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.
Was your divorce an amicable one?
It was seven years ago, and we have our son, Darius, 25, so we’ve always tried to be reasonable. We even threw a divorce party of sorts when we decided to split up. I am not going to sugarcoat stuff. Divorce is never pretty, and there were moments of deep distress. But we wanted to be good role models, so we’ve done a couple of Thanksgivings together and even managed to do a family holiday in India in 2023, where there was a lot of time in the car together, and we actually got on. If we hadn’t had that vacation experience, I don’t think I would have asked him to do this with me now.
Were you not a little worried about taking on a big project with your ex?
I really like the idea of saying, “Look, if we can get on and talk like grown-ups, maybe some world leaders can take note and follow suit.” I don’t think this format exists anywhere else, so it’s new territory, and I like that.
My whole career has been built on a managed fear, keeping it all together and constantly being tense — probably without me even knowing it. And I am not an adrenaline junkie or a war junkie. I am incredibly passionate and involved in the world, in our world, and so is Jamie. We have always had that in common.
How does recording a podcast compare with making a television show?
It is a more intimate format. I tape from my living room and Jamie from his kitchen, although it was a rude shock to discover that in the YouTube era, they still want to have a camera on you.
Given the nature of our relationship, there is also a personal dimension. Our conversations are often like those we once had at the dinner table, looking to find answers rather than accepting conflict as a constant.
I think it is more accessible for listeners that we both speak in a way we haven’t done before and that is a bit more fun and relaxed. I feel like I can let my hair down. I’m not holding world leaders to account. I am chatting with my ex.
What has the feedback been like so far?
Well, my friendship group and family love it, but they admit that they were a little dubious before we started. I mean, I was also worried. In the first trailer, you hear me say, “Oh God, I hope this is going to work.”
The fact we can go back and look at issues from when we were first starting out — him in government, me in journalism — and use our shared experience to tell stories of today through the lens of yesterday is something people seem to like. Our ability to tell stories, some of which we couldn’t tell, or weren’t on the record at the time, to fill in a bigger picture is also incredibly exciting.
What were the most memorable moments of the podcast?
Well, there’s been a little bit of “vibing” between us, as the kids say, a good chemistry that other people have picked up on. I guess that makes us entertaining as well as informative. We laugh a lot. But I am more of an expert at broadcasting, so occasionally I get a bit grumpy. Like when he waved to say goodbye to sign off, and I had to tell him: “Jamie, this is a podcast. You have to actually say something.”
Any tips for readers considering a project with their own ex?
Good question. I think if you’re lucky enough to have emerged intact from a wonderful marriage that didn’t last, and with the determination to be adult and responsible for your family, it can be something to build on.
We’ve gotten beyond the initial hurt and divisions that clearly were there, which is why we got divorced. I have always believed that you have to be able to see the story of the other and be willing to put genuine differences aside. And if the two of us can do that, then it’s not just world leaders, but people anywhere who currently can’t talk about politics or religion or their favorite sport, even around their own dinner table, who can do it, too.
I’m happy to be modeling this and hope people will see that divorce doesn’t have to be the end of a relationship.
Elizabeth Paton reports on the global fashion industry for The Times, a topic she has covered for more than a decade. She is based in London.
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