Amanpour and Company

News and Public Affairs Series / 2 Seasons

Featuring conversations with global leaders and decision makers on the issues affecting the world today, Amanpour and Company adds to the long tradition of public affairs programming that has been a hallmark of public media for decades.

Watch: S2023 E6121

26m 46s

WIll AI Help or Hurt the News Business?

5m 10s

In a world where it’s increasingly hard to discern fact from fiction, Hari Sreenivasan and Christiane Amanpour discuss the ethical dilemmas of A.I., and why it’s more important than ever to keep real journalists in the game.

Expert Roundtable on the Rise of AI

5m 50s

Whether AI "makes our societies more or less equitable, unlocks breakthroughs or becomes a tool of authoritarians — is up to us." That is the warning, and the call to arms, from the Biden administration this week. In just a few short months, the power and the peril of AI have become the focus of huge public debate. To assess all this, Christiane hosts a panel of leaders in the field of AI.

Miles Taylor: Trump 2nd Term Would Focus Solely on Revenge

17m 58s

Miles Taylor is a former Trump staffer turned anonymous whistleblower who called attention to the former president’s misconduct while in office. Now Taylor is openly sounding the alarm about the possibility of a second Trump term. Taylor's new book "Blowback" is the product of almost 100 conversations with former Trump staffers. The author speaks with Michel Martin about his book.

New Doc Highlights the Influence of Negro League Baseball

18m 18s

When major league baseball banned African American athletes at the end of the 19th century, Black players created their own league. Its success and popularity is the focus of the new documentary "The League." Its acclaimed director, Sam Pollard, speaks with Walter Isaacson about how these players changed the game – and transformed the country.

Affirmative Action, Legacy & the Power of Elite Colleges

18m 2s

Since the Supreme Court’s controversial decision to end affirmative action, colleges are now being pressured to stop legacy admissions – a process that historically has benefited white, wealthy activists. Harvard economic professor Raj Chetty recently investigated this practice and the consequences of such highly selective admissions and discusses his findings with Hari Sreenivasan.

SCOTUS’ Student Loan Decision and Biden’s Plan B

17m 21s

After a SCOTUS ruling that struck down most of President Biden's student debt relief program, loan interest resumes on September 1st this year, with payments starting in October. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimates that one in five student loan borrowers will struggle to make payments once the pause ends. Author Paco de Leon discuss how people will be impacted by these changes.

Kai Bird on the Triumph and Tragedy of Robert Oppenheimer

18m 48s

Christopher Nolan’s epic film "Oppenheimer" lands in cinemas on Friday. It tells the story of the 1945 “Trinity test” in New Mexico, where the world’s first nuclear device was successfully detonated. The screenplay is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography "American Prometheus," written by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. Bird speaks about the triumph and tragedy of Robert Oppenheimer.

Amalgamated Bank CEO: Banks Can Help “Alleviate Problems"

17m 37s

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is downplaying recession fears, pointing to the strong labor market and easing inflation. Priscilla Sims Brown is the CEO of Amalgamated Bank – one of the few unionized banks in the country – and she joins Walter Isaacson to discuss its commitment to social and economic justice and the state of the economy.

Hollywood Star: Crypto Represents the “Golden Age of Fraud"

18m 15s

The world of cryptocurrency is deeply flawed. That’s according to Ben McKenzie, best known for his starring roles in TV shows "The O.C." and "Gotham." He has since made an unexpected career change. As co-author of a new book investigating the rise and fall of digital currencies, McKenzie joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss his conclusions.

Central Park Birder on "the Incident" and Beauty of Birding

18m 14s

Christian Cooper is a passionate birdwatcher who went viral after he was on the receiving end of a racially charged incident in Central Park. He is now turning one of his darkest days into a platform for education. Cooper, in his new memoir, details how a life of bird watching prepared him for that infamous incident. He discusses unexpected fame, and his love for the natural world.

Want to Fix the Government? Fix the Code

17m 20s

Jennifer Pahlka’s new book,“Recoding America,” takes a hard look at how the U.S. is falling short in the digital age. Pahlka talks to Walter about the difference between putting policy down on paper and putting it into practice -- and ways in which government inaction is hurting everyday Americans.

Mortality From Climate Change 15x Higher In Developing World

18m 19s

The European Space Agency is predicting this year will see some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded. A new report shows last year’s European heat wave caused nearly 62,000 deaths. Dr. Hoesung Lee chairs the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the U.N. body tasked with advancing scientific knowledge on the climate crisis. Lee joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss these startling figures.

Govt Communication With Social Media Is Not Censorship

18m 17s

Back in 2022 Nina Jankowicz was briefly the face of the U.S. effort to tackle disinformation -- before the Disinformation Governance Board was dissolved amid a storm of right-wing outrage accusing the Board of censoring conservative speech. Jankowicz talks to Michel Martin about becoming a target of conspiracy campaigns.

Billionaire Budgets: Inside the Luxury Wedding Industry

17m 29s

Weddings are milestone events that leave couples with their hearts full but their wallets light. The average American wedding runs up $30,000 in costs. In her recent article "The Fake Poor Bride," award-winning author Xochitl Gonzalez reveals the world behind the lucrative wedding industry.

War Reporter on Navigating the Battlefield and the Newsroom

18m 9s

Award-winning correspondent Jane Ferguson has covered countless global crises and conflicts -- from the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan to the famine in Sudan. In her new book, "No Ordinary Assignment," she writes about navigating war zones while keeping faith in the value of her work. Ferguson joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss the reality of being a female war reporter.

Meet The Man Who Kept Our Nation’s Secrets for 50 Years

17m 54s

A retired CIA officer and former undersecretary of defense for intelligence, Michael Vickers has spent his life guarding America’s secrets. Now, he’s written a memoir going behind the scenes of some of the most significant covert operations of the 20th century. Vickers joins Walter Isaacson to discuss his life in government service.

“The Talk:” Graphic Memoir on Growing Up Black in America

17m 30s

The unique challenges that face Black parents across America include preparing their children to recognize the ever-present dangers inherent in racially discriminatory policing, which is still a widespread phenomenon. Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Darrin Bell has drawn a graphic memoir about how “the talk” impacted his life, and he is joining Michel Martin to share his story.

Graham Nash on David Crosby, Joni Mitchell and His New Album

17m 17s

Legendary singer Graham Nash has returned to the studio. Once part of the Woodstock-era supergroup "Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young," he helped define a generation with hits like "Our House." "Now" is Nash’s first new album in seven years. Walter Isaacson reflects on the singer's outstanding career.

Report: Persecuted LGBTQ+ Seeking Help Reaches Record High

18m 8s

LGBTQ+ rights are under attack around the world. From America to Europe to Africa, new laws have been introduced that threaten the safety of members of that community. Kimahli Powell is CEO of Rainbow Railroad, an organization that helps LGBTQ+ people fleeing persecution. He joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss the increasing risks facing the community.

Dexter Filkins on the Front Lines of the Immigration Crisis

17m 53s

The U.S. Supreme Court has revived a key Biden immigration policy, handing the president a major victory. The Court's ruling allows the administration to prioritize which undocumented immigrants to deport. Journalist Dexter Filkins wrote about America’s perennial immigration crisis in his latest story, “Biden’s Dilemma at the Border.” Filkins joined Walter Isaacson to discuss what he witnessed.

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