Christiane Amanpour Presents: The Ex Files

Global Player Originals
Global Player Originals
  • 4.8 (375)
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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. 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

  1. 1d ago

    Q&A: Has Pete Hegseth lost it?

    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 party’s stance on the right to life. They also look at the Houthis’ strike on a Saudi airport. Does this signal a widening conflict, and could Saudi Arabia be drawn back into a direct confrontation with the Houthis? Meanwhile, MI5 says threats from Russia and Iran have quadrupled in the last decade. With AI creating new risks, from cyber-attacks to bioweapons, are Britain’s intelligence services equipped to deal with a new era of hybrid warfare? Plus, why are Republican politicians so reluctant to cross Trump, even when his popularity appears to be falling? What keeps them loyal to him? This episode was recorded on 14th October. Christiane is up for Best Host in the Signal Awards Listener's Choice. If you love the show, take ten seconds to vote: https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2026/shows/craft/best-host 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.

  2. 3d ago

    Is Trump now funding Putin’s war machine?

    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 it a gift to Russia's war machine, did Trump just sell out Ukraine for cheaper diesel? Christiane and Jamie unpack the logic behind it and examine Trump's claim that Zelensky should be replaced. Later Christiane reports from Reykjavik's Hofdi House, 40 years on from where Reagan and Gorbachev came within touching distance of abolishing nuclear weapons, and walked away. Jamie, who worked on arms control at the time, explains why that "failure" broke the back of the Cold War, and why both now argue the same leap of thinking is needed to govern AI before it governs us. 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. Christiane is up for Best Host in the Signal Awards Listener's Choice. If you love the show, take ten seconds to vote: https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2026/shows/craft/best-host

  3. Oct 8

    Q&A: Could Trump really invade Canada?

    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 right to take it seriously? The Cornell 7 case has raised questions about how universities and law enforcement respond to sexual assault allegations. Why do major institutions so often fail survivors, and what needs to change? Plus: Tina weighs in on Prince Andrew's legal action against the police, as well as the latest row between Charles Spencer and King Charles over Princess Diana. Please note: this episode was recorded on the 5th October. 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.

  4. Oct 6

    Time for America to scrap the death penalty?

    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 - to finally scrap the death penalty? Christiane and guest co-host Tina Brown dissect the 'barbaric' attempts to execute Pike, explain why prison doctors are so poorly trained and reveal why there is a shortage of lethal injection drugs in the US. They also ask: what does this extraordinary case say about America? Christiane talks about her personal experience of visiting a death penalty facility in person and she and Tina discuss whether anything is likely to change as a result of this story. Plus, they look ahead to the midterms. Are these elections simply a referendum on Donald Trump? Christiane asks why so many senior Republicans still won't criticise the President by name and they discuss whether candidates would do better if they did. Plus Tina explains her theory on how Trump has lost his touch, and they give their reactions to the latest on the President's war with the press. 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. Follow us on social media @amanpourpod For more content, please follow us: Watch us: https://www.youtube.com/@AmanpourPod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amanpourpod X: https://x.com/AmanpourPod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Christiane-Amanpour-Presents BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amanpourpod.bsky.social

  5. Oct 1

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

    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 Europe more generally? A Baltic foreign minister recently told Christiane that Europe had been "a fat, lazy cat" until now - and credited Trump with finally getting the continent spending on defence. So why didn’t Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, agree? Plus: is the UN worth anything without leverage over Washington, Moscow or Beijing? What did Trump actually gain in Greenland? And are Ukraine's strikes inside Russia backfiring? 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. Follow us on social media @amanpourpod For more content, please follow us: Watch us: https://www.youtube.com/@AmanpourPod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amanpourpod X: https://x.com/AmanpourPod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Christiane-Amanpour-Presents BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amanpourpod.bsky.social

  6. Sep 29

    Why did Trump let Xi off the hook?

    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 agreement? Is the Taiwan arms sale dead or just delayed? And why is Trump pushing hardest on America's friends while reaching for its adversaries? Plus Christiane gives her reaction to her exclusive UNGA interviews with Brazil's President Lula and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. 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. Follow us on social media @amanpourpod For more content, please follow us: Watch us: https://www.youtube.com/@AmanpourPod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amanpourpod X: https://x.com/AmanpourPod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Christiane-Amanpour-Presents BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amanpourpod.bsky.social

  7. Sep 24

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

    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 willing to act as Saudi Arabia's security guarantor. Could Riyadh start looking to Europe, or even China, for better protection from Iran and its proxies? They also tackle a challenge from a listener who asks why Jamie is so focused on the threat from China and Russia - when the US and Israel stand accused of devastating actions of their own. Then, to Afghanistan, where the question is whether the international community has any real leverage left. Could diplomatic, trade and economic engagement, or the easing of targeted sanctions, be made conditional on genuine improvements in women's rights and their place in Afghan society? And is there any prospect the Taliban would accept that bargain? Plus, after another dreadful set of election results, is Chancellor Merz's position in Germany now untenable? And did the far-right AfD do better or worse in the state elections than Christiane and Jamie expected? 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. Follow us on social media @amanpourpod For more content, please follow us: Watch us: https://www.youtube.com/@AmanpourPod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amanpourpod X: https://x.com/AmanpourPod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Christiane-Amanpour-Presents BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amanpourpod.bsky.social

  8. Sep 22

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

    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 crisis in the same building at the same time. Christiane and Jamie ask whether wars are solvable and alliances can be strengthened while the world's superpower keeps moving the goalposts. Christiane brings the view from the very top. Fresh from interviewing Brazil's President Lula, and with Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney building a political reputation for standing up to Trump, she and Jamie examine how major nations are quietly engineering workarounds for dealing with the Trump administration. Is this a sustainable new model of diplomacy? They also look ahead to two meetings that will test this fragile system: Trump and Xi, with AI now a national security question rather than a tech issue, and Trump and Zelensky, with Kyiv increasingly frustrated by reduced American support. Later, Christiane responds to Trump's latest attempted crackdown on press freedom: his ban on journalists from CNN, MS Now and Politico from entering the White House. Christiane explains why this is such a concerning move and why authoritarian regimes all over the world will be the ones who benefit. 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. Follow us on social media @amanpourpod For more content, please follow us: Watch us: https://www.youtube.com/@AmanpourPod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amanpourpod X: https://x.com/AmanpourPod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Christiane-Amanpour-Presents BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amanpourpod.bsky.social

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4.8
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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. 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

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