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

Christiane Amanpour Presents: The Ex Files

Global 103 Episodes Sep 17, 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

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 thin.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 runni
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 actuall
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
Is the 'Court of Trump' collapsing? With Matt Frei
Is the 'Court of Trump' collapsing? With Matt Frei Sep 1, 2026 36:53 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 Iran are both still dragging on with no end in sight? Christiane is joined by Matt Frei - a foreign correspondent with three decades covering the world's biggest stories - to discuss
Fear & silence: inside the Taliban's Afghanistan - with Lyse Doucet
Fear & silence: inside the Taliban's Afghanistan - with Lyse Doucet Aug 25, 2026 45:43 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 BBC's Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet, who has just returned from reporting in Kabul. Having covered Afghanistan for decades, Lyse tells Christiane what she found on her la
Q&A: Europe’s border crisis & AOC for President?
Q&A: Europe’s border crisis & AOC for President? Aug 20, 2026 35:15 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 immigration model is suddenly on the defensive, and whether the far right will exploit the crisis all over again.Netanyahu has publicly rejected Trump's Gaza peace plan. But with Israe
Disorder & dysfunction: inside Trump's White House - with Maggie Haberman
Disorder & dysfunction: inside Trump's White House - with Maggie Haberman Aug 18, 2026 45:11 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 Change, Maggie reveals what day-to-day life in this White House is really like: the chaos, the confusion, and what it tells us about the man at the centre of it all. What actually mot
Q&A: Is Poland Putin's Next Target & Netanyahu Defies Trump
Q&A: Is Poland Putin's Next Target & Netanyahu Defies Trump Aug 13, 2026 29:10 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 is real and why Russia's hybrid warfare is already testing NATO's limits.After Netanyahu has publicly rejected Trump's Gaza peace plan, Jamie explains why Hamas likely agreed to it kn
How’s Trump’s new American Empire going?
How’s Trump’s new American Empire going? Aug 11, 2026 38:07 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 right' has become the defining doctrine of this Presidency.They examine whether Secretary of State Marco Rubio is effectively running Venezuela as America's 'Viceroy', whether the US ha
Q&A: The most unpopular US conflict ever & why is Trump so hostile to journalists?
Q&A: The most unpopular US conflict ever & why is Trump so hostile to journalists? Aug 6, 2026 21:11 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 war is the most unpopular US military conflict he can remember, with no rally-around-the-flag effect and no stated objective successfully achieved. Could it lead to an uprising or ‘Ar

Recommended