Home Podcasts Christiane Amanpour Presents: The Ex Files
Christiane Amanpour Presents: The Ex Files

Christiane Amanpour Presents: The Ex Files

Global 103 Episodes Oct 13, 2026

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. 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.

Episodes

Is Trump now funding Putin’s war machine?
Is Trump now funding Putin’s war machine? Oct 13, 2026 42:14 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
Q&A: Could Trump really invade Canada?
Q&A: Could Trump really invade Canada? Oct 8, 2026 27:51 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 fa
Time for America to scrap the death penalty?
Time for America to scrap the death penalty? Oct 6, 2026 41:16 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 revea
Q&A: Is the Iran War coming to Europe?
Q&A: Is the Iran War coming to Europe? Oct 1, 2026 22:57 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
Why did Trump let Xi off the hook?
Why did Trump let Xi off the hook? Sep 29, 2026 40:17 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 h
Q&A: Should the US fight the Houthis & will Merz be forced out?
Q&A: Should the US fight the Houthis & will Merz be forced out? Sep 24, 2026 24:39 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 fr
Is the world turning its back on Trump's America?
Is the world turning its back on Trump's America? Sep 22, 2026 36:10 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 goalpost
Q&A: The race for AI supremacy & a new escalation in Ukraine?
Q&A: The race for AI supremacy & a new escalation in Ukraine? Sep 17, 2026 27:26 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 Russia's reported strike on a train near Ukraine's border with Poland, shortly after European security officials had travelled through. Is it a warning to Europe, and could it mark a n
Is Trump making America weaker?
Is Trump making America weaker? Sep 15, 2026 42:30 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 too thinly.They also examine how the war is affecting Iran, as pressure mounts on its economy and the battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz intensifies. With the US reportedly run
Q&A: A historic far-right win & are we biased against Trump?
Q&A: A historic far-right win & are we biased against Trump? Sep 10, 2026 33:21 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 right is now the thing to watch.Plus, has Witkoff and Kushner's trip to Moscow and Kyiv achieved anything? Jamie doubts they're the right negotiators, and explains what would actually
Did 9/11 put the US on a permanent war footing?
Did 9/11 put the US on a permanent war footing? Sep 8, 2026 44:35 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 planes hitting the Twin Towers. She also reveals how it took her so long to hear about the attack in the first place, given she was thousands of miles away on assignment in Sierra Leone,
Q&A: Trump’s failed diplomacy and a coup in the Kremlin? With Matt Frei
Q&A: Trump’s failed diplomacy and a coup in the Kremlin? With Matt Frei Sep 3, 2026 27:06 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 explain why Putin might try to test NATO in the Baltics, and why European leaders aren't sure Trump would come to their defence.Then: Estonia's spy chief says Putin could face a cou

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