Amanpour

Today US President Donald Trump landed in Saudi Arabia, the first stop on his first major foreign trip since returning to office. After Riyadh, he'll go on to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Notably absent from his itinerary is Israel. On Monday, the US went around Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to secure the release of Edan Alexander, the final living American hostage out of Gaza. It appears to be part of a larger pattern, with America also engaging in direct talks with Iran, indirect talks with Hamas and agreeing to a ceasefire deal with the Houthis in Yemen. To assess all this, former US Ambassador to both Egypt and Israel, Daniel Kurtzer joins the show to discuss. Also on today's show: author Jordan Thomas; actor Kelsey Grammer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hamas has released Edan Alexander, the last living American hostage, saying it's part of steps towards a ceasefire deal and an end to the Israeli blockade that has lasted more than two months. Edan’s release is a moment of hope for Israel but there are still hostages trapped in Gaza and their loved ones continue to live in this nightmare. Among them is the family of Israeli-American Omer Neutra. Murdered by Hamas on October 7th, in the 583 days since, Omer’s remains have been held in Gaza. Omer's parents Ronen and Orna Neutra join the program. Also on today's show: NPR International Correspondent Emily Feng & Axios Chief Financial Correspondent Felix Salmon; Cardinal Michael Czerny; American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eighty years since Nazi Germany surrendered, Europe marks VE Day as the once unbreakable transatlantic bond faces new pressure under the "America First" president of Donald Trump. Christiane speaks with Finland's President, Alexander Stubb, about his relationship with Trump, the future of NATO and Ukraine, and the Russia-China anti-Western alliance. Them, with the fate of both the people of Gaza and the Israeli hostages still on the line, Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister, Sharren Haskel, talks to Christiane about the humanitarian crisis and the latest military escalation. Marking 25 years of Vladimir Putin's rule over Russia, Fred Pleitgen brings us a rare and highly stage-managed look at the Russian president's life at the Kremlin. Christiane also speaks with award-winning and best-selling novelist Isabelle Allende about her new book, "My Name is Emila Del Valle." From her archives, in honor of the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Christiane's conversation with 102-year-old WW2 veteran Jake Larson at the American Cemetary in Normandy. Papa Jake, as he is known, has become an unlikely TikTok star with over one million followers. And finally, as country music celebrated its biggest night of the year at the 60th Academy of Country Music Awards this week, Christiane revisited her conversation with industry titan and seven-time nominee Rosanne Cash, daughter of the legendary Johnny Cash. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Europe celebrates the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, Ukraine is still under brutal Russian attack. And while Donald Trump vowed to end the war in 24 hours, three months into his second term the negotiations have stalled. Christiane speaks with a man who might have an insight into Trump's tactics: Finnish president Alexander Stubb. He spent hours golfing with Trump in March and was seated next to him at Pope Francis' recent funeral. Also on today's show: journalist Christo Grozev and "Antidote" Producer-Director James Jones; NYT Technology Reporter David Yaffe-Bellany Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's 80th anniversary of victory over the Nazis in Europe feels like an occasion for reflection, as threats escalate in India and Pakistan and Russia’s brutal war of aggression in Ukraine drags on. So, is America still the indispensable nation, able to facilitate peace? Or has that historic role evaporated? Leon Panetta has been Congressman, White House Chief of Staff, Defense Secretary, CIA Director, and more. He speaks with Christiane from California. Also on today's show: Christopher Bellito, Specialist in Church History and Reform at Kean University in New Jersey; historian Margaret MacMillan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Canada's new Prime Minister Mark Carney came face to face with US President Donald Trump at the White House today. The old, steady alliance is now more fraught than ever, with President Trump slapping tariffs on his neighbor and threatening to make it the 51st state. Frank McKenna is former Canadian Ambassador to the US, and he joins the show from Toronto. Also on today's show: Mujib Mashal, South Asia bureau chief, The New York Times; author Catherine Coleman Flowers ("Holy Ground") Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Donald Trump says it's his hardline stance on immigration that helped put him back in the White House. Opponents say Trump's deportation spree is running roughshod over the Constitution. Immigration law expert Marielena Hincapié joins the show to discuss. Also on today's show: Vickie Patton, General Counsel, Environmental Defense Fund; Laurie Segall, CEO, Mostly Human Media; former federal prosecutor Brendan Ballou Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first 100 days of the Trump administration have been deemed chaotic and overzealous, even by Americans, with multiple polls this week showing the President's approval rating underwater, even on his signature issues like the economy and mass deportations. There is an uneasy feeling that Trump is pushing America and the world away from democratic norms by stretching the limits of executive power. Christiane speaks with historians Jill Lepore from Harvard University and Timoth Garten Ash from Oxford University about America's illiberal turn under Trump 2.0 and the deep-seated roots of that illiberalism. Then, as President Trump pressures Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to take decisive action against her country's cartels, CNN's Isobel Yeung went there to investigate what the crackdown looks like first-hand in Sinaloa. Also, as sirens sounded across Israel this week to honor those lost to terror and war, while Israel's total siege on Gaza enters its third month, Christiane talks to bereaved Israeli and Palestinian fathers, Rami Elhanan and Bassam Aramin who've channeled their grief and pain into friendship and a joint struggle for peace. To mark 50 years since the chaotic end of the Vietnam War, from her archives, Christiane pays a tribute to the famous wartime photographer Eddie Adams who captured some of the worst moments of the war and with his camera, helped change hearts and minds and ultimately, shaped government policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For more than 100 days, President Trump has tested the very limits of executive power by defying the courts, pressuring universities and law firms, and deporting people to foreign prisons. It is prompting some soul searching abroad and at home: what exactly does America now represent on the world stage? Two leading historians - Jill Lepore and Timothy Garton Ash – join the show to discuss. Also on today's show: an in-depth discussion of Mexico's drug crackdown; author Elie Mystal (“Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America”) **As the Trump administration’s battle with the courts escalates, one legal expert is taking a step back to re-imagine what a more representative US legal system could look like. Bestselling author Elie Mystal tells Hari Sreenivasan about his unconventional theory explored in his latest work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Could today's critical minerals deal be a win-win for the United States and Ukraine? It marks a hard turn from the bitter oval office meeting between Presidents Trump and Zelensky in February. Now the deal must be ratified by the Ukrainian parliament, where Oleksandr Merezhko chairs the foreign affairs committee. He joins the show to discuss. Also on today's show: Dr. Samer Attar, US surgeon recently in Gaza; Isabel Allende, author, "My Name is Emilia del Valle"; Douglas Belkin, Higher Education Reporter, The Wall Street Journal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today immigration authorities finally released detained Palestinian Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi following a judge's order. He was arrested earlier this month after arriving for an interview for his US citizenship petition. This news comes as a a new CNN poll shows a majority of Americans say the President Trump has gone too far on immigration enforcement. Joining the program to discuss is David J. Bier, the director of immigration studies at the Cato institute and an expert on border security. Also on today's show: Three Americans released from an Iranian prison in 2023 join the program for their first joint interview; presidential historian Timothy Naftali on Trump's first 100 days Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a stunning turnaround, Canada’s Liberal party, under the new leadership of economist Mark Carney, has won re-election. Just a few months ago, the Conservative opposition were the favorite to win, but US President Donald Trump's tariffs and threats to Canada's sovereignty reshaped the race. Andrew Coyne is a longtime journalist at Canada's The Globe and Mail and author of the new book, "The Crisis of Canadian Democracy." Also on today's show: Haaretz Military Analyst Amos Harel; PEN America co-CEO Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf and novelist Dinaw Mengestu; former US Amassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

According to a new CNN poll, President Donald Trump's approval rating stands at 41%. That's a steep drop from Trump's support just before the election, and the lowest for any US president at this point in his term going back to at least the 1950s. Will these negative ratings spell doom for the rest of the president's term? Or are they just one more ride on the Trump roller coaster? Susan Glasser, Staff Writer for The New Yorker, joins the program to discuss. Also on today's show: Former US Mideast Envoy Dennis Ross; author Mary Ziegler ("Personhood"); filmmaker Perry Peltz and lawyer Matthew Bergman discuss the new documentary "Can't Look Away" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At the end of a week of mourning for Pope Francis, Christiane speaks with Father Carlos Ferrero, a parish priest in Gaza who spoke daily with the Pope until his final call to them on Saturday. He discusses the Pope’s pastoral care for those trapped in Gaza, and the humanitarian situation right now. Also on today's show: The International Rescue Committee’s Shireen Ibrahim joins the program from Kabul; playwright Ryan Calais Cameron on "Retrograde"; "Conclave" director Edward Berger Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

First: After Russia conducts major strikes on Kyiv, President Trump urges both sides to embrace his peace proposal. Oleksiy Goncharenko, Ukrainian MP, joins from Ukraine to discuss how his country is being pressured by the Trump Administration. Following that, the EU’s Sanctions Envoy David O’Sullivan discusses a key point of leverage on Russia. Plus: A year ago, Pope Francis met with an extraordinary duo of bereaved Palestinian and Israeli fathers, Bassam Aramin and Rami Elhanan, whose daughters had both been killed. They have dedicated their lives to peace, and they join the show to recount that meeting with the Pope, and their hopes for peace in their troubled region. And: Finally, we revisit Christiane’s interview with a close friend of Pope Francis, Rabbi Abraham Skorka. He spoke with Christiane in 2013 about their friendship and the man who he knew as Jorge Bergoglio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

First: We take a look at the Pope’s legacy and future of the Church with Ireland’s former president and canon lawyer Mary McAleese. Next: As President Trump’s tariff and economic policies cause market ructions, how should the Democrats respond? Christiane puts this to President Obama’s former top strategist David Axelrod. Then: Is the campus crackdown by the Trump administration really about tackling antisemitism? Rabbi Sharon Brouse doesn’t think so – she joins the show to explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With mourners pouring into the Vatican to pay their respects to Pope Francis, we take a look at his legacy and what comes next – including the all-important conclave. Christopher Bellitto is Professor of History at Kean University and an expert in the Church, and joins the program live. Also on today's show: Former NOAA administrator Rick Spinrad; Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center Director Alexander Gabuev; actor Jonathan Pryce, who played Pope Francis in "The Two Popes" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic church, is dead. We get the latest from Vatican City, plus reflections from Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, who will be one of the few people to choose the next pope. Then we bring you insight from a reporter who interviewed Francis and was knighted by him. Plus, religious scholar David Gibson joins the show to discuss on the Francis's moral authority in a world of strongmen. And we look back at Christiane's conversation with filmmaker Wim Wenders about his revealing portrait of the pope as you've never seen him before. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the Trump administration intensifies its attempts to reshape U.S. colleges and universities, Christiane Amanpour speaks to those who are pushing back. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey talks about her concerns as her state is targeted by the Republican White House and Wesleyan University President Michael S. Roth discusses why he believes the Trump Administration is, in his words, “selling Jews a dangerous lie” by claiming its crackdown is to combat Anti-Semitism. Then, Mike Valerio’s report on how South Korean women are fighting against explicit images made with AI deepfakes. Also, British playwright Ryan Calais Cameron discusses his timely West End smash, ‘Retrograde’, a play revealing how Sidney Poitier’s career was almost derailed by the Red Scare. Plus, as Sudan marks two years of its devastating war, an echo from history as Christiane revisits her reporting on the humanitarian crisis in Darfur in 2004. And finally, a tribute to a giant of Latin American literature, Mario Vargas Llosa. As the Peruvian author dies aged 89, Christiane looks back at their conversation when he told her how he got started by writing love letters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices