Amanpour: "Beijing Presses Its Advantage" (January 30, 2026)
Host: Biana Golodryga (substituting for Christiane Amanpour), CNN International
Podcast: Amanpour

Episode Overview

This wide-ranging episode of CNN’s flagship global affairs podcast "Amanpour" examines how China is strategically expanding its influence amid Western disarray; marks the 40th anniversary of the Challenger shuttle disaster; and explores the philosophy of "The Mattering Instinct" in human behavior. The show features in-depth interviews with foreign policy analyst Dr. Elizabeth Economy on Beijing’s geopolitical maneuvers, journalist Adam Higginbotham about Challenger’s impact, and philosopher Rebecca Neuberger Goldstein about why “mattering” drives people.

China’s Strategic Expansion Amid Western Turmoil

Guest: Dr. Elizabeth Economy, Former Biden China Adviser, Author of "The World According to China"
Segment Start: [03:41]

Key Discussion Points

• Opportunistic Diplomacy in a Fractured West

  • Multiple Western nations are recalibrating their China policies: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits China (first in 8 years); Canada’s PM Mark Carney hails new ties; Trump-era tariffs alienate other democracies.
  • Dr. Economy: “For Xi Jinping, he sees the Trump administration and sort of the disruptive element that the United States has become as an opportunity for China to displace, if not replace, I think, the United States.” ([03:43])
  • She distinguishes: China wants to reshape the world order to benefit itself, not necessarily become the “global policeman.”

• Xi Jinping’s Power Consolidation and Military Purges

  • Recent removal of top general Zhang Youxia—once a kindergarten classmate and son of a revolutionary comrade to Xi—suggests both strength and latent insecurity in Xi's regime.
  • Over 60 military executives purged in three years; 4 million party officials disciplined since Xi took power.
  • Dr. Economy: “Depending on the reason, it’s also a sign of weakness for Xi Jinping… the inability…to tolerate differing viewpoints…actually a sign of weakness.” ([06:57])

• China’s “Frontier Domains”: Long-Term Global Strategy

  • China’s focus on the Arctic, deep sea, and space—arenas where rulemaking and resource claims are actively contested.
  • “China…calls [these] the frontier domains. These are areas… where Xi Jinping believes both the economic and national security stakes for China are quite high.” ([08:26])
  • Points to China’s outsized icebreaker fleet in the Arctic—a region it brands itself a “near-Arctic power” despite not sitting on the Arctic Council.

• Why the Arctic Matters

  • The Arctic is a critical military corridor (e.g., for ICBMs and submarines) and source of minerals and oil.
  • China is leveraging its alliance with Russia for access.
  • The U.S. “does not want China to dominate in this space.” ([11:19])

• China’s Moon Ambitions and Global Space Race

  • China aims to return humans to the Moon before the US Artemis project, reinforcing leadership in science, economics, and security.
  • Dr. Economy: “It’s not so much about just that moment of first back to the moon as it is what that represents in terms of China’s leadership in this space” ([12:51])

• U.S. Policy Choices: Step Back, Cooperate, or Compete

  • Economy argues only competition is viable, but warns the U.S. hasn’t “fully shown up to fight” yet.
  • Dr. Economy: “We need a vision for where we want to be… and that vision can’t be just about the United States. It’s a vision that’s going to have to include our allies and partners.” ([14:43])
  • She stresses leveraging private sector dynamism and building partnerships to defend values in new domains.

Notable Quotes

• On Xi’s purges: “If in fact it was simply difference of opinion… or [a] belief…Jiang Yusha represented an alternative source of authority and legitimacy… that…is actually a sign of weakness.” – Dr. Elizabeth Economy ([06:57])
• On U.S. response: “It’s a competition… we haven’t shown up fully to fight. We haven’t lost the game.” ([14:28])
• On global order: “We don’t have the resources…the ability simply to dictate…and we’re not going to invest the resources necessary to compete with China one on one. So then it becomes how do we forge partnerships…” ([15:29])

Remembering the Challenger Disaster: Lessons and Legacies

Guest: Adam Higginbotham, Journalist & Author of “A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space”
Segment Start: [19:31]

Key Discussion Points

• The Shock of Challenger

  • Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch (Jan 28, 1986) before a live TV audience including millions of schoolchildren—a civilian, teacher Christa McAuliffe, was among the seven crew killed.
  • By ‘86, shuttle launches were routine; the presence of a “Teacher in Space” was a bid to revive public interest.
  • Higginbotham: “The idea that seven astronauts could die live on television in a space shuttle… seemed totally inconceivable.” ([21:27])

• Historical Context

  • Post-moon landing, the US had “won” the space race; shuttle launches became frequent (almost monthly by ‘85) and mundane, causing TV networks to stop live broadcasts—McAuliffe’s flight reversed this trend.

• Personal Stories: Heroism in the Crew

  • The show highlights crewmembers: McAuliffe, Onizuka (first Asian American in space), Scobie (commander), Resnik (second US woman in space), McNair (African American physicist and saxophonist).
  • Higginbotham on McNair: “It was as if there was nothing that he could not do. A fascinating character.” ([26:10])

• Technical Failures and Institutional Culture

  • Pre-launch, engineers warned the solid rocket booster “O-rings” might fail in cold. NASA management, under pressure, effectively overruled these concerns after engineers’ bosses reversed the no-go recommendation in a “caucus.”
  • Higginbotham: “The managers… actually decide to reverse their recommendation, which had been given in writing as a no go for launch, to make it a go for launch.” ([29:34])

• Aftermath and Public Reckoning

  • The Rogers Commission investigated.
  • Physicist Richard Feynman’s famed demonstration of the O-ring’s failure at cold temperatures—placing the rubber in ice water during TV testimony—helped the public grasp the mechanism and NASA’s mistakes.
  • Higginbotham: “One of Feynman’s many gifts was in making complex concepts easily digestible to a wide audience.” ([31:20])

• Reagan’s National Address

  • President Reagan postponed the State of the Union to address a grieving nation, in a speech by Peggy Noonan that invoked the poem “High Flight.”
  • Reagan (audio): “The future doesn’t belong to the faint hearted. It belongs to the brave. … and slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God.” ([34:53])
  • Higginbotham (on the speech): “That became one of the most defining moments of Reagan’s presidency.” ([37:20])

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On risk: “It’s a miracle that [the disaster] didn’t happen sooner than it already did.” – Biana Golodryga ([26:54])
• On Feynman’s O-ring experiment: “It was at that moment that a wide audience was able to understand…exactly what the problem was with the seals…” – Adam Higginbotham ([32:30])
• On remembrance: “The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us for the manner in which they live their lives. We will never forget them…” – Ronald Reagan ([34:53])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [19:31] Challenger context and national trauma
• [21:59] NASA’s routine, pressures, and introducing the Teacher in Space
• [25:52] Crew backgrounds; McNair’s story
• [27:54] The fatal launch decision
• [31:20] Feynman’s public demonstration and the O-ring
• [33:39] Reagan’s address to the nation
• [35:14] Origins of the speech (Peggy Noonan, “High Flight”)
• [37:49] Challenger’s legacy; Artemis and returning to the moon

The "Mattering Instinct": Why We Strive to Count

Guest: Rebecca Neuberger Goldstein, Philosopher and Author of "The Mattering Instinct"
Segment Start: [40:24]

Key Discussion Points

• Origins of the Mattering Instinct

  • Goldstein: The deep human need to matter grew out of her novel "The Mind Body Problem."
  • “People have this deep need to feel as if they matter… and then the great diversity… people respond to this shared need.” ([41:14])

• More Than Instinct: Reflective Striving

  • Not “exactly an instinct,” but arising from our biological drive for survival plus our unique self-reflective minds.
  • Goldstein: “We can…step outside… ‘Am I really worth all this attention?’ … That’s what results in this mattering instinct.” ([42:41])

• Evolution, Physics, and Biology

  • The desire for mattering is rooted in both evolutionary and even thermodynamic imperatives (life fighting entropy).
  • “From that we get the laws of biology. And that… takes us all the way… to this longing to matter.” ([43:49])

• The Dark and Light of Mattering

  • The instinct underlies both “our greatest achievements…and our greatest atrocities.”
  • “If a leader can appeal to that… they can create a very strong movement. I think we’re seeing that.” ([53:22])

• Personal Stories: Redemptive and Destructive Paths

  • Frank Meehank, former neo-Nazi skinhead, and Luo Shuiying, an impoverished Chinese scavenger who rescued abandoned babies—both driven by mattering, but toward radically different ends.
  • Goldstein: Meehank’s “mattering project” changed from hate to heroism; Luo’s story “really exemplifies this kind of ethical achievement.” ([47:33], [50:19])

• Crisis of Mattering in Society

  • Populism, tribalism, and inequality are driven by a “crisis of mattering.”
  • “We’ve created a society in which there doesn’t seem to be enough mattering to go around… and this causes great resentment…” ([52:52])

Notable Quotes

• “Our greatest achievements as a species and our greatest atrocities come from this mattering instinct.” – Rebecca Neuberger Goldstein ([45:03])
• “Wherever there is human life, there is a longing to matter, to not be nothing, to not be treated as nothing.” ([52:52])
• “People can change what I call their mattering project.” ([49:41])
• “This longing… it’s a longing we never really know for sure. There’s a lot of doubt in living a human life…” ([46:44])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [41:14] Origins of “mattering” in Goldstein’s work
• [42:41] Instinct vs. conscious reflection
• [43:49] Biological and thermodynamic underpinnings
• [45:03] Light and dark sides of mattering
• [47:33] Story of Frank Meehank
• [50:19] Story of Luo Shuiying
• [52:52] Populism and the crisis of mattering

Memorable Moments

• Xi Jinping’s personal power vs. insecurity ([05:17]–[07:32])
• Richard Feynman’s O-ring demonstration—science meets public understanding ([31:20]–[32:30])
• Reagan’s “slipped the surly bonds of Earth” speech—presidential comfort as cultural memory ([34:53]–[36:59])
• Transformation of a neo-Nazi to an anti-hate activist: "People can change their mattering project." ([49:41])
• The universal yearning for significance: “Wherever there is human life, there is a longing to matter.” ([52:52])

Conclusion

This episode of Amanpour delivers a tightly woven narrative on the intersection of geopolitics, history, and human psychology. From China’s ambitions on the world's “frontier domains” to the lessons and legacy of the Challenger disaster, and the philosophical core of why people strive to matter, the conversation is urgent, illuminating, and full of stories that echo far beyond the headlines.

For listeners interested in global power competition, moral psychology, or space history, this episode delivers both rich analysis and profound human insight.