+Could You Make a Podcast With Your Ex-Husband?

New York Times

5 days ago

In a career spanning more than four decades, reporting from the ground of the Gulf and Bosnian wars, interviewing world leaders in the wake of Sept. 11 and beyond, Christiane Amanpour has gone where few others dare to go. This month, Ms. Amanpour, the chief international anchor for CNN, broke more fresh ground, unveiling a new podcast that she is hosting with her ex-husband.
'Christiane Amanpour Presents: The Ex-Files With Jamie Rubin' is a weekly foreign affairs show from the media and entertainment group Global that Ms. Amanpour, who lives in London, tapes with James Rubin, a former U.S. diplomat now in Washington, D.C. Separated by an ocean and a 2018 divorce, they mull on crises and conflict zones with an occasional trip down a shared memory lane.
Most people would recoil at the prospect of scheduled public dialogue with their former spouses. But at a time when many mainstream figures are looking for a way — any way — into the podcasting gold rush, Ms. Amanpour sees her unorthodox reunion with Mr. Rubin as an example of how to build bridges against the odds. President Trump and President Putin, are you listening?
This interview, at her home last week, has been edited and condensed.
Whose idea was this podcast?
The idea of a podcast was something I'd been mulling since last spring. It's an overcrowded pool, and I'm late to the game, but I thought it would be good for me, as a television veteran, to see what I could do with this medium. Then the U.S. election happened, and my ex-husband, who had worked for the Biden administration in the State Department, was out of a job.
I knew I wanted a show that delved into foreign policy and touched on history and shared experience. At a time that has never felt more divided, I wanted to say: 'Can't we all just find solutions and try to get along? Does it always have to be like this?'
It felt like I needed a partner. And then I thought, 'Why not ask Jamie and see what he thinks?' There was a chance he might think it was crazy. But he said yes.
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