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
What exactly is Donald Trump’s plan for Greenland?
Donald Trump began on Wednesday by telling world leaders in more detail why the United States needs to acquire Greenland. He ruled out the use of force and made fresh claims on why Greenland needs to be owned by the United States, deriding European leaders and NATO. But by the end of the day the president announced he no longer plans to impose tariffs on European countries opposin...
As we mark one year of Donald Trump back as president of the United States, we answer your questions with Matt Chorley on 5 Live. We start with Greenland, and ask whether the president can be talked down from his threats to impose further tariffs on countries who oppose his takeover plan. What’s been the response of Republicans, and who has the biggest influence on Trump when it comes to foreign policy?
Also, the US president re...
How are Donald Trump’s ambitions in Venezuela and Greenland changing America’s place in the world? President Trump’s key adviser Stephen Miller has said that we are living in a world “that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power” - so where has that philosophy come from?
All this week, we are teaming up with our sister podcasts to explore how power and influence around the world is shifting. We ...
Five years on from the Jan 6th Capitol riots in Washington DC, the narrative around what happened that day continues to shift and cause division within America.
In Congress, a new Republican-led House panel the Select Subcommittee to Investigate the Remaining Questions Surrounding January 6th 2021 held its first hearing this week. Republicans say it’s needed because the previous committee, led by Democrat Nancy Pelosi was a “sham...
There are two big stories on today’s episode. What happened when foreign ministers from Denmark and Greenland met with Vice President JD Vance and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House? We discuss their “frank” talks and “fundamental disagreements”.
Plus, the world’s top central banker Jerome Powell has hit back at the US president in an unprecedented video statement on social media. It follows the Trump administra...
Donald Trump won his second presidency on a promise to put “America First” and to “Make America Great Again”. But with his recent action against Venezuela, and ambitions to acquire Greenland and strike Iran - in the midst of a fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis - how much support does Trump really have? Justin, Sarah and Marianna discuss whether Trump Is losing popularity with those who voted for him in 2024.
The team also - alon...
In the fallout of Nicolas Maduro’s dramatic capture from Venezuela to the US, Donald Trump has made no secret of his desire to obtain Venezuelan oil, which he says is integral for keeping prices low in America.
He’s also pledged to have the US oil industry operating in Venezuela within 18 months and that there would be huge private-sector investments into the country. Reports suggest representatives from major US petroleum companies...
Protests have broken out in Minneapolis after a US immigration agent shot dead a 37-year-old woman in the city.
Videos posted on social media show the moment of the shooting, in which ICE agents approach a car in the middle of a residential street. As it attempts to drive off, one of the agents points his gun at the driver and at least two shots are heard.
With the Trump administration characterising the incident as “domestic terro...
Few in Washington took Donald Trump seriously when he first floated the idea of the US acquiring Greenland during his first term as president. Even last year when JD Vance and Donald Trump Jr (the US president’s eldest son) made whistle stop visits to the semi-autonomous island, most observers viewed the trips as an example of the administration’s efforts to troll the international community.
But less than a week since Venezuelan pr...
Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro proclaimed "I am still president" and pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges as he appeared in court in New York for the first time. In this episode, we answer your questions, which include looking at the evidence against Maduro, and whether it’s possible a court could find him not guilty. We also answer your questions on who is really running Venezuela now? President Trump and his S...
How did the US capture the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and how exactly will the US “run the country” until there is a “proper transition of power”? In this episode, Anthony and Justin unpack an extraordinary weekend, with more details on exactly how the US military were able to storm Maduro’s home, and what kind of intelligence the CIA had. They also look at what could happen next in Venezuela. Donald Trump says his Foreign...
The Trump administration has frozen child care payments for the state of Minnesota after the conservative YouTuber, Nick Shirley, alleged that several centres run by Somali immigrants were taking public money without providing care. The video has received significant attention from figures like JD Vance and Elon Musk since being uploaded, prompting the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to declare the agency would target...
The Americast team look ahead to what the big U.S. stories of 2026 are likely to be, and how they might play out, answering many listener questions as they go along. Justin, Sarah, Anthony and Marianna put their 2026 predictions into the ‘Americast time capsule’ which will be sealed and re-opened at the end of next year.
Listen to what they predict ahead of November’s midterm elections, who Trump is likely to fall out with next, an...
Since returning to the White House, Donald Trump has started a series of high-stakes battles with America’s elite universities. Back in April, he froze $2 billion in federal grants from Harvard University and accused the college of antisemitism, "radical left" ideologies and racial bias. A US federal court has since overturned the funding cuts while other Ivy League universities have struck deals with the White House instead of goi...
What did the Americast team get right when they made their predictions for what the big news stories of 2025 might be? Justin, Anthony, Sarah and Marianna look back at a tumultuous year for Donald Trump in his second term, which include deportation raids, Elon Musk’s role, the war in Gaza, the US shutdown and more. It’s time to open up the Americast time capsule of predictions and find out what we got right and what we got wrong…
HO...
The US justice department was forced by law to release documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein at the end of last week, but by Saturday, at least 13 files were removed, leading to accusations of the department violating its obligations.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche later said the decision was taken to protect victims' privacy, but how much is the ongoing controversy around the Epstein files affecting public trust?
Tensions bet...
There was a lot of speculation ahead of Donald Trump’s address to the nation on Wednesday night and what the president would say to Americans during television primetime. Ultimately the president gave a full-throated defence of his administration’s achievements this year, with a particular focus on efforts to address the cost of living in the US, which has become synonymous with a debate over affordability.
The timing of the preside...
Susie Wiles is widely credited as being the mastermind behind Donald Trump’s successful presidential campaign last year. The White House Chief of Staff, referred to by the president as the “most powerful woman in the world”, is the gatekeeper to the Oval Office and a crucial figure in delivering Trump’s national agenda.
She also rarely speaks to the media, making her an elusive figure in the president’s top team despite her signifi...
It’s time for the 2025 Americast Awards…
There’s no doubt that it’s been a tumultuous year in US politics. From a dramatic disagreement between President Trump and Ukraine’s President Zelensky in the Oval Office, the deployment of the National Guard to cities across America, self-described democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani becoming the Mayor of New York, to Trump announcing his plan to turn Gaza into the ‘Riviera of the Middle Eas...
What’s going on between the United States and Venezuela? The Trump administration has been defending its seizure of an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast. In a dramatic video shared by the US Attorney General, armed camouflaged soldiers are shown swinging down ropes from low flying helicopters, and running along the vessel’s decks.
The US claims the tanker is used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran in an "illicit ...
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