Amanpour Podcast Summary

Episode: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih
Date: February 18, 2026
Host: Christiane Amanpour (CNN)
Featured Guests: Barham Salih (UN High Commissioner for Refugees, former President of Iraq), Joachim Trier (film director), Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Jon Meacham (historian)

Episode Overview

This episode of Amanpour delivers a compelling look at several urgent global topics: the humanitarian catastrophe amidst Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, the broader global refugee crisis, and the severe funding cuts hindering humanitarian responses. Barham Salih, the newly appointed UN High Commissioner for Refugees and former president of Iraq, describes the dire situation on the ground, the immense challenges facing the UNHCR, and personal reflections on leadership as both a refugee and a former head of state.

The episode then shifts to an interview with acclaimed Norwegian director Joachim Trier about his Oscar-nominated film "Sentimental Value," exploring intergenerational trauma and family dynamics. Investigative reporting by Dr. Sanjay Gupta investigates whether the US can replicate Denmark's vaccine program, followed by a wide-ranging discussion on the contested nature of American history with historian Jon Meacham.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

I. Ukraine War & Humanitarian Crisis

[03:32-14:23] Interview with Barham Salih, UN High Commissioner for Refugees

• On the Ground in Ukraine

  • Human Catastrophe: Barham Salih describes witnessing profound tragedy in Kharkiv: “This is not just an abstract geopolitical event. The human tragedy is real. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and injured, including thousands of civilians. 3.7 million Ukrainians remain displaced within the country, and more than 6 million have already taken refuge in neighboring countries and Europe and beyond.” [03:32]
  • Personal Impact: “Behind every statistic is really a life devastated, a family torn apart, a childhood disrupted. It's truly overwhelming. And this human tragedy has to be brought to an end.” [03:53]

• Deadlock in Peace Negotiations

  • When asked for advice based on his political experience in Iraq:
    • “Peace has to take precedence... Humanitarian action sustains lives, but peace restores futures. There is no military solution to this conflict.” [04:50]
    • Advocates for international engagement to force closure and an end to the suffering caused by protracted conflict.

• Funding Gaps

  • Amanpour highlights a 31% rise in civilian casualties in 2025 and a dangerous winter with infrastructure attacks impeding access to heat, water, and electricity.
  • Saleh emphasizes the funding crisis:
    • “We have requested $470 million of funding in order to provide for the emergency assistance needed for the people displaced across Ukraine. However, we have only been able to be funded at about $150 million.” [06:22]
    • “This is not the moment to look away. We need help. The people of Ukraine need help.” [07:11]

• Infrastructure Attacks

  • “Many power plants have been attacked, leading to the suspension or interruption of electricity supply... This is really devastating for people and their livelihoods.” [08:05]
  • “The intensity and the escalation is not abating. So we have to be concerned and this is the moment to redouble efforts to bring this war to an end.” [08:38]

• Global Scale of Refugee Crisis

  • “This is an unprecedented level of displacement globally—117 million people. At a time of shrinking humanitarian space... it’s making our ability to deliver help... really very difficult.” [09:47]
  • “Two thirds of the population of refugees in the world are stuck in protracted displacement, dependent on humanitarian assistance.” [10:20]
  • Most global refugees are hosted in low- and middle-income countries, emphasizing the need for burden sharing beyond the Global North.

• Middle East—Possible Iran Conflict

  • Saleh cautions against another war in the Middle East: “Of course war is a bad option. Nobody should be seeking another war in that part of the world. I hope there will be a political outcome, a diplomatic outcome.” [12:03]

• Personal Reflection as Refugee Leading UNHCR

  • “I know what displacement means. I know what losing a home, losing your friends and your community and facing uncertainty and insecurity means. And I also know what protection and opportunity means... I hope my story can tell that with opportunity and protection, refugees can contribute to life.” [13:18]
  • “This moment for me personally means I come with the empathy, with the experience, the living experience of a refugee that makes me feel far more responsible in delivering on the mandate of UNHCR.” [13:59]

II. Film & Society: Joachim Trier on "Sentimental Value"

[16:14–30:44] Interview with Joachim Trier, Director

• About the Film

  • “It’s a film... about family grappling with an absent father who’s trying to come back into his adult daughter’s life... all the stuff we don’t know how to talk about... those unspoken things.” [16:40]

• Generational Trauma & Relationships

  • “The film is dealing with generational trauma... Gustav Borg is a man who... hasn’t been allowed to find an emotional language to convey himself to his family, then found refuge making films that turn out to be emotionally engaging.” [17:45]
  • Describes the family as an ensemble—a “polyphonic story” [22:09]—where each character’s experience offers a different angle on shared pain and healing.

• Sisterhood & Family Dynamics

  • Trier emphasizes how the sisters' relationship reflects the unique ways siblings experience family differently:
    • “Why are we so different from each other even though we grew up in the same family?... maybe there are baby steps to move forward.” [22:36]

• Art, Independence, and Trust

  • On making non-commercial films:
    • “The specificity of making films comes from trust between the financial entities and the artists.” [24:00]
  • On his success with "Sentimental Value":
    • “You don’t plan for these things… I’m hoping we’re like an indie music band, building a rapport with an audience.” [25:40]

• On Political Expression through Art

  • “It’s a personal choice... I do think it’s hard for a film to not be political. We are always talking about the implications of identity, class, gender... There are other ways of reading films as political allegories.” [29:34]

• Notable Quote

  • Stellan Skarsgård described Trier as “one of those original people almost extinct because the system doesn’t allow them to live in this world.” [24:00]

III. Childhood Vaccines: The Denmark Model

[32:29–37:54] Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports from Copenhagen

• Key Comparison

  • Denmark vaccinates against 10 diseases versus the (until recently) US schedule of 17; the US has cut back on six including flu and hepatitis due to the Kennedy administration’s policy shift. [32:29]

• Vaccine Policy Is Contextual

  • Dr. Jens Lundgren: “You cannot just take what has been carefully thought through in one geographical location and just extrapolate that and generalize that.” [33:42]
  • On program trust: “It’s entirely based on trust. The trust parents need to trust… when we come with a new vaccine into the program.” [34:29]

• Trust in Institutions

  • Danish high trust in government enables health policy success; US lags far behind.
    • “Most Danes trust their government... Here’s the United States dead last. Just 28% of Americans trust the government.” [34:52]

• Public Health Infrastructure

  • Universal health care, data tracking, and social support make Denmark’s system robust.
  • “Vaccination isn’t the only reason that outbreaks are less common here... The National Serum Institute... keeps meticulous medical records of all Danish citizens.” [36:44]

• US Context

  • US saw measles deaths surge in 2025—the first deaths in a decade—while vaccine trust and compliance declined. [37:54]

IV. History, Memory & American Democracy

[39:00–53:43] Walter Isaacson interviews Jon Meacham

• Core Theme—"The American Struggle"

  • “It is the animating force. We’re a popular government… Political conflict is part of the air we breathe.” [39:18]
  • Hamilton’s Federalist ‘test’—can reason and deliberation stand against force and accident?

• Warning from History

  • On Lincoln’s 1838 warning: “A towering genius could appear within the United States... and destroy that republic.” [41:22]
  • “I think we’re running it far too close to the wind. I do... that illiberalism, that a tyranny of a particular partisan and personal interest is imbalancing the Republican lowercase R structure.” [41:24]

• Race as a Persistent Struggle

  • Through Douglass and the Dred Scott decision, Meacham highlights persistence and hope:
    • “But as Douglass said, I for one, do not despair of the republic. The Fiat of the Almighty, let there be light, has not yet spent its force… In the end, Douglass had faith that its truth would march on.” [44:14]

• Democracy Requires Agency and Acceptance of Loss

  • “You have to be willing, in a republic to lose. You have to be willing to accept verdicts and facts and decisions of voters that cut into your immediate interest.” [45:54]
  • Describes Trump’s post-2020 campaign to delegitimize elections as a unique and dangerous break with American norms. [47:00]

• Populism & Loss of Trust

  • “If you think about the 21st century... Why would you believe in the great public sector?... The story matters so much. We have to tell this story.” [49:27]

• History as a Battlefield

  • Meacham decries the “kingly, autocratic, narcissistic history” promoted by the Trump administration and stresses the importance of confronting uncomfortable history to honor those who fought for progress. [51:34]

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• “Behind every statistic is really a life devastated, a family torn apart, a childhood disrupted.”
  — Barham Salih [03:53]
• “Humanitarian action sustains lives, but peace restores futures.”
  — Barham Salih [04:50]
• “This is not the moment to look away. We need help. The people of Ukraine need help.”
  — Barham Salih [07:11]
• “I know what displacement means. I know what losing a home... losing your friends and your community and facing uncertainty and insecurity means.”
  — Barham Salih [13:18]
• “There is no military solution to this conflict.”
  — Barham Salih [04:57]
• “It’s a film... about all the stuff we don’t know how to talk about.”
  — Joachim Trier [16:40]
• “We wanted it to be warm... about a hopeful reconciliation… to talk about the good enough family.”
  — Joachim Trier [22:36]
• “The specificity of making films comes from trust between the financial entities and the artists.”
  — Joachim Trier [24:00]
• “It’s a personal choice... I do think it’s hard for a film to not be political.”
  — Joachim Trier [29:34]
• “Vaccination programs are entirely based on trust... The trust parents need to trust...”
  — Dr. Jens Lundgren [34:29]
• “It is the animating force [struggle]... Political conflict is part of the air we breathe.”
  — Jon Meacham [39:18]
• “I for one, do not despair of the republic.”
  — Quoting Frederick Douglass, Jon Meacham [44:14]
• “In a republic, you have to be willing to lose.”
  — Jon Meacham [45:54]
• “If we remove the wrongs from our narrative, then we are failing to honor the work they did...”
  — Jon Meacham [53:06]

Segment Timestamps

• Barham Salih on Ukraine & Refugees: 03:32–14:23
• Joachim Trier on "Sentimental Value": 16:14–30:44
• Dr. Sanjay Gupta on US-Denmark Vaccines: 32:29–37:54
• Jon Meacham on American History & Democracy: 39:00–53:43

Conclusion

This episode of Amanpour offers an urgent reminder that behind geopolitical crises lie countless individual tragedies—and resolute calls for humanitarian support and peace. Barham Salih’s lived experience fuels a powerful plea for solidarity with displaced populations. Joachim Trier’s deeply personal film reflects the universal pain and hope within fractured families, while the vaccine debate underscores how public trust is foundational to social health. Jon Meacham’s historical perspective argues passionately for grappling with uncomfortable truths if democracy and its narrative are to survive.

The episode’s recurring theme: Empathy, trust, and historical awareness are not luxuries—but essential to healing societies stricken by war, division, and amnesia.