min · Episode 74

    Has Trump fired the starting gun on a nuclear arms race in the Middle East? His controversial deal with Saudi Arabia has sparked alarm - but is it already on the brink of collapse, after the President said it hinges on…

  27. Q&A: Chaos at the ICC, Hegseth's testosterone screening & Christiane responds to Iran critics

    · 32 min · Episode 73

    The ICC is in crisis. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has threatened to dismantle the International Criminal Court 'brick by brick', and with Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan now facing sexual misconduct allegations and a…

  28. Did Zelensky just sabotage his own war effort?

    · 38 min · Episode 72

    Ukrainian President Zelensky has shocked allies by sacking his Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, just as his country seemed to be gaining momentum in its grinding war with Russia. Christiane and Jamie discuss whether…

  29. Q&A: Lindsey Graham's legacy, UK's new PM and why is a 'trash can' standing for office?

    · 24 min · Episode 71

    With the death of Lindsey Graham, Christiane and Jamie examine what's been lost - and what his career revealed about the bargain so many Republicans have made: suppress what you believe to stay relevant, and hope it's…

  30. Was Iran Plotting To Assassinate Trump?

    · 40 min · Episode 70

    How real is the alleged Iranian plot to kill Donald Trump? Is it a genuine assassination plan, or another case of Israeli intelligence getting it wrong? Christiane and Jamie unpick the story and ask whether this…

  31. Q&A: Is this America's most humiliating war in history?

    · 28 min · Episode 69

    Trump says the Iran ceasefire is over - so how worried should we be about a return to full-scale war? Christiane and Jamie break down the latest tit-for-tat strikes and explain why the Iran War is even more humiliating…

  32. 250 Years Of America: Is Trump Tearing It Apart?

    · 36 min · Episode 68

    America has just marked 250 years of independence, but how much does the world's superpower really have to celebrate? Christiane explains how Trump is remaking the Land of the Free in his own image, and she and Jamie…

  33. Q&A: US and Israel’s ‘special relationship’, the World Cup and who polices Trump’s board of peace?

    · 26 min · Episode 67

    Nearly four months after the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted, how are the many Asian countries dependent on its oil managing? Christiane and Jamie also discuss the US's potential decline as a world power, and its…

  34. Is Putin panicking?

    · 36 min · Episode 66

    Putin has publicly admitted that Ukraine's strikes are causing real damage inside Russia. With fuel being rationed in Siberia and supplies in Crimea running out, Christiane and Jamie discuss how worried Putin is, and…

  35. Q&A: Trump's staying power, the rise of the far-right & Israel's nuclear double standard

    · 24 min · Episode 65

    Christiane and Jamie contrast the political accountability between presidential and parliamentary systems - why does Donald Trump remain while Keir Starmer falls? Plus, could Syria, Lebanon, and Israel ever cooperate…

  36. Iran deal on a knife-edge, Trump vs Netanyahu & yet another UK Prime Minister resigns

    · 42 min · Episode 64

    The US and Iran have held their first round of peace talks, but has there really been any progress? Is Tehran actually likely to allow nuclear inspectors back in? And has Trump's approach left America in a weaker…

  37. Q&A: Musk the trilionaire, the two-state solution and is Trump cashing in?

    · 32 min · Episode 63

    Elon Musk has become the world's first trillionaire - but should we celebrate or worry? Christiane and Jamie debate how his leap from electric cars and SpaceX into owning the public square, gutting USAID, and…

  38. Who won the Iran War?

    · 42 min · Episode 62

    The war in the Middle East has stopped, but can either the US or Iran genuinely claim victory? Christiane and Jamie unpick what the Memorandum of Understanding actually includes, what it conspicuously leaves out, and…

  39. Q&A: CBS under attack, Iran's ransom price and has Mamdani delivered?

    · 25 min · Episode 61

    Is the gutting of 60 Minutes leading us down a dangerous path? Christiane doesn't hold back on what CBS's parent company is doing to one of the most successful news programmes in television history. Plus, a Lebanese…

  40. Is Israel trapped in a Forever War?

    · 40 min · Episode 60

    Christiane was in Beirut until last Sunday. By the time she arrived back in London, the Lebanese capital was once again under Israeli bombardment and the Middle East ceasefire appeared on the verge of collapse. In…

  41. Q&A: Trump’s dealmaking “mastery”, capitalism vs democracy & do sanctions work?

    · 21 min · Episode 59

    On this week’s Q&A, Christiane and Jamie are asked whether Donald Trump’s self-styled reputation as a master dealmaker stands up to scrutiny, as US-Iran talks drag on with bold claims but little progress. They also…

  42. Does Putin want to start a war with NATO?

    · 39 min · Episode 58

    After a Russian drone struck a building inside NATO member Romania, Christiane and Jamie ask the question on every western leader's mind: does Putin actually want a direct confrontation with the alliance? They examine…

  43. Q&A: The Pope’s AI warning, Iran at the World Cup & is Russia still meddling in US politics?

    · 30 min · Episode 57

    This week, Christiane and Jamie discuss Pope Leo’s warning that AI could end up starting more wars, and ask whether the technology now poses a genuine threat to the future of humanity. They also look at the politics…

  44. Trump strikes Iran again: a sign of desperation?

    · 36 min · Episode 56

    The Iran ceasefire hangs by a thread after the latest round of US strikes on Iranian military sites and IRGC boats. Is this a sign that Trump is about to restart the war? Or is it that the President is becoming…

  45. Q&A: Trump's mental health, Epstein files accountability & Israel's death penalty

    · 25 min · Episode 55

    With growing numbers of doctors and experts publicly questioning the president's mental fitness, Christiane and Jamie tackle the most uncomfortable question in American politics: is Donald Trump losing it? Then,…

  46. Iran, Cuba, Greenland: does Trump have a plan, or just a list of places to conquer?

    · 38 min · Episode 54

    After a bruising few months of war, and with his ratings at an all-time low, could Trump be about to target Cuba? Christiane & Jamie dissect the President's recent visit to China and explain why he was unable to make…

  47. Q&A: MAGA’s trust in Trump, US-EU divorce & Iran's Lego fightback

    · 24 min · Episode 53

    Christiane and Jamie tackle the question of why so many MAGA supporters still trust President Trump despite rising costs, broken promises and foreign wars. They also address whether Americans truly understand how much…

  48. Is Putin losing his nerve...and the war?

    · 42 min · Episode 52

    What's been happening in Ukraine while the world has been watching the Iran War? Something has shifted - and not in Putin's favour. This week, Christiane and Jamie examine why Putin suddenly pushed for a ceasefire…

  49. Q&A: Trump's plunging ratings, Vance vs Rubio & Israel without Bibi?

    · 28 min · Bonus

    Christiane and Jamie answer your questions on the global fallout from the conflict in the Middle East - is anyone paying attention to the millions in sub-Saharan Africa facing displacement as a direct consequence of…

  50. US-Iran War: what is going on? With Tina Brown

    · 40 min · Episode 51

    Are the US & Iran really getting closer to a peace deal, as Trump claims? With the American blockade in the Strait of Hormuz now suspended, and talks between the two sides apparently imminent, Christiane and special…

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