Amanpour

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is wrapping up his trip to Ukraine. While there, America’s top diplomatic pledged two billion dollars of aid to help build up the country’s defense industry. And throughout his trip, he has been trying to reassure Kyiv of Washington’s support. Words that hide a bitter truth, the 7 months of U.S. delay in sending military aid has left Ukraine’s troops over-stretched and under-armed. And it couldn’t come at a worse time, with Russia pushing against multiple fronts including Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv. President Zelensky has been on those front lines assessing the situation along with his Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who joined the program from his car. Plus, Retired US General Wesley Clark, Israeli author David Grossman and Anton Ptushkin, director of "Saving The Animals of Ukraine." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Palestinians have been marking the 76th anniversary of the Nakba, or catastrophe, when more than 700,000 were expelled or fled during Israel’s War of Independence in 1948. This year's observations come amid acute pain for both, since the October 7th massacres in Israel, and the mass death and destruction in Gaza. Correspondent Jomana Karadsheh joins the show, to talk about this and brings us her report on her visit with injured children in Doha. Also for today's show: Michael Froman, President, Council on Foreign Relations; Geoff Duncan, Former Georgia Lieutenant Governor; Frank Bruni, Author, “The Age of Grievance” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Georgia's future is hanging in the balance. The former Soviet republic has seen mass protests for weeks, coming to a head today as riot police clashed with pro-European demonstrators after its parliament passed a controversial "foreign agents" bill which critics say mirrors a law in Russia used to crack down on any opposition, dissent, and NGOs. Georgia's president Salome Zourabichvili joins the program from Tbilisi. Also on today's show: Andriy Zagorodnyuk, former Ukrainian Defense Minister; David Herszenhorn, Russia, Ukraine Editor, The Washington Post; Reza Aslan; Author, "A Kids Book About Israel & Palestine" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It is Memorial Day in Israel, more solemn this year in the shadow of October 7th, when more than 1,200 people were killed and hundreds taken hostage by Hamas. But also, a more divisive time than usual, as government ministers are booed and heckled over their war in Gaza, now in its eighth month, where more than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed. With no ceasefire or hostage deal in sight, it is unclear what the Israeli government’s plan is. Major General Amos Yadlin is the former Chief of Israeli Military Intelligence. He joins Christiane from Tel Aviv. Also on today's show: Arwa Damon, President and founder, INARA; former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki; author Ray Suarez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

First: Correspondent Matthew Chance's exclusive report about allegations of abuse at a secret Israeli military prison. Plus: A defiant Benjamin Netanyahu pushes back at Joe Biden as Palestinians flee Rafah in fear of a looming israeli attack. And: A new Human Rights Watch report says militants have committed crimes against humanity in Sudan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

First: Asked about Israel's expected incursion into Rafah, President Biden replied, "If they go into Rafah I'm not supplying the weapons they've used historically." Senator Chris Van Hollen gives us his reaction to this major policy shift. Plus: Ukrainian defense is being bombarded from the air as it waits for crucial military aid. We get the latest from General Ben Hodges. And: It's victory day in Russia as Putin begins his fifth term as president. But what's the mood like behind the pomp and propaganda? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The US pauses a bomb shipment to Israel over their potential use in the Rafah offensive. As fears of a wider war between Israel and Iran persist, so do the nuclear concerns. Bianna speaks with the head of the International Energy Agency. And as the world remembers the victims of the Holocaust, she's joined by a survivor of that atrocity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As a ceasefire deal stalls, and fears of an Israeli incursion in Rafah, Bianna Golodryga speaks with Haretz journalist Amos Harel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Just as today's show begins we receive breaking news that Hamas has accepted a ceasefire proposal by Egypt and Qatar which seeks to halt the seven-month war with Israel in Gaza. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We begin with the biggest anti-war protests on American college campuses since Vietnam. Christiane speaks with Afua Hirsch, a journalism professor at the University of Southern California, who questions whether some colleges really understand the concept of free speech. Also on today's show: Rabbi Sharon Brous, Columbia University professor Tim Wu, former Reagan Republican Robert Kagan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Paris to Sydney, students across the world are joining protests over the war in Gaza. Northwestern’s leader Michael Schill is one of the few who engaged with students and managed to strike a deal. The agreement is being hailed as a success by some, but also facing backlash. Schill joined the program from Evanston, Illinois. Also on today's show: Jodie Ginsberg, CEO, Committee to Protect Journalists; acclaimed photographer Platon; Brad Wilcox, Author, “Get Married” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

College campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war have been spreading across the United States, and more than 1,800 people have been arrested. While the demands by students vary somewhat, they are calling for a ceasefire, and many demand their colleges divest from companies that support Israel. Senator Bernie Sanders has been outspoken about these protests and he joined the program from Washington, DC. Also on today's show: Douglas Belkin, Higher Education Reporter, Wall Street Journal; author Sathnam Sanghera Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the US, police have again moved on campuses from coast to coast: over a thousand people have been arrested from more than 25 colleges. At the heart of it all is a mostly peaceful protest against a dire situation in Gaza and a deep dissatisfaction with US policy in the region. Rabbi Sharon Brous is the founder of IKAR, an influential progressive Jewish congregation in Los Angeles. Last week, she visited both Columbia and UCLA to visit the protests, and she speaks to Christiane from L.A. to share her experience. Also on today's show: Sanam Vakil, Director, Middle East and North Africa Program, Chatham House; Kenneth Stern, Director, Bard Center for the Study of Hate / Author, “The Conflict over the Conflict” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the fate of Israeli hostages and a Gaza ceasefire hangs in the balance. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told hostage families that, deal or no deal with Hamas, Israel's offensive on Rafah is going ahead. With the prospect of a ceasefire dim at best, even as the US Secretary of State crisscrosses the region, Christiane reached Riyad Mansour in New York. He's the Palestinian Observer to the UN, appointed by the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Also on today's show: author Robert Kagan; Stuart Stevens, Senior Adviser, The Lincoln Project Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hamas is set to meet negotiators in Cairo, as Egypt’s foreign minister calls for both sides to accept the proposal on the table: a two-step process over several weeks, involving hostage prisoner swaps, and some sort of pause in the fighting. But Israel has not yet agreed to the proposal, and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is being urged by his extreme right flank to send troops into Rafah. Christiane Amanpour speaks with Amit Segal, a right-wing political analyst close to Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Also on today's show: Isabella Ramirez, Editor in Chief, Columbia University Daily Spectator; Cameron Russell, Author, "How to Make Herself Agreeable to Everyone" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Hallelujah.” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba’s reaction, after the US finally approved military aid for its fight against Russia. But the six-month delay has cost countless lives, and hard-fought territory. Kuleba tells Christiane that "the era of peace in Europe is over." Meanwhile, the struggle of balancing free speech with safety is roiling colleges across the US. Salman Rushdie knows the importance of free speech better than most, since he nearly lost his life defending it. Our Letter from London this week features one of the world’s best-known photographers. Platon has spent decades up close and personal with the most influential figures of our era. From the Amanpour Archive this week, 30-years to the day since Nelson Mandela cast his first ever vote, we revisit an inspirational conversation with his private secretary Zelda La Grange. And finally, from hostage to hero: remembering American journalist Terry Anderson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

They were scenes of utter desperation and chaos: thousands of Afghans crowded outside Kabul’s airport, as American troops withdrew and the Taliban swept the country in August 2021. In a congressional hearing last month, former Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley blamed the State Apartment for note ordering what’s known as a “noncombatant evacuation operation” sooner. It ended in tragedy for many at the airport, when an ISIS-K suicide attack killed more than 180 people, including 13 US servicepeople. For two years, the US military has maintained that these deaths were all from that single explosion – but new video evidence shows that there was far more gunfire than the Pentagon has ever admitted. Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh has this special report. Also on today's show: actor Michael Stuhlbarg & Director Rupert Goold, "Patriots"; author Michael Arceneaux Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

America’s legal system is once again being tested by former President Donald Trump, who is accused of breaking multiple laws in multiple jurisdictions. In New York, his trial over alleged hush money payments continues today. At the same time, the Supreme Court hears oral arguments over his claim of presidential immunity. Emily Bazelon is a lecturer at Yale Law School and writes for New York Times Magazine. She joins Christiane to break this all down. Also on today's show: Rose Gottemoeller, Former NATO Deputy Secretary-General; UK Labour MP Harriet Harman; Kate Manne, Author, "Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After six months of Republican obstruction, President Biden today signed into law a massive foreign aid package with nearly $61 billion earmarked for Ukraine. But the months of inaction highlighted Ukraine’s vulnerability to western politics, as well as a worrying shortfall in defense production across NATO. That's why British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced plans to lift UK defense spending by almost a hundred billion dollars, investing 2.5% of GDP by 2030. Labour MP David Lammy could become the country's next foreign secretary and he's making a case for what he calls “progressive realism.” He joins Christiane to discuss. Also on today's show: author Salman Rushdie; Anne Applebaum, Staff Writer, The Atlantic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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