Tug of War

The city of Mariupol has been under near-constant bombardment since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. Anyone still left in the crumbling city has been dealing with no electricity and a lack of food for weeks. In this episode, we catch up with CNN Senior International Correspondent Ivan Watson, who has been talking to people who have made the dangerous journey out of Mariupol. We hear their stories and examine how the invasion has strained relations between Ukrainians and people they know in Russia. This episode contains graphic descriptions of war. Recorded on March 31, 2022. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After the latest round of in-person talks between Ukraine and Russia, Moscow said it would “drastically reduce” military activity around two major Ukrainian cities. However, many experts remain skeptical about this strategy shift and believe peace could still be a long way off. CNN Senior National Security Correspondent Alex Marquardt lays out what both sides are looking for in negotiations and examines President Biden’s unscripted comments about regime change in Russia. He also tells us about a Ukrainian hotline being used by Russian families trying to locate their loved ones on the battlefield. Recorded on March 29, 2022. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russia’s onslaught on Ukraine has left widespread destruction in some of the country’s major cities. But as Ukrainians fight back, there are fears that Vladimir Putin could escalate the conflict by using even deadlier weapons. In this episode, CNN Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour talks about why Vladimir Putin’s strategy isn’t working as well as he had hoped. She also examines the war crimes allegations leveled against Putin and breaks down how battlefield losses could backfire in Moscow. Recorded on March 25, 2022. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches its one-month mark, President Biden joins other world leaders in Brussels, Belgium for a NATO summit where he hopes to sustain the Western alliance. The stakes are high, as the world will be watching closely and Ukraine is especially eager to know how far the alliance will go to deter Putin's advance. CNN’s White House reporter Natasha Bertrand has been reporting from NATO headquarters in Belgium and will discuss what to expect from Biden’s visit, how drones may complicate his response, and what a possible stalemate in Ukraine might mean for the rest of Europe. Recorded on March 22, 2022. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Russia’s unprovoked destruction and targeting of civilians wreaks havoc across Ukraine, Russian citizens have been hearing a different story entirely. That’s because Putin is also waging a war on his own people through a merciless effort to crack down on independent media and dissent. Hear how one TV station used a ballet to make a point. Anderson Cooper talks to CNN’s International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson about the current state of Russian media, disinformation, and what 30 years of reporting on Russia has led him to believe about Putin’s next moves. Recorded on March 17, 2022. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More than 3 million Ukrainians have fled their country since Russia’s invasion. Many are escaping though Poland, which borders the west of Ukraine. Anderson Cooper talks to CNN’s Sara Sidner who has been reporting from the region for the past several weeks. They discuss what she’s witnessed there — from the incredible generosity of the Polish people to blatant discrimination when it comes to people of color trying to reach safety to the weaponization of the term “fake news”. Interview recorded on March 11, 2022. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Russia continues its violent assault on Ukraine, it has also unleashed an assault on the truth. CNN’s Anderson Cooper talks with International Security Editor Nick Paton Walsh who has been covering the conflict in southern Ukraine. They discuss the struggles of covering a war when one side is deliberately lying about the reality on the ground and his approach to talking to people experiencing the worst moments of their lives. Recorded on March 11, 2022. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CNN reporters in Ukraine have witnessed countless horrors since the Russian invasion began. But they’ve also seen incredible moments of kindness and perseverance from Ukrainians as the war rages on around them. Anderson Cooper and Clarissa Ward, both currently on the ground in Ukraine, discuss what it’s like to bear witness to war, when to keep reporting and when to help the people in front of you, and why they keep coming back to it. Recorded on March 8th, 2022. This episode contains potentially sensitive content. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has already taken an immense human toll. CNN’s Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance offers an inside look into the devastation and his conversation with President Volodymyr Zelensky. Chance reflects on how this conflict is different than others he’s covered, Zelensky’s decision to remain in Ukraine, and the resilience of the Ukrainian people. Chance, who is based in Moscow, also wonders what kind of Russia he’ll return to. Recorded on March 4, 2022. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is inspiring unprecedented unity among nations around the world. For the first time in its history, NATO has activated response troops and even historically neutral Sweden is adopting sanctions against Russia. Meanwhile, Ukrainian intelligence suggests Belarus may soon join Russia’s forces and China has been unwilling to even call the attack an invasion. Jim Sciutto, CNN’s Chief National Security Correspondent, weighs in on the international community’s response to what’s happening in Ukraine and how it could impact our world order. Recorded on March 1, 2022. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why is Russia invading Ukraine right now and how does it figure into Putin’s larger political and military strategy? Clarissa Ward returns to the region to help make sense of the latest developments there and explain just how much is at stake. Recorded on February 26, 2022. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ten years ago, a piece of graffiti sparked an uprising in Syria. Since then, millions of Syrians watched their cities crumble and were forced to flee. Clarissa Ward was there from the beginning, a witness to the courage of the people, and the brutality of the regime. Now, Clarissa asks two Syrian activists: Was it all worth it? To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has won his fourth consecutive term in an election that many have called a “farce.” CNN International Correspondent Matt Rivers was denied entry when he tried to report on this pivotal moment, but he was still determined to tell the story. In this episode, Matt meets with exiles persecuted in neighboring Costa Rica and has clandestine phone calls with brave citizens in Nicaragua. They told him the same thing: Ortega will stop at nothing to hold on to power. We want to know what you think of this show! Go to http://cnn.com/war. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For nearly thirty years, Sudan was ruled by a dictatorship defined by genocide, civil war, and violent suppression. CNN Senior International Correspondent Nima Elbagir saw it firsthand. When she was a teenager, her family was targeted by the regime and fled into self-exile. When a grassroots uprising gained momentum democracy became a tangible possibility. This story of what it takes to topple a dictator features Nima’s family, their newspaper, and a generational battle for freedom, amidst yet another coup. We want to know what you think of this show! Go to http://cnn.com/war. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At the beginning of the year, Myanmar’s future seemed bright. Then one morning in February, the military overthrew the government in a swift coup. What followed was the biggest protest movement in the country’s history. Afterwards, Clarissa Ward was the first international journalist inside Myanmar. Military minders tried to tell her one story, while Myanmar citizens risked their lives to tell her another. We want to know what you think of this show! Go to http://cnn.com/war. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Kremlin has a long history of alleged poisoning of its opponents. When Alexey Navalny, the head of the Russian opposition, fell mysteriously ill on an airplane, Clarissa Ward wondered if President Vladimir Putin could be behind it, but proving exactly who committed a poisoning can be tricky. Follow her through an investigation that leads to the front door of a Russian agent and hear what Navalny’s poisoning has meant for the future of the opposition. We want to know what you think of this show! Go to http://cnn.com/war. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clarissa Ward takes you on onto the streets of Afghanistan and into the homes of its citizens as they watch the balance of power start to tip — and the Taliban tries to keep order with truncheons and whips. In this episode, CNN’s Chief International Correspondent, shares firsthand accounts from Afghan citizens who witness the United States military withdrawal - after two decades of war - escalate into the Taliban swiftly toppling the Afghan government watching their twenty years of hard-earned freedoms crumble. We want to know what you think of this show! Go to http://cnn.com/war. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Tug of War, CNN’s Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward travels to some of the most volatile corners of the world to document the greatest power struggles of our time. In countries where democracy is in its dying days, Clarissa shares on the ground reports from ordinary citizens who are risking their lives to fight for freedom. Hear a first-hand account from the streets of Afghanistan as the Taliban takes control, meet the daring activist challenging Putin’s political reign in Russia, and learn how organizers in Myanmar use hand gestures to signal solidarity. Tug of War. Stories of resistance from around the world. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices