Under the close gaze of his critics - and millions of American voters - Joe Biden delivered arguably the most significant State of the Union address in recent times. The president chose to focus on his economic record, his plans to to fix America's immigration system and repeatedly took aim against Donald Trump. The Americast team chew over the president's speech with the help of Joe Biden's former speechwriter, Jeff Nussbaum, who told us what it's like to work with him and how you judge the suc...
Mar 08, 2024•47 min
Fifteen states voted on super Tuesday to decide who the nominees for the Democratic and Republican parties will be. Donald Trump didn’t quite get the clean sweep he hoped for, but will Nikki Haley’s Vermont win be enough to keep her in the race? The Americast team discuss the issues that mattered most to voters on Tuesday, namely immigration and the economy, and how the race has become a battle of the incumbents. HOSTS: • Sarah Smith, North America editor • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Maria...
Mar 06, 2024•28 min
This afternoon the Supreme Court overturned a Colorado ruling that declared Donald Trump ineligible to run for President in the state. Justin and Marianna have been in the US to look at how despite legal, financial and polling challenges, he's on course for an epic election rematch with Joe Biden in November. Marianna’s also uncovered evidence of Trump supporters using AI to attract votes from African Americans. You can watch Panorama, Trump: The Sequel? here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0...
Mar 04, 2024•43 min
US Supreme Court justices are considering two cases from Florida and Texas which could fundamentally alter the future of online free speech. Meanwhile, in Alabama, the state’s top court ruling on IVF has cast doubt on the future of the treatment, as the debate over reproductive rights enters new territory. We unpack what’s going on, how the cases could affect the lives of Americans, and how they could influence the upcoming election. HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Marianna Spring, dis...
Feb 29, 2024•36 min
Back on earth, Donald Trump’s legal troubles are mounting and the Republican presidential hopeful now faces debts of over half a billion dollars. We assess how the former president will try to pay off these debts and what effect it might have on his run for the White House. And on the evening that the US returned to the moon, Neil deGrasse Tyson - one of America’s most famous astrophysicists - talks to us about why commercial space ventures are in fashion and why people are struggling to know wh...
Feb 22, 2024•45 min
Love is in the air…or is it? Vladimir Putin expressed his preference for the next American president on Valentine’s Day - but critics suspect there might be more to his endorsement than meets the eye. His comments come in the wake of Donald Trump’s disparaging declaration against NATO and that Russia should “do whatever the hell they want” to countries that don't pay up. And after our emergency episode on Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report on Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents, we res...
Feb 15, 2024•40 min
Our colleagues on The Global Story made this episode on a subject we know is close to many Americaster's hearts. So we thought we'd put it in your feeds. It's presented by Europe editor Katya Adler. To look at Taylor Swift's potential political sway, she's joined by North America business correspondent Erin Delmore. Subscribe to The Global Story by searching for The Global Story on BBC Sounds. GET IN TOUCH: • Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB • Send us a message or voice n...
Feb 10, 2024•26 min
A bombshell report from Special Counsel Robert Hur has raised serious questions about President Joe Biden's memory, which the White House has been quick to rebuff. The report criticised the president for retaining classified information but rejected prosecution, arguing that Biden would likely present himself at trial as "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory". Americast dissects the details of this breaking story with Sarah Baxter, Director of the Marie Colvin Center for I...
Feb 09, 2024•31 min
The Americast team pore over the New Hampshire results after an evening in which Donald Trump looks to have the Republican nomination all but sewn up. Nikki Haley says she's a fighter and that the race "is far from over" but is there really a route back from here? Earlier in the evening, Sarah caught up with former White House press secretary Sean Spicer, who told us why he thought Trump’s various indictments have helped him in the polls so far. And, Ron DeSantis officially suspended his campaig...
Feb 02, 2024•45 min
The world waits to see how the United States will retaliate to a drone strike that killed three American troops in Jordan, after an Iran-backed militia group claimed responsibility for the attack. Christiane Amanpour, the Iranian-British Chief International Anchor for CNN, is our star guest this week. We hear why Joe Biden now walks a tightrope between avoiding escalation in the Middle East, and projecting strength at home - all while Donald Trump looks on from the campaign trail. Also on the po...
Jan 31, 2024•47 min
Hot on the heels of the Iowa caucus, Republican candidates Donald Trump, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis prepare for the next primary showdown in New Hampshire. Sarah and Justin unpack if it could prove to be a tougher test for Trump and a way back into the race for the other candidates. And, why are the Democrats infighting after Biden’s idea to bump the state from its prized primary calendar slot? HOSTS: Sarah Smith, North America editor Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter GET IN TOUCH: Join our onlin...
Jan 18, 2024•34 min
The 2024 presidential election is officially underway. Americast hits the road for a record breaking caucus. Destination? Des Moines, Iowa. It’s not only the coldest caucus ever seen in Iowa, but it’s also the biggest landslide for a Republican nominee. The question is whether it’s enough to bury his main rivals Ron Desantis and Nikki Haley for good, or whether the runners up are still even in the running at all. The gang chew through the numbers with the famed pollster Frank Luntz, and Sarah ge...
Jan 16, 2024•46 min
With the Iowa caucus just days away, Chris Christie drops out of the 2024 presidential race. Can anyone stop Donald Trump? The team takes a look at why Iowa dominates the political conversation every four years. Anthony Blinken is once again in the Middle East to broker peace in the region amid a barrage of attacks by Houthi rebels against Red Sea shipping. And on Saturday Taiwan heads to the polls for its presidential elections in a vote that could shape the future of relations between the US a...
Jan 11, 2024•42 min
High-profile associates of Jeffrey Epstein named in US court papers. Former presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump are among the people named in US court papers detailing connections of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The team assesses what we know so far, what’s to come, and how the story has played out on social media. And after weeks of controversy, Claudine Gay has stepped down as president of Harvard University following her comments on anti-Semitism. We speak to the reporter who got t...
Jan 04, 2024•40 min
Americast reimagines the Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol, to understand the changing landscape of American politics. They are joined by Heather Cox Richardson, historian and author of the hugely popular newsletter "Letters from an American", who helps guide them through the past, the present and the future of the United States on this special Christmas edition. HOSTS: • Sarah Smith, North America editor • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Marianna Spring, disinformation and social media corres...
Dec 28, 2023•32 min
The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that Trump cannot run for president in the state. The Trump team has called the decision “completely flawed” and will appeal to the US Supreme Court. But will this lead other states to follow suit? The Americast team brings in a constitutional expert – Kermit Roosevelt III – to dive into the 14th amendment and what could happen next. HOSTS: • Sarah Smith, North America editor • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Marianna Spring, disinformation and social media ...
Dec 21, 2023•33 min
In a week dominated by legal cases, the team takes you into the virtual Americast courtroom to dissect the various trials involving Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani. Sarah’s back from her trip to the US/Mexico border and tells us how it relates to a funding deadlock in Congress for support to Ukraine. One person who lives on that border is former presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke. He dials in to chat about how the deadlock can be broken and enters his own predictions into the Americast time cap...
Dec 14, 2023•43 min
The shadow looming over the fourth Republican debate was the party’s most recent president, Donald Trump. But while the other candidates traded blows at one another, Trump was conspicuously absent, instead taking part in a town hall event on Tuesday evening. He raised eyebrows when saying he would only be a dictator on ‘day one’ if elected president. The Americast team chew over Trump’s comments – and the Republican debate – before speaking to GOP candidate Asa Hutchinson, the former governor of...
Dec 08, 2023•45 min
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has died at the age of 100. The team take a world tour of the polarising statesman’s legacy with his biographer. MSNBC host Rachel Maddow talks about Trump, misinformation and charting the rise of fascism in the US in her new book. And, what does New York Congressman George Santos have to say about efforts to expel him from the US House of Representatives? HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Marianna Spring, disinformation and social media corre...
Dec 01, 2023•39 min
Happy Thanksgiving Americasters! OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman is returning as boss just days after he was fired by the board. The team talk about the whole story: who he is, and who’s winning the AI arms race, with New York Times tech journalist Mike Isaac. And – the lives of two turkeys, ‘Liberty and ‘Bell’, have been saved after they received a pardoning from Joe Biden in time for Thanksgiving. A former White House chef reveals the favourite foods of past presidents. HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radi...
Nov 23, 2023•31 min
Sarah didn’t quite make it to dinner with Xi Jinping at the APEC Summit, but we spoke to someone who did, an old friend he met in 1985 at a potluck in Muscatine, Iowa. Back in the present, the Chinese president has held talks with Joe Biden for the first time in over a year. What came from the meeting and where has it landed US/China relations? And, Gen Z and Millennials will make up half of the electorate when it comes to the 2024 presidential election. The Americast team looks at the political...
Nov 17, 2023•40 min
As votes from Election Day 2023 were tallied up this week, wins for Democrats may have given a preview into next year’s presidential election. But new polls seem to point towards a rocky road to re-election for President Joe Biden. It’s not all good news for Trump, though. He and his children took the stand in New York, giving evidence in the civil fraud case brought against him. How might these problems play out as the 2024 presidential elections near? Expert pollster and political analyst Amy ...
Nov 10, 2023•34 min
Twelve months until the US election, Americasters join us on the recording to ask some of the big questions about an era-defining presidential poll and help the team put some predictions in the Americast time capsule. Will it be Biden v Trump again? What issues will define the race? Could we see a first female president sooner than it seems? And will Justin have a change of heart about Americast's Discord community? Listen back to our live episode. HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Sarah...
Nov 03, 2023•35 min
The aide to Donald Trump’s White House Chief of Staff opens up to Americast about her mistakes and why she believes that the former president should never be allowed near the Oval Office again. Cassidy Hutchinson explains why she wrote her candid memoir, which Trump’s team tells us “either belongs in the discount bin of the fiction section of a bookstore or should be repurposed as toilet paper.” There’s finally a new Speaker of the House of Representatives. But who is Mike Johnson? And Arnold Sc...
Oct 26, 2023•38 min
President Biden wanted to show America’s global strength during his flying visit to Israel this week, but does the United States still call the shots internationally? The Americast team reviews Biden’s high-stakes 30 hours in the region, talks about the misinformation swirling around the internet, and weighs in on America’s place in the world. Back in DC, House Republicans are still struggling to elect a Speaker after two rounds of voting. Anthony gavels the gang in for a crash course on the lat...
Oct 19, 2023•34 min
President Biden has promised to support Israel with whatever it needs and forcefully condemned the attacks by Hamas on civilians. But what do Americans think about the unfolding conflict in the Middle East? The Americast team also hears from 2020 presidential candidate and co-founder of the Forward Party, Andrew Yang, on why third parties are important to US politics and what it’s like running for the Oval Office. HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Sarah Smith, North America editor • Mari...
Oct 12, 2023•38 min
For the first time in US history, a speaker has been kicked out. A group of Trump-supporting Republicans carried out a coup to remove him from the chair of the House of Representatives. How did it come about? What does it say about the Republican Party? Put simply, what the hell happens now? Americast is called to order to shed light on the situation in Congress. And on the theme of political division, Naomi Klein explains her theory behind what’s making America hard to govern and why not everyo...
Oct 05, 2023•41 min
Why did Donald Trump skip another Republican debate? Sarah is sent to Michigan instead of California as Trump and Joe Biden race to show their solidarity with striking car factory workers. Marc Lotter, who ran the comms on Trump's last campaign and was press secretary for Vice-President Mike Pence, tells the Americast team about the ex-president's re-election strategy. He gives his take on why Trump doesn't need to debate his Republican rivals, which vice-presidential pick could help put him bac...
Sep 28, 2023•37 min
Some US politicians are growing impatient over supporting the war effort – and a lot could change if Donald Trump wins back the White House. Our very own Anthony was in the Oval Office to see President Zelensky meet its current occupant, Joe Biden, while Sarah watched them address the UN. We talk about how Washington views America’s role in the conflict. And Marianna chats to award-winning true crime podcasters, Suruthi Bala and Hannah Maguire, about the harmful effects of social media’s obsessi...
Sep 21, 2023•42 min
Is Joe Biden too old to win another go in the White House? And could his son derail his campaign? The Americast team talks through the challenges the president is facing in the run-up to the next election. Barack Obama's former spokesperson and podcaster Tommy Vietor gives us his thoughts on Biden's achievements and viral moments, as well as his 2024 chances, with some critics obsessed by his age and sceptical about Vice President Kamala Harris. And the gang tries to guess the Republican preside...
Sep 14, 2023•39 min
