Americast
Americast is the authoritative US news and politics podcast from the BBC. Each week we provide audiences with the best analysis from across the BBC, with on-the-ground observations and big picture insights about the stories which are defining America right now. The podcast is hosted by trusted BBC journalists including the BBC’s North America editor, Sarah Smith, BBC Radio 4 presenter, Justin Webb, the BBC’s disinformation and social media correspondent, Marianna Spring, and BBC North America correspondent, Anthony Zurcher. As well as political analysis, we also specialise in social media. Each week Marianna Spring brings listeners the latest updates from the BBC’s Undercover Voters, our award-winning investigation into the content that is recommended to US voters on social media. The team is also joined by special guests each week, like CNN anchor, Christiane Amanpour, Emmy Award-winning TV host, Rachel Maddow, and Succession actress, J Smith-Cameron. Podcasts are published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. As well as being a podcast, we are also available every Friday on the World Service. Oh, and by the way, you can now listen to Americast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say ‘”Ask BBC Sounds to play Americast”. It works on most smart speakers. Every Monday we answer your questions on Americanswers, with some help from special guests, including Miles Taylor, who was chief of staff at the Department for Homeland Security during the Trump presidency before becoming a whistleblower. Got a question or a comment? Get in touch with us on email at Americast@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480.
Episodes
In Trump’s last cabinet meeting of the year, we hear the US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth - under pressure over possible war crimes in the Carribean Sea - give his fullest explanation yet over what he knew, and when. Citing the “fog of war” in a chaotic situation, Hegseth said he “did not personally see survivors” after a deadly strike on an alleged drug boat in the Carribean, amid concerns that US forces may have violated laws go...
Donald Trump has warned that US efforts to halt Venezuelan drug trafficking "by land" would begin "very soon". But what’s actually happening off the coast of Venezuela, and why is Trump calling for Venezuela’s airspace to be closed?
And, the president said he would "permanently pause migration" to the US from all "third-world countries" after an attack on National Guard members last week. Could this heighten immigration tensions in...
In this episode, Sarah and Anthony unpack one of the most surprising political moments of the year - when New York’s incoming mayor Zohran Mamdani met Donald Trump in the Oval Office. After weeks of insulting each other during the mayoral campaign, Republicans and Democrats are still reacting to what turned out to be a very amicable and friendly meeting.
Trump has promised to help Mamdani make New York City a success, and “great aga...
The Trump administration is planning its next move after a major setback this week. Criminal cases against Trump’s two longtime political foes - former FBI director James Comey and New York attorney general Letitia James - were dismissed by a US federal judge. Judge Cameron Currie said that prosecutor Lindsey Halligan, who was handpicked by Trump to bring the charges against two of his political adversaries, was never eligible t...
Donald Trump has posted on social media that ‘something good just may be happening’ when it comes to negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine, after overnight talks in Geneva.
European leaders criticised a 28-point US peace plan when it emerged last week, saying it was too favourable to Russia. A new plan has been promised, but President Zelensky has played down Trump’s hopes of progress.
Sarah, Anthony and Marianna join Matt Chorley...
The Georgia Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is being celebrated by Democrats for being one of the few Republicans to stand up to Donald Trump in recent weeks. From the Epstein Files to the cost of living, Greene has been vocal in her criticism of the current administration. It’s notable because MTG has been one of Trump’s most loyal allies and a powerful leader of the MAGA movement, and also because her interventi...
Donald Trump says he will sign a bill to release the Epstein Files after it passed nearly unanimously through both houses of Congress. It’s a notable shift in position from the president, who’s come under increasing pressure from Republicans and Democrats to release all files held by the Justice Department on the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Will Trump be able to turn this into a victory, and will he be able to repair th...
On Sunday night Donald Trump told Republicans in the House of Representatives to vote in favour of releasing files relating to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein “because we have nothing to hide”. It’s a striking change in position from the president who has so far resisted pressure from Democrats and Republicans in his own party who have been demanding that all files relating to Epstein be released into the public dom...
Fifty year mortgages, recent aid for Argentina, high food prices, a focus on foreign affairs, and Trump telling Fox News that the U.S. needs foreign workers because it doesn’t have enough “talented people”… Americast looks at why some Republicans within the MAGA movement are questioning Trump’s commitment to his campaign promise of “America first”.
Justin, Anthony and Marianna look at how and where Trump is under pressure from wit...
In a Fox News interview released on Tuesday, Donald Trump says he has an ‘obligation’ to sue the BBC for the way it edited a section of a speech he made on January 6th 2021 - the day of the US Capitol riots - as part of a Panorama documentary. The Chair of the BBC, Samir Shah said “the BBC would like to apologise for that error of judgement”.
The BBC has been given a Friday deadline by Trump to respond or face possible legal action...
President Donald Trump has threatened to sue the BBC for $1 billion over how the editing of his speech in a Panorama documentary, calling it "false and defamatory". The BBC chair Samir Shah has apologised for an "error of judgement" over the edit, and said the BBC was considering how to respond to Trump.
Matt Chorley, Justin, Anthony and Marianna discuss what Trump actually said in his January 6th speech, Trump’s long battle with th...
For the first time since the presidential election there is renewed optimism among Democrats after a big election night on Tuesday. Alongside Zohran Mamdani’s win in New York and the governor races in New Jersey and West Virginia, the party also won important - albeit less glamorous - races in Pennsylvania and Georgia.
In this episode, Justin, Anthony and Sarah unpack how and where the Democrats won, and what it means for the party ...
Election night is back in the US and this time around there’s a lot more for the Democrats to cheer about after the party’s rising star, Zohran Mamdani, won the New York City mayoral election and will become the first Muslim mayor of the biggest city in America.
The 34-year-old led his party to victory on the back of pledges to tax millionaires to pay for expanded social programmes and said that New York could be the “light” in a mo...
Sarah, Anthony and Marianna join Matt Chorley on 5 Live to answer your questions. The team look at a week of elections in New York, Virginia and New Jersey, how recent developments with the royal family could impact the release of the Epstein files in the US, and whether the president is serious about testing nuclear weapons for the first time since the 90s.
Plus, Democrat frontrunner Zohran Mamdani appears to be the favourite f...
Donald Trump’s decision to demolish the East Wing of the White House in favour of a new and much larger ballroom has sparked controversy - and conspiracy theories - across the U.S. The president has wanted to build the ballroom since his first term in office, but he told reporters over the summer that the plans would not "interfere” with any other parts of the White House.
The president says the project will be funded by private do...
President Donald Trump is topping off his whirlwind trip around Asia with a long-anticipated meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday. After months of an escalating trade war, Trump says a “good deal” is close to being agreed. It also includes negotiations on TikTok's US operations.
Anthony joins Sarah and Justin from South Korea, where he’s been hot on the president’s heels throughout his trip, to discuss how the meet...
It’s just over a year since the 2024 presidential election but attention is already turning to 2028 with both candidates from last year’s race expressing a desire to run again. Kamala Harris told the BBC over the weekend that she “wasn’t done” with public service, while Donald Trump said on Monday morning that he’d “love” to stand again for a third term. We answer your questions on whether Donald Trump plans to override the constit...
Voting starts on Saturday for one of America’s biggest and most prominent political positions. How did Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, emerge as the frontrunner to be the next mayor of New York, despite being virtually unknown at the start of his campaign?
Sarah, Justin and Anthony look in more detail at his policies, and in particular the centrepiece of his campaign around the cost of living. Mamdani says he will make New...
Why is Donald Trump intent on targeting Venezuela, and what’s really behind the continued targeting of boats in the Carribean Sea? The U.S. military began attacking vessels in early September, and have maintained - without evidence - that the people killed in these military strikes were ‘terrorists’ and drug smugglers for cartels and criminal gangs.
In this episode, Sarah and Anthony look at why the Trump administration has focuse...
Millions of Americans took to the streets over the weekend to take part in ‘No Kings’ protests against Donald Trump’s policies and his expansion of presidential authority. Major U.S cities like Chicago, Miami, New York and Washington D.C saw people turn out in much greater numbers than the first ‘No Kings’ protests back in June. We look at Donald Trump’s initial response to the protests and your questions on how he may look to resp...
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