Amanpour

This week on the show: an examination of power and how it changes lives.  With China and the U.S. vying for supremacy on the world stage, Christiane speaks to Nicholas Burns, veteran diplomat and now U.S. Ambassador to China, about where the relationship stands and what it means.  Also, this hour: 50 years of 'The Powerbroker'. Robert Caro joins Christiane to discuss the long legacy and newfound pop culture status of his book about Robert Moses, one of the most powerful, unelected officials in American history.  Then, correspondent David Culver reports from El Salvador on the power struggle between its president and criminal gangs which has transformed the country and why those who fled are now flocking back.  Plus, power, sex and an unseen kingmaker: the remarkable story of Pamela Churchill Harriman as told by author Sonia Purnell.  And from the Amanpour Archive: Billie Jean King reflects on beating Bobby Riggs 51 years ago in the most watched tennis match in history, dubbed 'the battle of the sexes'.  And finally, French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat on the beauty standards "building a jail" around women and her hit film starring Demi Moore, 'The Substance'.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An Israeli strike targeting a high-ranking Hezbollah official named Ibrahim Aquil destroyed a building in a residential area in southern Beirut. Today's attack follows a night of strikes across Israel's northern border. This all comes after devastating pager and walkie-talkie explosions earlier this week. Correspondent Jeremy Diamond joins us from Tel Aviv to break down what's behind this apparent escalation and where it could lead.  Also on today's show: David Suzuki, scientist and environmental activist & Bodhi Patil, climate activist and Founder, InnerLight; Coralie Fargeat, Director, The Substance; Carme Artigas, Co-Chair, UN Artificial Intelligence Advisory Body  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Lebanon, the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, has condemned the back-to-back attacks targeting the group's pagers and walkie-talkie communications system as "massacres." He also warned Israel that Hezbollah's forces on the border won't stop until the war in Gaza ends. At the same time, Israeli fighter jets screamed over the capital Beirut, appearing to drop flares, and the IDF said it is striking targets in Lebanon. All of this is raising concerns about an all-out war to a new level, after Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's warning on Wednesday that a new phase of this conflict is beginning. Christiane gets the latest from correspondent Ben Wedeman in Beirut.  Also on today's show: US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns; author Robert Caro (“The Power Broker”); Francis Fukuyama, Senior Fellow, Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Walkie-talkies exploded today in Lebanon, a day after Israel remotely detonated Hezbollah's network of pagers. Israel's Defense Minister says a new phase of war is beginning, and that the center of gravity is moving north. Hezbollah is vowing revenge. The group, which the west designates as a terrorist organization, is actually also a powerful political party with some thirteen seats in the Lebanese Parliament. Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib joins the program from Beirut.  Also on today's show: Retired IDF Major General Guy Zur; author Sonia Purnell ("Kingmaker"); marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Lebanon, the health ministry is calling on citizens to be on "high alert" after devices belonging to members of Hezbollah suddenly exploded. Several people have been killed and thousands injured, including Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, according to Iranian state media. Hezbollah said it holds Israel responsible for the attack and vowed retribution. Christiane gets the latest from Lebanese journalist Kim Ghattas.  Also on today's show: US Senate Democrat Chris Murphy; "Borderland" Director Pamela Yates & human rights activist Gabriela Castañeda; presidential historian Timothy Naftali  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For the second time in two months, former President Trump has been the target of an apparent assassination attempt. This moment in American history is fraught as the rhetoric around the election becomes more heated and political violence increases. One man who knows about political pressure is Andrew McCabe, the former deputy director of the FBI who was fired by Trump for what McCabe says was politically motivated reasons. He joins Christiane from DC.  Also on today's show: NYT correspondent Thomas Gibbons-Neff; US State Department Special Envoy James Rubin; author Yuval Noah-Hariri  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a watershed moment for Kamala Harris at potentially her only debate with Donald Trump, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy appraises her performance and warns his party is ignoring something critical. Then, in his first exit interview, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg talks triumphs and regrets after ten years at the top of the world’s largest military alliance. Plus, Filmmaker Pamela Yates and activist Gabriela Castañeda talk about their new film “Borderland” which exposes the secret infrastructure within the US that could be laying the ground for mass deportations. In the Amanpour Archive, an interview in Kandahar, and by lamplight, with Hamid Karzai after he had united Afghanistan against the Taliban in 2001.  And Finally – “Slave Play” Playwright Jeremy O. Harris tells Christiane Amanpour that current theater prices are “unsustainable” and what he’s doing to change it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We begin in Sudan, where one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises continues to unfold. A year and a half since war broke out between rival generals, millions are lacking food, water, shelter, and medical supplies. Kholood Khair, a Sudanese journalist, joins the show to shed light on what some call a forgotten crisis.  Also on today's show: World Food Program Executive Director Cindy McCain; author Saad Mohseni ("Radio Free Afghanistan"); Atlantic staff writer Jerusalem Demsas  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the fighting in Ukraine continues, so does the flood of casualties on the frontlines. One lifeline for injured soldiers takes the form of constantly running railway hospitals. A military secret, these trains have never been filmed until now, in this exclusive report by Christiane.  Also on today's show: NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg; US Senate Republican Rand Paul  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last night marked the first, and potentially only, presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. While Harris appeared to get out all of her talking points, Trump stayed very much on his message, taking the bait on his rally crowd sizes, spouting falsehoods about late-term abortions and even spreading debunked lies about immigrants eating people's pets. To dig into what happened, what it means and what comes next, Irish Times columnist Fintan O'Toole and Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa join the show.  Also on today's show: playwright Jeremy O. Harris ("Slave Play"); LULAC CEO Juan Proaño.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

First: In Gaza, health officials are counting the many dead, after an Israeli strike on a designated humanitarian zone. Correspondent Matthew Chance reports.  Next: Yair Golan, a former major general in the Israeli Defense Forces, and now leader of a new center-left coalition party called the Democrats, is trying to unite the opposition to present a viable alternative to Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.  Also on today's show: Susanne Bier, Director, "The Perfect Couple"; Alec MacGillis, Reporter, ProPublica  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Mexico, democracy and rule of law are under the spotlight. Thousands are protesting against highly controversial judicial reform plans that would require judges and magistrates to be elected by popular vote. Whatever happens could have a direct effect on the US. NPR correspondent Eyder Peralta joins the show from the senate in Mexico City, followed by former Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda  Also on today's show: Paralympic Champion Oksana Masters; author Jason Stanley ("Erasing History")  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Christiane is in Ukraine this week as the country faces its biggest government shakeup since Russia’s full-scale invasion began over 30 months ago, with the war at a critical turning point. She sits down with Ukraine’s Army Chief, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, for an exclusive interview from an undisclosed location in eastern Ukraine. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba sat down with her in Kyiv to discuss Ukraine's strategic gains and looming challenges just one day before he offered to resign. Then, a look at the cutting-edge land drones Ukraine is using to transform the reality on the battlefield. Plus, Oscar-winning filmmaker Susanne Bier speaks to Christiane her new Netflix hit, “The Perfect Couple”, and working with Nicole Kidman. From Christiane’s archive, we revisit the heartbreaking cost of the war there, with an update on one of Ukraine's war amputees. And finally, commemorating Mother Teresa’s legacy of compassion and care on the anniversary of her death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ukraine is facing a critical time in the war, after the nation was hit by a wave of enormously heavy Russian attacks. In his first television interview since he was appointed, Commander-In-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces General Oleksandr Syrskyi spoke to Christiane about the strategy behind the Kursk offensive, the status of the besieged city of Pokrovsk and low morale amongst Ukrainian troops.   Also on today's show: US Senate Democrat Chris Coons; authors Anastasia Berg & Rachel Wiseman, “What Are Children For?: On Ambivalence and Choice”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Four-star General Oleksandr Syrskyi has commanded the armed forces in Ukraine since February. Before that, he helmed his country's ground forces as Russia began its full-scale invasion in early 2022, when he led that initial battle for Kyiv and pushed Moscow's forces out of the capital. Since his elevation to the top of the military seven months ago, there have been a series of strategic challenges and victories for Ukraine. Among them, the surprise assault on the Russian region of Kursk, and the current fears that the key city of Pokrovsk could fall imminently. Christiane sat down with him in Ukraine for his first on-camera interview.   Also on today's show: Kris Brown, President of Brady, a non-profit combatting gun violence and its causes; author Michael Lewis; Washington Post reporter Missy Ryan  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices