The race for the Republican nomination for US president is expanding. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is throwing his hat in the ring, as has long been expected. Donald Trump is still dominating the field and he’s already spent millions attacking DeSantis. Trey Grayson is a former Kentucky Republican Secretary of State and was also the head of Harvard’s Institute of Politics. He’s now a practicing attorney and tells Christiane what this field of presidential hopefuls tells us about the Republican Party and its priorities. 

Also on today's show: Reality Winner, former enlisted US Air Force member and NSA translator who made headlines in 2017 after being arrested on charges of leaking classified information to the media. Now, her story is told in the new HBO film Reality directed by Tina Satter. Reality is now on supervised release in Corpus Christi, Texas. She joins Christiane along with Tina to discuss the new film. 
To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What to make of the Republican presidential hopefuls

Amanpour is CNN International's flagship global affairs interview program hosted by Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour.

News

The desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to worsen. Amidst this crisis the US, the UK and others are still withholding funding to UNRWA, the main relief agency there. This was in response to Israel’s claims that some UNRWA staff members took part in the Hamas atrocities of October 7th. An independent review headed up by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna has concluded that UNRWA’s neutrality must be strengthened. She joins Christiane from New York to discuss her findings. 
Also on today's show: David Vardanyan, whose father is imprisoned in Azerbaijan; historian Doris Kearns Goodwin; Ukranian conductor Oksana Lyniv 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chair of UNRWA Review Catherine Colonna

Opening arguments were heard today in the first ever criminal trial of an American president, as a jury of twelve detainees determines whether Donald Trump engaged in 2016 election interference over the payment of hush money to an alleged lover. This is happening just six months from the 2024 election where he is vying to get his old job back. Foes and allies of the United States around the world will be watching closely. To discuss all this, Christiane is joined by foreign policy experts Kori Schake and Nathalie Tocci. 
Also on today's show: climate reporter/author Abrahm Lustgarten; Palestinian and Ukrainian Refugee / Peace Ambassador for One Young World Zoya El-Miari 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Foreign policy experts Kori Schake and Nathalie Tocci

We begin the show with the wider war nobody wants and the chain reaction playing out in the Middle East. With Israel and Iran’s decades-long shadow war now playing out in the open, the rules of engagement are being completely re-written. Christiane spoke to Britain’s former top spy John Sawers about the volatile situation. Meanwhile, in the absence of vital US aid for Ukraine, other allies are stepping in to fill the vacuum. The Czech Republic is now leading an international effort to deliver a million and a half artillery shells to Ukraine within a year. Czech President Petr Pavel - a former army general, and senior NATO official – joins Christiane from Prague. The world's biggest democratic exercise is underway in India as nearly a billion eligible voters decide whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi deserves a third term. CNN’s Will Ripley explains what’s at stake for this crucial US ally. Ukrainian Maestro Oksana Lyniv is a classical music trailblazer with a passion for conducting shaped by her life and the war in her homeland. Christiane met her at the New York Metropolitan Opera. From the Amanpour Archive this week, we revisit Christiane’s conversations with the stakeholders at the center of the aborted 2015 nuclear deal, which would have reshaped the Middle East as we know it. And, with military aid locked up in congress, Ukraine’s air defense crisis deepens by the day and Putin is pressing the advantage. Christiane asks Donald Trump's former Defense Secretary Mark Esper if he thinks GOP holdouts have fallen victim to Putin’s propaganda.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A clandestine war erupts into the open

Just before sunrise in Iran, an Israeli strike targeted a military airbase in Isfahan, a retaliation against Tehran for attacking Israel over the weekend. Iran’s attack was itself a retaliation for an Israeli strike in Syria which killed several Iranian commanders. To discuss all this, retired Israeli General Amos Yadlin, former Head of Israeli Defense Intelligence, joins the show from Tel Aviv. 
Also on today's show: Ray Takeyh, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations; 2022 Nobel Prize Laureate, Ukrainian human rights lawyer Oleksandra Matviichuk; climate expert/author Bill Weir 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fmr Head of Israeli Defense Intelligence Maj. Gen Amos Yadlin

It's a make-or-break moment for Ukraine, as the US Congress looks closer than ever to finally pushing through its long-stalled aid package. Without US support, Ukraine has had to rely on other allies – including the Czech Republic, which has pioneered an effort to buy ammunition for Kyiv from third countries. Last week, President Zelensky met with Czech President Petr Pavel in Vilnius. Since his election just over a year ago, Pavel has been one of the most outspoken European leaders on countering Russian aggression, warning that “if Ukraine fails, so will we.” As a former top NATO general, he knows the military realities and the threats from Russia better than most, and he joined the program from Prague. 
Also on today's show: David Sanger, Author, “New Cold Wars”; Grammy award-winning composer Terence Blanchard 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What to make of the Republican presidential hopefuls

Download our free app to listen on your phone