It’s been a chaotic day in the United States. This morning, we heard the news that a court in the US has blocked Donald Trump’s tariffs. Later this evening, we found out that Trump's tariff plan was temporarily reinstated while a court considers a White House appeal. In between that, we recorded an episode, exploring what all this could mean for the global trade war, Trump’s relationship with the courts, and what seems to be the final moments of Elon Musk’s and Trump’s courtship - as the tech mo...
May 29, 2025•27 min
Elon Musk says he’s 'disappointed' by Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful' tax bill, marking a break from the US president who he helped to win re-election in 2024. Today Matt Chorley is joined by the full Americast ensemble to discuss whether the Trump-Musk bromance is now over. They also explore how middle class Americans view Trump’s ongoing row with Harvard, and assess the most popular presidential dogs. HOSTS: * Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter * Sarah Smith, North America editor * Anthony Zurcher...
May 28, 2025•29 min
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa went to the White House in hope of a ‘reset’ with the USA on trade and asylum laws. What he got was a choreographed presentation from Donald Trump with allegations of a white genocide taking place in South Africa, with stark parallels to the infamous Zelensky meeting in the Oval Office. Justin, Anthony, and Sarah convene to check the fact on Trump’s assertions, and discuss why the confrontation might really be a message to his MAGA supporters. Plus, Justi...
May 22, 2025•38 min
Donald Trump's ‘one big beautiful bill’ looks set to be his defining piece of legislation for his second term, if he can get it through Congress. It’s an enormous bill which covers everything from the future of Medicaid, the taxes Americans pay, to border spending and national defence. But not all Republicans are on board and the president may face a fight to pass the bill by his Memorial Day deadline. Justin, Sarah and Anthony unpack how the bill could change peoples’ lives in America, and whet...
May 21, 2025•28 min
Anthony, Marianna and Justin discuss Joe Biden’s announcement that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. They also talk about the political reaction, including US Vice President JD Vance who says Biden and his staff should have been more transparent about the former president’s health whilst in office. They also analyse some MAGA rumours over whether Joe Biden hid his cancer diagnosis, and what this means for the Democratic hopefuls of the future. Plus, the team unpack the backlash to the ...
May 19, 2025•37 min
The fallout from Joe Biden’s failed presidential campaign continues with a new book that accuses senior White House figures of covering up the former president’s “physical deterioration”. The author, Jake Tapper - who co-authors the book with Alex Thompson of Axios - claims Biden did not recognise George Clooney at a fundraiser last June hosted by the Hollywood star and that at one stage of the campaign, aides discussed putting him in a wheelchair. A spokesperson for Joe Biden said "evidence of ...
May 18, 2025•24 min
Testifying in front of Congress is often a bruising process for lawmakers, and Wednesday’s hearing was no exception for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who faced questions on cuts to his department, his stance on vaccines and a measles outbreak in the United States. But with Donald Trump’s second term in full swing, just how far has the former presidential candidate got in his quest to ‘Make America Healthy Again?’ Justin and Marianna chat with Sheryl Gay Stolberg who covers health policy...
May 16, 2025•25 min
It’s Donald Trump’s first major trip in his second term as president and he’s chosen to visit the Gulf in a four-day whirlwind tour. He began in Saudi Arabia for a friendly meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Among other issues he agreed to lift sanctions on Syria and struck a number of trade deals, marking a big shift in relations between the two nations since Joe Biden’s presidency. But the trip threatens to be overshadowed by the fallout from Qatar’s gift of a free luxury jum...
May 14, 2025•27 min
On the first day of Diddy’s trial, jurors have watched a video showing him assaulting his former long-time partner, the singer Cassie. The prosecution’s first witness, a former hotel security guard, says he was called on the night the CCTV video was filmed to help a "woman in distress", where he found Cassie sitting in the corner covering her face. Both the prosecution and defence gave their opening statements. The prosecution say Combs' behaviour was "coercive and criminal" and that he "had the...
May 13, 2025•21 min
Donald Trump says the US has achieved a “total reset” in relations with China after both countries agreed to reduce tariffs on each other's goods for 90 days. Today Matt Chorley is joined by the full Americast ensemble to discuss whether this really marks the end of the trade war between the two nations. The team also assess the world’s reaction to the newly elected ‘woke’ pope across social media, and whether his stance on deportation will result in a head-to-head with Trump. And why might Qata...
May 12, 2025•35 min
As more details of the trade deal between the UK and United States emerge, we get a view from the Novel prize winning economist and author, Professor Joseph Stiglitz. He explains to Justin why the deal is a mistake for the UK, why China has a better strategy against President Trump’s tariffs, and how the UK’s deal adversely affects the rest of the world. Professor Stiglitz is a former Chief Economist at the World Bank, a former chair of the U.S. President’s Economic Council, and his most recent ...
May 09, 2025•22 min
At a press conference inside the Oval Office on Thursday, Donald Trump - with the British PM Keir Starmer on the phone - announced changes to tariffs which included steel, aluminium and car exports. In return, the UK government made concessions on imports of ethanol and American beef, with Keir Starmer calling it a ‘fantastic, historic day’. Justin and Anthony unpack the politics behind the deal, asking who is the real winner? With accusations that the UK has caved in too easily to American dema...
May 08, 2025•31 min
In his first interview since leaving the White House, Joe Biden accused the Trump administration of "modern-day appeasement" in pressuring Ukraine to give up territory to Russia. He also spoke about his ill-fated presidential campaign last year that saw him eventually drop out the race against Donald Trump, saying it "wouldn't have mattered" if he had dropped out of the race earlier. The White House said that Joe Biden was a "complete disgrace" in response to the interview. It's unusual for form...
May 07, 2025•32 min
Mark Carney, Canada’s new prime minister, made a high-stakes visit to the White House on Tuesday in his first meeting with Donald Trump since winning the election in Canada. How will their relationship affect the future of Canada with Trump still hoping to turn the country into the ’51st state’? And, Donald Trump has pledged to reopen the notorious Alcatraz prison. It was originally shut down in 1963 and has since operated as a successful tourist site in San Francisco. Is the president serious a...
May 07, 2025•28 min
As Donald Trump surpasses 100 days in office for the second time, new polls suggest he might not be quite as popular as he claims. Justin, Sarah, and Anthony get together to discuss why the president could be losing support with some Americans and, crucially, whether he cares. HOSTS: • Sarah Smith, North America Editor • Justin Webb, Radio 4 Presenter • Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent GET IN TOUCH: • Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB • Send us a message or voi...
May 02, 2025•32 min
This is a special Americast mini series, looking at five ways Donald Trump has changed America in his first 100 days back, as President of the United States. “…in the USA we do no have kings, we do not have dictators we have a constitution, and the rule of law, and we’re going to make damn sure Donald Trump and his administration follow the law” Critics like Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes say Trump has defied the U.S. constitution, others say he’s restricted free speech and silenced opposit...
Apr 29, 2025•14 min
This is a special Americast mini series, looking at five ways Donald Trump has changed America in his first 100 days back, as President of the United States. In our fourth episode, Matt Chorley joins Justin and Marianna to discuss large scale cuts to federal government by Elon Musk’s DOGE, and look at the impact of those cuts. They also talk about what a modern America should be paying for - both at home and abroad - and why some people think Trump is actually a democrat when it comes to big gov...
Apr 29, 2025•13 min
This is a special Americast mini series, looking at five ways Donald Trump has changed America in his first 100 days back, as President of the United States. In this third episode, Matt Chorley joins Sarah and Anthony to discuss Trump’s plans to deport migrants on a large scale, how he is circumventing the courts, and revoking hundreds of student visas. We ask who has been allowed to stay in Trump’s America, and who is being forced out? HOSTS: • Matt Chorley, Radio 5 Live presenter • Sarah Smith...
Apr 29, 2025•14 min
This is a special Americast mini series, looking at five ways Donald Trump has changed America in his first 100 days back, as President of the United States. In this second episode, Matt Chorley joins Justin and Sarah to discuss how the American economy has fared during Trump’s 100 days in office. What have been the impacts of tariffs on U.S. businesses, under his plan to put ‘America First’? Are we witnessing the economic liberation of America? Or this is a tipping point for the US and global m...
Apr 29, 2025•13 min
This is a special Americast mini series, looking at five ways Donald Trump has changed America in his first 100 days back, as President of the United States. In this first episode, Matt Chorley joins Justin and Marianna to discuss Trump’s declaration that America will be “WOKE no longer…whether you are a doctor, an accountant, a lawyer or an air traffic controller, you should be hired and promoted based on skill and competence, not race or gender.” We look at why private companies have dismantle...
Apr 29, 2025•14 min
After the two leaders were reunited at Pope Francis’s funeral over the weekend, the Americast inbox has been filled with correspondence on whether Trump and Zelensky really have reconciled - and if it could bring a peace deal with Russia any closer. Marianna and Sarah get together with Matt Chorley to answer your questions live on the radio. As well as the war in Ukraine, they discuss the 7-year sentence given to George Santos - the former congressman who is, of course, well known to long term l...
Apr 28, 2025•23 min
There’s trouble in the Pentagon - again! Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump have dismissed new reports that the defence secretary sent details of confidential military plans to his wife, brother, and personal lawyer on Signal. They both criticised journalists at the annual White House Easter event between egg related activities, but reports keep coming about unrest at the top of the defence department. Justin, Marianna, and Anthony discuss whether Hegseth will survive or not and whether the accusatio...
Apr 24, 2025•28 min
Elon Musk says he’s stepping back from his role at DOGE and refocusing on Tesla after the electric car firm reported a huge drop in profit and sales for the start of this year. We look at whether he could be on his way out completely. Donald Trump meanwhile says he’ll be attending the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome this weekend. The late Pope was an outspoken critic of Trump’s policies during the president’s first term. Will Trump try and influence the appointment of his successor? Americanswer...
Apr 23, 2025•30 min
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-Mexico border that’s flown under the radar this week. HOSTS: - Jus...
Apr 17, 2025•35 min
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 Garber said. It’s the biggest example of an issue playing out in ...
Apr 16, 2025•33 min
‘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 held by Bernie Sanders and AOC, and whether Trump’s eye-watering...
Apr 14, 2025•29 min
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 from fiction. Plus the search for the youngest and oldest Americas...
Apr 10, 2025•28 min
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 Spring, Social Media Investigations Senior Correspondent GET IN TO...
Apr 09, 2025•32 min
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, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s controversial social media ...
Apr 07, 2025•30 min
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" and that Musk would only leave when his work at DOGE was complet...
Apr 04, 2025•33 min
