Christiane Amanpour Presents: The Ex Files

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 running down its stocks of defensive missiles, could the conflict give Iran greater leverage? Plus, two crucial elections are coming up. Christiane and Jamie discuss what the US midterms could mean for Trump, and why Israel's election in October could become a reckoning for Benjamin Netanyahu. After sanctions were introduced on West Bank settlers, they ask, is Israel becoming increasingly isolated internationally? 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

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 bring Russia to the table. The hosts also tackle the foiled Russian plot at Leipzig airport, and Ratko Mladić's burial in Serbia with full military honours, which Christiane calls a disgrace. Finally, Barbara on YouTube asks why they're so biased against Trump. 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

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, cut off from phones and pictures. She describes the scramble to get word to her, the long journey back to London to broadcast, and her fear that Jamie might also have been a target for the terrorists. Meanwhile, Jamie explains how he instinctively declared the incident 'an attack on the world' as he went on air to react - and unpicks what the US Government got right and wrong in its immediate response to 9/11. Later, Christiane & Jamie turn to what those attacks set in motion. Why did the world unite behind the war in Afghanistan, and how did that consensus collapse in Iraq? They explain how the Iraq War began the long destruction of trust in America, not only because there were no weapons of mass destruction, but because the war was fought so badly. And they finish on the question that runs through all of it: with Trump now waging his own war against Iran, did 9/11 leave America on a permanent war footing? 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

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 coup from his own inner circle. Christiane looks at the growing signs of unease around the Kremlin, and why what happened to Yevgeny Prigozhin is a warning to anyone who might try to oust the Russian President. Plus: Mark Carney says Trump's trade demands amount to economic war, and most Canadians agree. Why has a former central banker stood up to Trump when other world leaders haven't? And with 30 countries now caught up in the Iran-US war, is this a 21st century world war? 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

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 the cost of the Presidents' major blind spots. They also dig into the resignation of US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, and ask whether Trump's administration is beginning to turn on itself. Matt describes a "Game of Thrones" unfolding behind the President's back, with rival figures such as JD Vance, Marco Rubio & Pete Hegseth jostling for position and influence. So how much longer can Trump keep his 'Court' together? Plus: the death of Ratko Mladic, the "Butcher of Bosnia". Christiane and Matt both covered the Balkan wars and both interviewed Mladic, and they explain why his death matters now, as Serbia grows more nationalist and more pro-Putin. Is there a genuine risk of history repeating itself in Europe? And is this all part of a trend of the far-right's growing strength across the continent? 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