After a long-awaited phone call between President Trump and President Xi Jinping and as Trump tries to iron out the kinks of his trade war with China, Ely Ratner,  Biden's Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Indo-Pacific with close ties to Trump's Pentagon, argues that America needs a new NATO-like defense pact in Asia to counter the growing threat from Beijing. Plus, award-winning author and professor Ibram X. Kendi talks to Bianna about his new biography for young readers exploring the comp...Show morelex nature of Malcom X's legacy. Also, CNN's Mike Valerio breaks down what South Korea's new leader Lee Jae-myung means for the country's democracy following its martial law crisis, and the implications of this election for its relations with the United States and the region. Then, investigative Russian journalists Irina Borogan and Andrei Soldatov, now living in exile, discuss their new book, "Our Dear Friends in Moscow," about how their former colleagues in the Russian press came to enable Vladimir Putin's regime. From the archives, decades after allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy to rid Western Europe of Nazi control, history buff and World War Two chronicler Tom Hanks on why the stories of D-Day's heroic generation must be told. As theatre's leading men and reigning divas head to the Tony Awards this weekend, one of the nominees, David Yazbek speaks to Bianna Golodryga about his play, "Dead Outlaw."

Jun 7, 2025

Yet again, US-China relations are tense. Ely Ratner served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs during the Biden Administration. He joined the show from Washington to discuss his latest Foreign Affairs piece: "The Case for a Pacific Defense Pact." This conversation was just before Trump and Xi spoke.  Also on today's show: author Ibram X. Kendi; financier Ray Dalio; actor Tom Hanks (from the archive)

Jun 6, 2025

It's become a rite of passage for world leaders: the Oval Office meeting with President Trump. Now, it's the turn of the relatively new Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz. Germany is the focal point for much of Trump's ire towards Europe, and a key priority will be to stave off looming tariffs. But also, high on the agenda is Ukraine. Member of German Parliament for Merz's CDU party, Norbert Röttgen, joins the show from Berlin.  Also on today's show: CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak; author Evan Osnos ("The Have and Have-Yachts: Dispatches on the Ultrarich"); Flexport founder/CEO Ryan Petersen

Jun 5, 2025

"I will uphold the mission of fully overcoming the insurrection." Those are the words of new South Korean leader Lee Jae-myung, who promises to unite a divided nation. Journalist Ken Choi joins the show to discuss what Lee's election might mean for both South Korea and the rest of the world.  Also on today's show: Investigative journalists Irina Borogan and Andrei Soldatov, tell me how the hopes of their generation were crushed by Vladimir Putin's regime. Plus, pioneering designer Prabal Gurung tells Hari Sreenivasan about his extraordinary journey to the top of the fashion world.

Jun 4, 2025

"Unconscionable." That's how the United Nations' Human Rights Chief describes fatal attacks on Palestinians trying to reach aid in Gaza. Chaos erupted at a distribution site in Rafah today, where Gaza's Health Ministry says Israeli forces opened fire. It's the third day in a row that people have been killed on their way to collect critically needed aid at the site, which is run by the controversial new "Gaza Humanitarian Foundation." This time the Israeli military says its forces did open fire m...Show moreultiple times, after identifying quote "several suspects moving toward them, deviating from the designated access routes." Jeremy Diamond joins the program from Jerusalem. Also on today’s show: Janti Soeripto, President and CEO, Save the Children US; former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacina Ardern; Dr. David Kessler, author of “Diet, Drugs and Dopamine”

Jun 3, 2025

What was meant to be a gathering to support Israeli hostages held by Hamas turned into a crime scene in Boulder, Colorado on Sunday when a man attacked Jewish attendees with Molotov cocktails and a makeshift flame thrower. This is just the latest in a series of heinous assaults on Jewish people in America. Joining the show to discuss is Michael Bernstein, chair of the board of the Tree of Life, a non-profit organization started by the community and congregation leaders in Pittsburgh after 11 Jew...Show moreish worshippers were brutally gunned down in 2018.  Also on today's show: Col. Cedric Leighton, Military Analyst / U.S. Air Force (Ret.); Rebecca Winthrop, Director, Center for Universal Education, Brookings / Author, "The Disengaged Teen"; composer David Yazbek ("Dead Outlaw"); Michael Luo, Executive Editor, The New Yorker

Jun 2, 2025

As President Trump and his allies escalate the administration's battle on colleges, and on Harvard specifically, Steven Levitsky, Harvard professor and author of “How Democracies Die,” joins Christiane to discuss the reshaping of knowledge in America. Then, best-selling German author Daniel Kehlmann speaks with Christiane about his new book “The Director," exploring what it was like for artists like G.W. Pabst who made films for Joseph Goebbels and the Nazis. Marking 600 days of war between Isra...Show moreel and Hamas in Gaza, Christiane highlights both Jeremy Diamond's report on Israel's fight to get back the 58 remaining hostages in Hamas captivity and Oren Lieberman's story on the chaotic aid delivery to starving Palestinians this week. Christiane also talks to Wilfred Frost, son of the legendary TV host David Frost, about his father's iconic interviews with the likes of Richard Nixon, Yasser Arafat and Elton John, and a new documentary series following his storied career. From her archive, Christiane pays tribute to award-winning Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado. Finally, marking 45 years since CNN's founding, Christiane revisits her conversation with company founder Ted Turner about how he changed the news business forever.

May 31, 2025

At the same time Russia is ramping up its attacks on Ukraine, the Kremlin claims it's ready with a peace plan for ceasefire talks in Turkey next week. But President Zelensky says they have not seen any draft plan. Meantime, President Trump is said to have given Putin a two-week window to show a genuine intention to end the war. Fiona Hill was President Trump's most senior Russia advisor during his first term and has been in the room with President Putin himself. She joins Christiane to discuss this all.  Also on today's show: Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi; April Hernandez Castillo, survivor and advocate for intimate partner violence; NCAA President Charlie Baker

May 30, 2025

As Harvard students celebrated the end of their academic journey, just six miles away the school's lawyers were in court, fighting back against President Trump's attempt to ban international students. That is only one front in a sustained attack by this administration on Harvard. For scholars of democracy, targeting higher education is both shocking and predictable. Steven Levitsky is a Professor of Government and of Latin American studies at Harvard, and the co-author of "How Democracies Die." He joins the program from Brookline, Massachusetts.  Also on today's show: Harvard professor Dr. Kari Nadeau; director Wes Anderson; US House Republican Blake Moore

May 29, 2025

Protestors are blocking highways and raising their voices in Israel today, calling for the release of hostages, as they mark 600 days since the horrors of the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. One of those hostages was Omer Shem Tov, who was kidnapped by Hamas and held for more than 500 days before being released in February. Bianna Golodryga spoke to him in New York about what he went through, and what he is focused on now.  Also on today's show: Jameel Jaffer, Executive Director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University; author Leah Litman ("Lawless")

May 28, 2025