Last week Robert F Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump’s health chief and a longtime vaccine sceptic, presented a report on children’s health by the Make America Healthy Again (Maha) commission. The study singled out the negative impact of vaccines, ultra-processed foods, environmental chemicals, lack of exercise and “over-medicalisation”. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Jessica Glenza about the long-term implications of the Maha movement’s influence on US policy
May 30, 2025•28 min
As scepticism grows over Joe Biden’s mental and physical health during his presidency, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Bakari Sellers, a political commentator and former Democratic state lawmaker, about what the party needs to do to regain trust after the fallout from the 2024 election
May 23, 2025•26 min
From a trip to the Middle East to talks between Russia and Ukraine, it’s a busy week for Donald Trump and US foreign policy. Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Guardian’s global affairs correspondent, Andrew Roth, about the big players behind the US president’s deals and decisions on the world stage
May 16, 2025•33 min
Jonathan Freedland and the senior Washington editor of Semafor, Elana Schor, discuss what the US president is choosing to make a priority, and what he’s neglecting in return
May 09, 2025•29 min
To mark his 100th day in office, Donald Trump sat down with the Time journalist Eric Cortellessa, who here speaks to Jonathan Freedland about what he learned from his hour-long interview with the US president
May 02, 2025•30 min
The US justice department says it did not fire a former pardon attorney, Liz Oyer, after she refused to recommend reinstating Mel Gibson’s gun rights. But Oyer tells Jonathan Freedland a different story, one she believes points to a wider crackdown by the Trump administration on the rule of law in America
May 01, 2025•31 min
This week, Harvard University, the oldest and wealthiest in the US, defied Donald Trump a list of demands. The Trump administration responded by freezing $2.2bn in federal funding for the Ivy League school. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Harvard professor Ryan Enos to consider why the university is pushing back, how far this fight may go and why other universities are watching closely
Apr 18, 2025•28 min
After doubling down on his promise not to pause his latest tariffs, Donald Trump has announced a 90-day pause for most countries except China. Why did he change his mind? Jonathan Freedland speaks to James Bennet of the Economist about who might have forced the president’s hand, and what could happen next
Apr 11, 2025•27 min
In a special episode, Jonathan Freedland and Annie Karni of the New York Times look at what seems to be a long-term question for US politics. With Republicans fighting each other in the House and Senate, and Democrats struggling to command the room, is Congress broken? Annie’s new book with Luke Broadwater is called Mad House: How Donald Trump, Maga Mean Girls, a Former Used Car Salesman, a Florida Nepo Baby, and a Man With Rats in His Walls Broke Congress...
Apr 08, 2025•27 min
The Guardian’s Rachel Leingang speaks to Nikki McCann Ramirez, from Rolling Stone magazine, about Donald Trump’s decision to upend US trade policy and reports that Elon Musk could soon be leaving his role as a special government employee Send your questions and feedback to [email protected] Help support the Guardian by going to theguardian.com/politcspodus...
Apr 04, 2025•25 min
As Donald Trump and his top officials scrabble to respond to the Signal leak scandal, Jonathan Freedland and the New Yorker’s Susan Glasser discuss the fallout of this security breach, and why the US president is attacking the media instead of the people who let a journalist read potentially classified material
Mar 28, 2025•27 min
This week a Democratic lawmaker became the first to officially call for the senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, to step down. The veteran Democrat angered many in his party last week when he backed a Republican funding bill that averted a government shutdown. But this is just one example of a party in crisis trying to oppose the Trump administration, with very little power in Congress. This week, we hear from representatives Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Ro Khanna of California, Julie Johnson of ...
Mar 21, 2025•35 min
This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Heather Boushey, an economist and former adviser to Joe Biden, about what Donald Trump’s long game is with his trade war, and how voters will view his handling of the economy should there be a ‘Trumpcession’ Send your questions and feedback to [email protected] Help support the Guardian by going to theguardian.com/politcspodus Listen to Science Weekly’s episode on the chaos Trump has unleashed on science
Mar 14, 2025•31 min
This week, Donald Trump picked fights with Canada, Mexico, Ukraine, US veterans and every Democrat sitting in Congress for his State of the Union address. Chris Michael and Joan E Greve discuss why the US president is turning up the heat on longtime allies, whether Democrats are responding successfully and, in the end, who loses out if Trump’s tactics fail? Send your questions and feedback to [email protected] Help support the Guardian by going to theguardian.com/politcspodus
Mar 07, 2025•23 min
This week, Donald Trump continued to dominate the world stage, welcoming a procession of global leaders to Washington, including Keir Starmer. But while the ‘special relationship’ is front and centre in the UK, attention in the US is very much elsewhere. As the president goes full steam ahead with his domestic agenda, there are warning signs for Trump in the polls. So, could he be in trouble at home? And how could the Democrats take advantage? Jonathan Freedland speaks to Stanley Greenberg, the ...
Feb 27, 2025•27 min
In a matter of days, Donald Trump completed the most radical shift in US foreign policy in decades, bringing Putin back into the fold while sidelining Europe. He claims to have brought the end of the war in Ukraine in sight, but with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the rest of Europe excluded from the US-Russia talks, are we really any closer to peace? And, at what price?Jonathan Freedland speaks to veteran US diplomat Kurt Volker, who served as Trump’s special representative for Ukraine during his firs...
Feb 20, 2025•30 min
On the first day of his second term in office, Donald Trump suggested he wanted the US to ‘expand’ its territory. Few thought he could actually mean taking Canada and making it the 51st state. But could he actually do that? Jonathan Freedland speaks to the reporter Leyland Cecco in Toronto about the possibility of the two North American allies merging, what Canadians think about it, and why this existential threat has had an impact on Canadian national politics Send your questions and feedback t...
Feb 14, 2025•30 min
Between Donald Trump’s suggestion that the US could take control of the Gaza Strip, forcibly removing Palestinians from their homes, and Elon Musk’s continued efforts to dismantle the US federal government, the critics are lining up. The Democrat senator Andy Kim is one of them. But what can he, his party, or anybody else do to stop the president and his non-elected billionaire pal? He speaks to Jonathan Freedland
Feb 07, 2025•27 min
Less than two weeks into his second term as president, Donald Trump has signed several executive orders restricting the rights of LGBTQ+ people. But, as happened during his first term, organisations representing the community are fighting back. This week, Joan E Greve explores how this marginalised minority are planning to push back against such strong political will. How far could this conservative administration go?
Jan 31, 2025•24 min
In the first few days of his presidency, people tried to challenge and reason with Donald Trump – suing his administration, questioning his decisions to reporters and pleading to him for mercy. But does Trump care what his critics think? Jonathan Freedland speaks to Susan Glasser of the New Yorker about what we can expect from a leader who goes it alone
Jan 24, 2025•30 min
The cold forced the speeches indoors but it didn’t stop Donald Trump from announcing a flurry of executive orders dismantling much of the work of his predecessor. Jonathan Freedland speaks to the US commentator Molly Jong-Fast about what a virtual declaration of war against an American ally, a promise to “expand America’s territory” and a couple of declarations of emergency say about what we can expect from the next four years
Jan 20, 2025•25 min
After 15 months of war, a ceasefire deal in Gaza has been reached. In his farewell address to the nation, Joe Biden tried to convince the US public that it was just one of many successes he’d had in the White House. But is that how his time in office will be remembered? Jonathan Freedland speaks to the author Franklin Foer about Biden’s legacy
Jan 17, 2025•31 min
This week we learned that Meta is dropping third-party fact-checking, the Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, spiked a cartoon that made fun of him and other tech leaders kneeling before a statue of Donald Trump, and just about all the big Silicon Valley companies are donating $1m to Trump’s inauguration fund. Jonathan Freedland and Blake Montgomery look at who will hold the power between big tech and the White House over the next four years
Jan 10, 2025•31 min
Four years after the 6 January attack on the Capitol, Donald Trump has promised he will pardon hundreds of his supporters who were convicted over their roles in it. This comes after Joe Biden gave an unconditional pardon to his own son, Hunter, for federal crimes of which he had been convicted. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Kimberly Wehle, a constitutional law expert, about whether the presidential pardon has become nothing more than a perk of the job to be used for a president’s perso...
Jan 03, 2025•29 min
Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, has died. He was 100 years old. Today, Jonathan Freedland talks to Jimmy Carter’s biographer, Jonathan Alter, about why history should look favourably on the peanut farmer turned politician
Dec 30, 2024•25 min
The US president-elect’s ties with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and boxing, as well as World Wrestling Entertainment, might tell us about the kinds of sport he appreciates. But then there’s golf … As the US prepares to host the World Cup and the Olympics during Trump’s presidency, Jonathan Freedland and Karim Zidan walk through his history with sport to see if it explains more about him
Dec 27, 2024•27 min
As Donald Trump’s nominees woo Senate Republicans to secure their confirmation, Joan E Greve and Hugo Lowell look at who could be in charge of the major government departments and what they’ll have to do to keep the president happy for the next four years
Dec 20, 2024•28 min
Jonathan Freedland speaks to Prof Kathryn Olmsted, author of Real Enemies: Conspiracy Theories and American Democracy, World War I to 9/11 about why the assassination of JFK spawned dozens of conspiracy theories that have persisted for decades? Because of industrial action taking place by members of the National Union of Journalists at the Guardian and Observer this week, we are re-running an episode from the archive.
Dec 13, 2024•25 min
Journalist and author Michael Goldfarb, talks to Jonathan Freedland about the legacy of the former secretary of state under Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger Because of industrial action taking place by members of the National Union of Journalists at the Guardian and Observer this week, we are re-running an episode from the archive.
Dec 06, 2024•28 min
Last week on this podcast, James Carville blamed identity politics and ‘woke’ theory for the Democrats losing the election. Waleed Shahid, a former senior adviser to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Uncommitted campaign, believes this argument is lazy. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Waleed about why the left is not to blame for Kamala Harris losing the election, and why the truth of who is might be uncomfortable for the Democratic party
Nov 29, 2024•26 min
