THE CLOCK IS TICKING FOR THE US AND IRAN

Summary

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Amanpour – "THE CLOCK IS TICKING FOR THE US AND IRAN"

Date: June 27, 2026
Host: Christiane Amanpour

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Brief Overview

In this episode, Christiane Amanpour delves into the high-stakes final stages of US-Iran nuclear negotiations, comparing past and present approaches with former US Secretary of State John Kerry. The program also examines a bold push for peace in Israeli politics through a new Jewish-Arab political party, marks 10 years since Brexit, and spotlights acclaimed author Ann Patchett's reflections on reading, community, and book banning in America. Archival reporting highlights the role of sport in international relations—recalling the 2000 Iran-USA "friendly" soccer match—before closing with Serena Williams’ bid for tennis history.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The US-Iran Nuclear Negotiations: Then and Now

Guest: John Kerry (former US Secretary of State, Obama and Biden administrations)
Timestamps: 01:08–12:25

• State of Talks:

  • Amanpour underscores the urgency: "The 60 day clock is ticking. The United States and Iran remain locked in negotiations to reach a final deal." (02:17)
  • Key unresolved issues include Lebanon, maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz, and the details of Iran’s nuclear program.

• Comparison of Approaches:

  • Kerry emphasizes differences in diplomatic strategies between the Obama and Trump eras:
    “President Obama thought it was better to negotiate based on the premise that you have to exhaust the possibilities of peace before you decide to go to war. That did not happen here.” (07:59)
  • Obama’s policy focused on the "biggest danger first"—Iran's nuclear breakout time, which the JCPOA extended from two weeks to a year (05:57).

• Regional Allies and Trust:

  • Kerry acknowledges current regional anxiety and skepticism:
    “There are many countries in the region that wanted the President to, quote, finish the job...” (04:49)
  • On maintaining a broad coalition: “That diplomacy brought China, Russia, France, Germany, UK, the EU, all came to the table, and they were all part of the development...” (08:37)

• Diplomacy vs. Force:

  • Kerry reflects on restraint under Obama: “President Obama said, no, we're going to try diplomacy. That's the way you have to do these things. You build support.” (08:28)
  • Contrasts with Trump administration’s approach, saying:
    “...on a Saturday morning. Kaboom. The president went to war and didn't even consult with our own allies. We had none of those countries with us in this initiative the way they had been previously.” (09:34)

Notable Quote:

"We put together the most intrusive comprehensive arms control agreement in history...we had the right for the IAEA...to go in and inspect on demand."
— John Kerry (05:41)

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2. Israel’s New Jewish-Arab Political Party: ‘A Place for Us All’

Guests: Rula Daoud & Alon-Lee Green (co-founders)
Timestamps: 12:58–20:21

• Vision in Divisive Times:

  • Daoud: “We need a party that demands an end to the occupation, Israeli-Palestinian peace, but also equality for the people living inside of Israel.” (15:17)
  • The party aims to challenge "old politics" with a platform rooted in real partnership and peace, evidencing rare Jewish-Arab coalition.

• Countering Despair:

  • Amanpour cites polling: Majority believes peace is unattainable; less than 1 in 5 see a two-state solution as possible. (17:20)
  • Alon-Lee Green insists on an alternative narrative: “We need to wake up and we need to speak with every possible Israeli to say there is an issue and the issue is occupation.” (17:56)

• Facing Political Criticism:

  • On left-wing fragmentation concerns:
    “It would be irresponsible not to bring voters around the question of peace...not to create Jewish partnership after October 7th...not about Netanyahu or not Netanyahu, but about occupation, Palestinians, Israelis and our future in this land.” — Alon-Lee Green (19:58)

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3. Ann Patchett on Books, Community & Book Banning in America

Guest: Ann Patchett (novelist and bookstore owner)
Timestamps: 21:53–28:01

• About Her New Novel:

  • Patchett summarizes "Whistler": “It's about the two of them working out their past, present and future together as friends.” (22:18)
  • Themes of trauma, family, and essential goodness.

• Community Spaces:

  • On bookstores as sanctuaries:
    “It is not about retail. It is about anything. Readers coming together, non readers coming together...we need a place to be together...it was a wonderful thing to say, we have someplace to go.” (24:53)
  • Cites bookstore’s importance after the tragic 2023 Nashville school shooting.

• Evangelism for Reading:

  • Patchett addresses the myths of literary decline:
    “Every morning at the bookstore, there they are lined up, waiting to come in...there’s still a very strong group of people who want to love books.” (25:52)
  • On leading by example for children:
    “It's not enough to read a book to your kid and then sit there looking at your phone. Your kid is going to want to look at a phone if that's what you're doing...Children have to see you reading books. That's what I'm evangelical about.” (26:54)
  • Remains critical of ongoing book bans, calling them “an extraordinary waste of time” and stressing energy should go towards child safety from guns (26:54).

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4. Sports Diplomacy and Social Change: Iran-USA Soccer and Serena Williams

Iran-USA Soccer Match—Archival Feature

Reporter: Christiane Amanpour (2000, from archives)
Timestamps: 28:01–32:45

• Football as a Bridge:
  • The historic 2000 friendly match at the Rose Bowl is revisited as a symbol of thawing tensions:
    “It’s so much more than a game. It’s a real event...the first time ever that the Iranian national team has come to play the US national team here in the United States.” (30:54)
  • Noted the predominance of Iranian supporters in the Los Angeles crowd—proof of sport’s significance for the diaspora.
  • Teams exchanged roses pre-match as a goodwill gesture.
  • Symbolic note from Iranian team: “May peace, respect and friendship prevail amongst all nations.” (32:45)

Serena Williams’ Comeback

Timestamps: 33:57–34:22

• Legacy and Drive:
  • Serena on her own legacy:
    “I'm the kind of person who's like, well, honestly, I should have been at like 30 or 32. So that's kind of how I look at it. But, you know, so you feel you've...I haven't done it. I haven't done it at all or else I would have done it. Right. Let's just. That's what it is. But I don't know. I should have had it, really. I've had many opportunities to have, but I'm not giving up to answer your question.” (33:57)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Diplomacy vs. War:
  “You have to exhaust the possibilities of peace before you decide to go to war. That did not happen here.”
  — John Kerry (07:59)

• On Community After Tragedy:
  “It is not about retail...we need a place to be together...it was a wonderful thing to say, we have someplace to go.”
  — Ann Patchett (24:53)

• On Peace Politics in Israel:
  “If our political leaderships will not speak about these issues, then the public will never know that this is an issue that can be solved. It will be like the weather for them. So we're here to say that this is not the weather. It's possible, it's possible to fight against occupation. It's possible to fight for peace.”
  — Alon-Lee Green (18:36)

• On Book Bans:
  “Book banning is a terrible thing, and it's an extraordinary waste of time because when you ban a book, you will always be on the wrong side of history.”
  — Ann Patchett (26:54)

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Segment Timestamps

• 01:08 – US-Iran negotiations intro
• 04:23 – John Kerry on regional alliances
• 07:35 – Trump stance vs. Obama era
• 10:07 – Kerry transitions to climate crisis
• 12:58 – Israel’s new Arab-Jewish party: 'A Place for Us All'
• 15:14 – Rula Daoud on the party’s purpose
• 17:54 – Alon-Lee Green on overcoming despair
• 19:58 – Party’s electoral challenges
• 21:53 – Ann Patchett on new novel, community, and activism
• 24:53 – Bookstore as space for healing
• 26:54 – On the dangers of book banning
• 28:01 – Archival reporting: Iran-USA soccer
• 30:54 – Match details, significance for diaspora
• 33:57 – Serena Williams on legacy and comeback

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Episode Takeaways

This episode blends global diplomacy, the power of collective activism, the healing role of literature and community, and the surprising social impact of sports. Amanpour’s guests highlight the need for courage in political and personal action—whether it’s maintaining peace, forging inter-communal partnerships, preserving literary freedom, or striving for athletic greatness. The discussions call for clarity, hope, and persistence in the face of tough odds—on the world stage and at home.

Transcript

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[Christiane Amanpour]

Hello everyone and welcome to the Amanpour Hour. Here's where we're headed this week.

[John Kerry]

President Obama thought it was better to negotiate based on the premise that you have to exhaust the possibilities of peace before you decide to go to war. That did not happen here.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Former Secretary of State John Kerry tells us what similar and what's different about the Obama and Trump Iran deals, then a place for us all, Israel's new Arab Jewish political party offering a different vision for the country's future. I speak to the brains behind this new effort.

[Alon Lee]

We need to wake up and we need to speak with every possible Israeli to say there is an issue and

[Christiane Amanpour]

10 years since Britain chose to leave the EU. Does this country regret its decision? A report from a Brexit heartland. Also ahead, it's not enough to read

[Ann Patchett]

a book to your kid and then sit there looking at your phone. Your kid is going to want to look at a phone if that's what you're doing.

[Christiane Amanpour]

The acclaimed author Ann Patchett talks about her latest novel and why she thinks America hasn't yet turned the page on book banning. Plus, as the World cup rallies soccer fans all over America for From the archives, my report from the 2000 USA Iran Friendly at the Los Angeles Rose Bowl. Welcome to the program everyone. I'm Christiane Amanpour in London. The 60 day clock is ticking. The United States and Iran remain locked in negotiations to reach a final deal. All sides insist, quote, encouraging progress is being made. But the US And Iran contest each other's language over issues like the fate of Lebanon, the fate of ships moving slowly now through the Strait of Hormuz. And still to be negotiated, the not so small issue of Iran's nuclear program. The very same sticking points that took two years for the Obama administration to negotiate, which President Trump then rejected in his first term. And yet it all sounds eerily similar. Take a listen.

[Iran Nuclear Inspector]

For decades, inspectors will have access to Iran's entire nuclear supply chain, from the uranium mines and mills where they get raw materials, to the centrifuge production facilities where they make machines to enrich it. And under the terms of the deal, inspectors will have the permanent ability to inspect any suspicious sites in Iran.

[American Official]

This is probably what we're most excited about as Americans. The Iranians have agreed to invite IAEA inspectors back into their country. That is a major milestone for the American people and the first step in permanently denuclearizing or permanently ending a nuclear weapons program in Iran.

[Christiane Amanpour]

But Iran has raised issues about the sequencing of that inspection team. Well, my first guest negotiated the JCPOA as Secretary of State under President Obama. John Kerry was also President Biden's climate envoy, and he joined me from London, where he's been attending Climate Action Week. Some of it was canceled due to the climate. Welcome back to the program, Secretary Kerry.

[John Kerry]

Thanks for having me. Glad to be with you.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Secretary Rubio is in the Gulf, has been in the GCC states, and is trying to reassure or convince regional allies that whatever has been agreed to between President Trump and the Iranian leadership will not be at their expense. From what you know about this and what you know about having to keep allies on side, how do you think that's going and what are the key sticking points?

[John Kerry]

Well, the sticking points are the entire agreement right now, because there are many countries in the region that wanted the President to, quote, finish the job. That requires some difficult definition, but they're very worried that they're going to be left with something or Iran has freedom to do things that they haven't before. And that's clearly why Secretary Rubio is there, to try to assure them that's not going to happen. But we all know that Secretary Rubio thought that the foundation of this war initially, he really didn't believe in it. And those are the reports, at least, that came out of the White House with good reporting. So I think that right now, the administration's in a very tough place. It's not a peace agreement, it's a ceasefire. And try to find an agreement on the potential of the production of nuclear weapons, whether they can find other ingredients for peace. With the missile issues, the Houthi issues, Hezbollah issues, is very tough. President Obama made the fundamental decision that the urgency of dealing with a nuclear weapon at the time that we faced this challenge was that there was about a two week plus few days maybe breakout time to have a nuclear weapon. And if we spent all our time trying to do with Hezbollah or missiles, we would have left them free to continue to do what they had been doing. And we didn't want that to happen. So we focused on the real biggest danger first, and that was the nuclear, the potential of them becoming nuclear. And we put together the most intrusive comprehensive arms control agreement in history where we were very precise about the ways in which we could enforce it. We had the right for the iaea, the International Agency, Atomic Energy Agency, to be able to go in and inspect on demand. We had the ability to be able to spring back all the sanctions. We had a very elaborate scheme created which destroyed thousands of their centrifuges, destroyed their plutonium reactor, put 130 additional inspectors on the ground in Iran. They're gone now. So, you know, the point to make here is that it took time, us approximately two years of open negotiations and some period of time where we were feeling it out and trying to figure out whether there was something real here that could be done.

[Christiane Amanpour]

You know, obviously the negotiation that you talk about in the JCPOA deal has been front and center as people compare what Trump has done and what your administration did. So let me just play to you what President Trump has said about just the idea of going to war against Iran. Here's what he said.

[Donald Trump]

Look, for 47 years, no president was willing to do what I'm doing. And they should have done it a long time ago. It would have been a lot easier. There's no president that wanted to do it. And yet every president knew. I've spoken to a certain president who I like, actually a past president, former president. He said, I wish I did it, I wish I did. But they didn't do it. I'm doing it.

[Christiane Amanpour]

So just to be clear, apparently spokespeople for all the former presidents have denied recently speaking to President Trump. That was in March when he said that. I guess what I want to ask you is, did you get tempted, was your administration anywhere close to going to war to actually degrade Iran's military abilities?

[John Kerry]

Well, President Obama was absolutely prepared to do whatever was necessary to protect the interests of the United States as well as to protect our ally Israel. And at that point in time, there were real dangers, but they weren't ready to explode. And I think the president wisely made the choice not to agree to Prime Minister Netanyahu's request to be able to go in and bomb and to even join in the bombing. President Obama said, no, we're going to try diplomacy. That's the way you have to do these things. You build support. And indeed, that diplomacy brought China, Russia, France, Germany, uk, the eu, all came to the table, and they were all part of the development of this, this process. And in the end, when the president, when President Trump decided, oh, I'm going to pull out of this agreement, I'm going to tear it up. Worst agreement ever saw. It allows them to go get a nuclear weapon. No, Mr. President, it did not allow them to go get a nuclear weapon. What it allowed them to do is get themselves in trouble if they wanted to. And we would. With a year of available time, because that's the breakout time, we moved it from two weeks to a year. We had the ability to be able to do whatever was necessary to protect the interests of the United States. But we thought it was better. President Obama thought it was better to negotiate based on the premise that you have to exhaust the possibilities of peace before you decide to go to war. That did not happen here. That distinctly did not happen, even though there were offerings and discussions taking place on a Saturday morning. Kaboom. The president went to war and didn't even consult with our own allies. We had none of those countries with us in this initiative the way they had been previously.

[Christiane Amanpour]

So now let me ask you then, to sort of pivot to the energy crisis and the climate crisis. And you're in the uk, where there's been a really unprecedented heat wave. And one of the events at the British, or I think it's called London Climate Week, was cancelled because of the climate. You know, you spent so many years being the climate czar for President Biden and really taking this issue on. Where are we right now?

[John Kerry]

Well, right now, as I sit here, parts of the Earth are sort of blowing up and burning up at the same time. And it appears as if the administration is willing to ignore science, ignore facts, the facts on the ground for the way people are being impacted all around the world. I mean, after 40 years, we've been hearing that the first decade of those 40 was the hottest ever, and then the next decade and then the next, and now the one we're in, the hottest ever. And each day yesterday was hottest day in June in London today, just as hot. So this is going to get worse, folks, before it gets better because it is mathematics and science and physics that is defining what is happening on our planet. But if you talk about what is happening to people in their homes, what's happening to their food and food prices, what is happening to their communities as a result of floods or other disasters, you know, when you look at those things happening, people are much clearer about what they think we should do that would make a difference. Electric vehicle sales now are going way back up because of gas prices. So there's a natural order to things that I think is unfolding in the marketplace. CEOs of companies are not going to buy things that are going to hurt them or hurt communities or find their energy from things that are destructive. They're going to make decisions that improve their, their, their products, improve their ability to sell their products and improve their ability to avoid disastrous consequences for contributing to the bad things that happen when you're not being particularly honest about what's going on.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Well, former Secretary of State John Kerry, thank you very much indeed for being with us.

[John Kerry]

Glad to be with you. Thank you.

[Christiane Amanpour]

And coming up later on the show, superstar author Ann Patchett dishes on her new book and why she's evangelical about getting kids to read in our era of smartphones and tablets. But first, Israel's new Jewish Arab party trying to send a message of unity ahead of elections later this year. I speak to the founders of A Place for Us all.

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[Jim Biederman]

Oh, yes. Sitting in for Michael Ian Black this week. It's me, Jim Biederman. On today's show, we talk about the reflecting pool disaster, the Iranian negotiations and probably the most important story of the week, all you can eat shrimp. It's such a great week.

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[Christiane Amanpour]

Welcome back to the program. Even though recent polls indicate support for Benjamin Netanyahu's wars, they also show a strong majority disapproving of how they are going now. The Prime Minister is in a fight for his political survival with hotly contested elections later this year, and it's not looking very good for him. One new party is hoping to take advantage of this weakness with a daring gambit promoting peace and unity during wartime. A place for us all is evenly split between Arab and Jewish Israelis. It's a first and it's the brainchild of Alon Lee Green and Rula Daoud, who also co founded Standing, a grassroots group that has spent years working towards peaceful coexistence existence. They join me from Tel Aviv. Welcome to the program. We always like to talk to people from different sides who are, you know, who have a joint project of coexistence. So this is a very, very hard time to be a politician and to run for elections in Israel. What do you think both of you, your party can bring, you know, in terms of, well, what do you think it can bring to this election? Can you really unseat the party of Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition?

[Rula Daoud]

I think what we see, we understand that our lives, the politics inside of Israel is at a time where it needs brave people and brave politics, especially after October 7th. We need a party that demands an end to the occupation, Israeli, Palestinian peace, but also equality for the people living inside of Israel. And this is our party, a place for us all is a party that brings that voice and it brings us, brings it from the field. We are people who have been demonstrating, going out to the streets for the last 10 years on various struggles. And we hear our people and we see the hunger in the eyes of our people. And we understand that it is time to challenge the old politics that we have by politics of real partnership in the Knesset.

[Christiane Amanpour]

So just to be clear, Standing together is the grassroots group that you guys, you know, certainly Ruler co founded it and you are sort of suspending your participation in that for the moment while you become active politicians running for the Knesset. So you're now a political group. What is it that you think you can do with this Jewish and Arab coalition to counter what appears to be the majority of the Israelis right now who believe that these wars, for instance, need to continue.

[Rula Daoud]

When we look at the parties that we have right now, whether the Arab, the Jewish party especially, you know, what we have today as a left center, we don't see any of them speaking about the future of the people living in here and what will become of it. Everybody speaks about, you know, ruling the other, of not dealing with the issues of occupation and what will happen to the west bank, what will happen to Gaza. And by not dealing with these issues, nothing will really change in our politics. So we are here to speak and to talk about the future and the alternative of people and to fight for it, not just in the streets, but also in the Knesset. This is a future of peace for two people and independence for two people.

[Christiane Amanpour]

So, Alon Lee, let me ask you again some statistics because certainly majorities of Israelis and to an extent Palestinians, particularly those in the occupied territories and in Gaza, are losing, categorically losing hope in a two state solution. Look, fewer than one in five Israelis think that it's even possible, according to a recent Pew poll. How are you going to emerge, Alan Lee, as a party from that kind of feeling and that kind of isolation of the peace camp?

[Alon Lee]

We believe strongly that the leadership is lacking. Because if you as a voter, if you are an Israeli voter and you listen to your leaders, even in the opposition, what you hear is this, this is not the time to speak about peace, that maybe after a few years we'll start solving the occupation or we will talk about what to do with the Palestinians. And if the leadership cannot bring these ideas of solutions to the table, then people themselves do not hear it. And then they become very used to the idea that there is no solution and there is no issue even. And we need to wake up and we need to speak with every possible Israeli to say there is an issue and the issue is occupation. The issue is millions of people that are being ruled by our army without being the citizens of Israel. The issue is that the Israelis themselves are also afraid. The issue is having missiles flying above our heads and killing Israeli citizens. The issue is sending our soldiers to Lebanon again to kill 3,000 Lebanese and to to come back in a coffin. If you're a soldier, 36 soldiers have died in the last few months. These are issues. And if our political leaderships will not speak about these issues, then the public will never know that this is an issue that can be solved. It will be like the weather for them. So we're here to say that this is not the weather. It's possible, it's possible to fight against occupation. It's possible to fight for peace.

[Christiane Amanpour]

And just let me ask you, Alan Lee, because now you're a political party and you're to the left, right? And you can see that there are certain criticisms. For instance, Haaretz has said, you know, standing together party is the last thing the Israeli left needs. They're basically arguing that a division of the left could empower and play into Netanyahu's advantage, that if you don't meet an electoral threshold of 3%, if you fail to enter the Knesset, then your votes are wasted, etc. What do you say to that?

[Alon Lee]

Alonlee I think it would be irresponsible not to bring voters around the question of peace. It will be irresponsible not to create Jewish partnership after October 7th. It will be irresponsible to let these first elections after October 7th to be just about the question, Netanyahu or not Netanyahu, and not about occupation, Palestinians, Israelis and our future in this land.

[Christiane Amanpour]

All right, listen, thank you both very much indeed for telling us about your new party. Alan Lee and Rula, thanks so much. Israeli elections are scheduled to happen by the end of October next 10 years since Brexit. Does Britain regret its decision to leave the eu?

[Brexit Affected Citizen]

Having to grow up in a kind of post Brexit economy? Everything's a little bit more expensive now. Everything's harder.

[Brexit Interviewer]

If you could describe Brexit in one

[Christiane Amanpour]

word, what would it be?

[Brexit Affected Citizen]

Mistake.

[Christiane Amanpour]

CNN goes to one heavily impacted town to find out more.

[Craig Ferguson]

Craig Ferguson is going coast to coast to unpack what it really means to be an American today.

[Christiane Amanpour]

What could possibly go wrong?

[Craig Ferguson]

CRAIG ferguson, American on purpose. New episodes now streaming on the CNN app. Go to CNN.com watch to subscribe or log in with your TV provider.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Welcome back. Novelist Ann Patchett has become one of America's best loved writers, weaving tales of family love and intrigue. That entrance millions of readers from bel canto to Dutch. She takes readers inside surprising connections and intimate dramas. In her new novel, Whistler, Patchett follows an English teacher, Daphne, as she reconnects unexpectedly with her former stepfather. Patchett joined the program from Nashville, Tennessee, where she also owns a local bookstore, Parnassus Books. Welcome back to our program. Ann Patchett, it's always fabulous to have you on.

[Ann Patchett]

Thank you so much. I'm so happy to be here.

[Christiane Amanpour]

So tell me, because here's yet another wonderful read. I confess that I'm only a bit through it, not yet all through it. I'm going to save it for my upcoming vacation, but already it's grabbed me. For those who don't know, are you able to just give us what is it? What is Whistler?

[Ann Patchett]

You want my elevator pitch?

[Christiane Amanpour]

Yes. Yes. Your 30 second elevator pitch?

[Ann Patchett]

Yes. So Daphne Fuller is 53 years old. She's in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City with her husband. An older man is following them, and it turns out it is her stepfather, Eddie Triplett, and she has not seen him since she was 9. Eddie's now in his 70s, and they are thrilled to be reunited. And it's about the two of them working out their past, present and future together as friends.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Part of the trauma of this story is that they both suffered an incredible story. There was an accident and how they got through it. You've got here. Daphne has been taught not to talk. Eddie says to her, if I thought somebody out there was going to hurt you, I'd say we were better off taking our chances, waiting it out in the car. But I swear to you, it's mostly good people out there with a few bad people around the edges. And you're writing about good people. And at this moment, it's really, really necessary and refreshing to hear somebody telling us about good people. Was Eddie right?

[Ann Patchett]

Sure, of course Eddie's right. I mean, does it ever seem that the good people are very close and the bad people are at a distance? Because I understand there are terrible things going on in the world. But I also understand that when I walk down the street, when I'm in the grocery store, when I'm in the bookstore that I own every day, I encounter so much kindness and thoughtfulness and small deeds of goodness. And I am not here to write the only story. But I feel that that is a story that also deserves to be heard. There are a lot of decent, decent kind people out there in the world. And it's a shame that we have to teach our children to be afraid of everyone so that they will know to be afraid of the one person they should be afraid of.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Can I talk to you about that fear and basically the bad people. You once was talking, you know, about how you basically, I think, started your bookstore and why it matters so much to the Nashville community. And you were talking about what it gave to the community after the Covenant school shooting in March 2023. It was a mass shooting in which three 9 year old children lost their lives. And you really defined why this bookstore mattered so much then.

[Ann Patchett]

Yes, it's community. We need to pull together. We need a place to be together. It is not about retail. It is about anything. Readers coming together, non readers coming together. Nashvillians, people who want to hang out with dogs, people who want to go someplace where they can bring their children and know where to be for a really, really hard day. And I feel the importance of the bookstore every day. But on that particular horrible day, it was a wonderful thing to say, we have someplace to go. Come here. We'll be together.

[Christiane Amanpour]

And beyond that, your bookstore, an independent bookstore. And you are really, and I'm going to use this word because I think you use it, are evangelical about promoting and raising all the aware necessary for reading and writing and having that in our lives?

[Ann Patchett]

Yes, absolutely. And this is a perfect example that if I just went by the news and what I heard, I would think, oh, well, reading's dead. Books are dead. It's very, very bad. People aren't reading. Young people aren't reading. And yet every morning at the bookstore, there they are lined up, waiting to come in. There's still a very strong group of people who want to love books. I'm out on book tour right now, and every night I go to a different city and I meet so many people who love to read and love books and find tremendous solace in the community of readers.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Absolutely. And do you think you, the nation where you are, has broken the back of the book bannings or all of those kinds of things, have been taking away so many good books from the youngsters or others in libraries and schools, et cetera?

[Ann Patchett]

No, absolutely not. We have not solved that problem. We have not broken that problem. But I will tell you there. And book banning is a terrible thing, and it's an extraordinary waste of time because when you ban a book, you will always be on the wrong side of history. But more than that, it takes up the energy that we need to make children safe from guns. That's the more important issue of what is or is not safe in a school, but also the issue of children reading. Are we instilling in our children the love of reading and the desire of reading? And I see people out with their kids in their strollers looking at their phones, and whatever we're doing is what our children are going to want to do. It's not enough to read a book to your kid and then sit there looking at your phone. Your kid is going to want to look at a phone if that's what you're doing. So it's not enough to read to children. Children have to see you reading books. That's what I'm evangelical about.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Listen, thank you so much. It's wonderful. It's always great to get your books, but also to hear you on the value and the necessity to keep literacy and literature and all books in our daily life, in our daily practice. So thank you so much. Ann Patchett's book Whistler is out now. Coming up, breaking bread and drinking beer together, the World cup and the surprise friend making machine. From my archives, Los Angeles and the Rose bowl in the year 2000. I was there for a history historic friendly between teams USA and Iran.

[Sanjay Gupta]

I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, host of the Chasing Life podcast. Nelson Dellis is a six time US Memory champion who not only trained his brain to work better, but he also wrote about it for his new book called Everyday Genius.

[Nelson Dellis]

You know, the message is is that everybody, no matter where you are in life, what you think your memory currently is capable of, we all can transform our brain, the mind and memory is just like any other skill that you can learn and it's not a fixed thing.

[Sanjay Gupta]

Listen to Chasing Life streaming now wherever you get your podcasts.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Welcome back to the program. Whatever the naysayers said, and it was a lot, the World cup has so far been a football friendship phenomenon on and off the pitch. Once again, everyone's loving the beautiful game and its fan invasion. From the Tartan army of Scots turning Miami's Little Havana into a little Glasgow and before that, Boston as well, to the Algerian team and their love affair with the town of Lawrence, Kansas. The World cup has seen new and unlikely friendships bloom. Even the Iran team has maybe melted some war hardened American heart. The US Government is now allowing them more time in country before their final group stage game rather than what they've been doing banning Iran from spending the night on American soil and forcing them to fly in and out of Tijuana, Mexico for each game. Now this Iran USA encounter reminded me of World Cup 1998 in France when Iran beat the USA and their return match at the Rose bowl in Los Angeles, 2000. We dug through the archive to unearth my reporting from the sidelines of that historic game. The match was a friendly in more ways than one.

[Brexit Interviewer]

Just over an hour ago, the U.S. soccer team began a rematch with an old rival, Iran. The teams are playing an exhibition game at the Rose bowl in California. CNN's Christiane Amanpour joins us now from Pasadena with more on the international overtones of the match. Cristiane, it's nice to see you on American soil.

[Andrea (CNN Reporter)]

Andrea. This is a soccer game, a friendly game, not a tournament game. But it's so much more than a game. It's a real event because of the fact that this is the first time ever that the Iranian national team has come to play the US national team here in the United States. And so there's a huge amount being said and a Huge amount of excitement around it. Just in the last, last 30 seconds, the US has equalized the score. Therefore, it is 1:1. The last time Iran and the US met, Iran beat the United States 2 to 1. That was in France about two years ago during the World Cup. Now, I want to show you this stadium. This is the Rose bowl, where generally American college football is played. Today it is almost, it's more than half full, but the majority of the fans are Iranians. If we can just, just pan across the side there. Tens of thousands of Iranians are here and very, very few American fans. Perhaps Americans are not so interested in soccer, whereas Iranians really have a huge passion for soccer. In any event, there's a great and lively atmosphere here. At the beginning of the game, about an hour ago, when it started, the two national anthems were played and then the American handed the Iranians bouquets of roses. That was in a friendly gesture, a reciprocal gesture, because the Iranians had done the same for the Americans back in France two years ago. There are about 600,000 Iranians who live in the Los Angeles area. So many that often they call it here Terrangelis, after the capital city of Iran. Now, while many people are hoping that this is the beginning of the a thaw between relations between both countries, others think it's just a soccer game and they really just want to have fun and watch their two national teams play and make the best team win.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Now, it did end in a draw back then, just like Iran's match against Belgium this week, after which the Iranian team left a note in the dressing room that ended with these words, May peace, respect and friendship prevail amongst all nations. When we come back, the queen of tennis is making an extraordinary comeback. Is she vying for that elusive 25 grand slam record? A little window into Serena's mindset when we come back. And finally, we're on a sports roll here. And could it be the comeback to end all comeback? This week, Wimbledon officially gave seven time champion Serena Williams a wild card entry in singles. That's right, Serena Williams is back. The big question, is she going for the record and does she have a chance? Williams, now 44 and a mother of two, is one grand slam shy of Margaret Court's extraordinary 24. A few years ago, I sat down with the American in Paris and asked about her feelings on that elusive record. Take a listen.

[Serena Williams]

I'm the kind of person who's like, well, honestly, I should have been at like 30 or 32. So that's kind of how I look. At it. But, you know, so you feel you've

[Christiane Amanpour]

done it in some respects.

[Serena Williams]

I haven't done it. I haven't done it at all or else I would have done it. Right. Let's just. That's what it is. But I don't know. I should have had it, really. I've had many opportunities to have, but I'm not giving up to answer your question.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Well, that tells you all you need to know about the great champion's mindset. Wimbledon starts on Monday, so we will just have to wait and see whether she can shatter another record. The beauty of sport. That's all we have time for, though. Don't forget, you can find all of our shows online as [e-mail] audio and on all other major platforms. I'm Christiana Manpour in London. Thank you. Thank you for watching and I'll see you again next week.

[Anderson Cooper]

Hey, I'm Anderson Cooper. On my podcast All There Is, we explore grief and loss in all its complexities. Wherever you are in the world and in your grief, I'm glad you're here. My guest is actress, writer, artist Sharon Stone. When you think of grief, what do you think of?

[Sharon Stone]

I think of the way that I've dealt with it in my life, losing so many members of my immediate family. I think of it with a very open heart.

[Anderson Cooper]

You came very close to dying.

[Sharon Stone]

Yeah, yeah. In fact, some would say I did die and was defibrillated and brought back. I had that white light experience which has stayed upon my shoulder and made me feel quite safe in this continued existence.

[Anderson Cooper]

Talking grief, building community. That's what the podcast is all about. This is all there is. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.