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
Justin and Sumi take a closer look into the deepening relationship between Donald Trump and El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, as the row over the deportation of migrants to the Central American country escalates.
Could the Trump administration run into further trouble with the law over its handling of the situation? And, what's in it for Bukele?
Plus, what else have we missed in the news cycle? Sumi shares one story at the US-Mex...
President Trump has given Harvard University a long list of demands, but the university has refused to give in to them.
The president has frozen $2.2bn worth of funding as a result.
He wants Harvard to change the way it governs, hires and teaches because of concerns has over antisemitism on campus.
"No government - regardless of which party is in power - should dictate what private universities can teach," Harvard's president Alan Ga...
‘If I had all the money in the world, I’d spend it all just to buy one thing: a phone call to hear Kilmar’s voice again.’
Those were the pleas made to Trump’s administration by the wife of Abrego García, the Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador’s mega-jail. But can Trump bring him back? And does he want to?
Mariana is joined by Sumi Somaskanda to discuss the most important trial in Meta’s history, LA’s largest-ever rally...
Everything has changed…again! Or has it? The team assemble after President Trump scrapped his tariff plans (for 90 days at least) and reverted for a 10% levy across the board. Except for China, that is, who now face a rate of 125%.
So what is really going on? The Democrats are crying market manipulation, the markets remain chaotic, and MAGA Republicans are saying the country should trust the president. We try to separate the fact fr...
Donald Trump's latest wave of tariffs came into force on Wednesday only for him to announce a 90-day pause on higher tariffs for dozens of countries except China, who were hit by increased levies of 125%.
In this episode, the Americast team analyse the economic fallout from the first day of what could be a new era in world economics.
HOSTS:
- Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter - Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent - Marianna Spri...
The first US measles death in a decade, mass protests against Trump and El Salvador’s mega-jail…
In today’s Q&A Anthony, Justin and Mariana sign the podcasting equivalent of an executive order, putting a one-episode exemption on tariffs to focus on the other stories that may have fallen on the backburner since Trump shook up the world’s financial markets.
The team discuss the biggest protests of Trump’s second term so far, Homela...
There was a bright spot for Democrats this week after a liberal judge beat her conservative rival in the most expensive judicial election in US history. Susan Crawford beat Brad Schimel despite being backed by President Donald Trump's billionaire adviser Elon Musk.
The results came amid reports that Elon Musk could soon leave his prominent role in Donald Trump's administration. The White House has described the reports as "garbage"...
Donald Trump has announced sweeping new universal tariffs tonight on all imports into the United States. Justin, Sarah and Anthony unpack the U.S. president’s speech at the White House. Which countries are worst affected? How will the UK be impacted? And what are the chances Trump will change his mind again and roll back on some of his announcements?
HOSTS: • Sarah Smith, North America Editor • Anthony Zurcher, North America Corre...
‘A lot of people want me to do it’ was Donald Trump’s answer when asked in an NBC interview on Saturday if he wanted to serve a third term as US President. The Constitution says that “no person…shall be elected more than twice”. In today’s Q&A with Matt Chorley on 5 Live, Mariana and Justin unpack whether Trump could rewrite history. The team also discuss whether the million-dollar cheques that Elon Musk has been handing out...
Donald Trump announced this week 25% tariffs on US car imports, a move that will impact neighbours Mexico and Canada. Canadian prime minister Mark Carney has called the tariffs "unjustified" and said it marked the end of "deep ties" between the two countries.
Canadian journalist and podcaster Jordan Heath-Rawlings joins Sarah and Anthony today to assess how Trump's policies have flipped Canadian politics on its head.
HOSTS: • Sarah S...
The journalist who was inadvertently included in a group chat among Trump’s senior cabinet leaders and national security officials tells Sarah Smith how it happened. He also responds to the White House’s furious reaction to his decision to publish the entire exchange of messages, with Donald Trump calling the reporting a “witch hunt” and declaring the Atlantic a “failed magazine”. He also calls for the Trump administration to ac...
What constitutes a ‘war plan’ and when is information ‘classified’?
After the revelation that the editor of The Atlantic was included in a sensitive group chat discussing plans to bomb Yemen, the magazine has taken the decision to publish the whole conversation discussing operational details of the attack.
The publication says it took the decision after repeated statements from top Republicans stating that no classified information ...
It’s Americanswers! Sarah, Anthony and Marianna join Matt Chorley from 5 Live to answer your questions. Today, can Donald Trump dismantle the Department of Education without going through Congress, and what impact would it have on kids with special educational needs? Also, as Canada prepares for its snap general election, what role is the U.S. playing? And why has a portrait of Donald Trump got him angry?
HOSTS: • Sarah Smith, ...
How did Donald Trump get close to Elon Musk? What is the story behind his relationship with Melania, and how did Trump get re-elected against all the odds?
Donald Trump is no stranger to the journalist Michael Wolff, whose latest book is his fourth on the current president. His book, All or Nothing, details the story of Trump’s comeback and and his relationships to the people who helped him do it.
Trump himself has called Wolff “fa...
The U.S. President is setting up a major showdown with America’s judicial system. Sarah and Justin pick apart claims that Donald Trump defied a court order by deporting more than 200 migrants to El Salvador, despite a judge ordering to be turned planes carrying the migrants to be turned back if they were already in the air.
Legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Jennifer Rodgers gives her view on whether Trump has broken the...
Donald Trump says he and Vladimir Putin will hold Ukraine peace talks on Tuesday.
Sarah, Anthony, Justin and Marianna answer your questions on what they might say to each other.
And they return to the subject of egg prices after claims from Trump that they’re dropping.
And we find out why JD Vance has been wearing special socks.
This episode was made by Chris Flynn and Catherine Fusillo. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The ser...
The Democrats may be on the retreat politically but they're hoping to bounce back after an actual retreat this week in Leesburg, Virginia.
One of the speakers at the retreat political strategist (and friend of the podcast) James Carville, who's suggested Democrats should "play dead" and do nothing against Trump.
The Americast team unpack whether this approach could work, and Justin's been chatting to Democrat Congressman Seth Moulto...
The world is bracing itself as Donald Trump enacts his global tariffs. As the president begins to enforce them upon the rest of the world, the Americast team assemble to ask whether Trump’s bet on tariffs might be a bad deal for the US. How have the markets reacted, and does Trump actually care?
Plus, why has Donald Trump bought a Tesla even though he isn’t allowed to drive it?
HOSTS:
- Justin Webb, Radio 4 Presenter - Sarah Smith,...
Donald Trump has not ruled out the possibility of the US going into recession. Sarah, Anthony, Justin and Marianna answer your questions on how Trump’s trade war is impacting on stock markets and American voters. Plus, is the new Canadian PM, Mark Carney is escalating the war on tariffs?
Also, how could the Democrats be more effective as an opposition voice, and why have we seen an influx of memes about the Vice President JD Vance?
...
What do we know about President Trump’s long term strategy when it comes to dealing with Russia, and where does that leave America’s relationship with Europe and Ukraine?
Justin, Sarah and Anthony get an inside view from Celeste Wallander, one of Biden and Obama’s top security staffers who has been in meetings with Vladimir Putin.
How does the Russian leader behave during negotiations, and what advice does she have for the Trump adm...
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