Joe Biden and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Thursday for the first time since the killing of seven aid workers in Gaza this week. Netanyahu has called the incident an “unintended strike”, but the White House has said it’s ‘outraged’. Back home, US policy toward the Gaza war is causing problems for the president. A growing campaign of voters are using their ballot to protest Biden’s handling of the crisis. Jeremy Bowen joins us from Jerusalem to assess whether the US/Israel relationship ...
Apr 04, 2024•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Americast team have left the safety of the podcast studio for an old fashioned radio phone-in! 5 Live listeners were given the opportunity on Wednesday to quiz all of our hosts on the issues that matter going into the 2024 presidential election. Nothing was off the table as we discussed issues ranging from voter attitudes towards Trump and Biden, whether 2024 will be America’s first ‘AI election’, or how the candidates could approach a stacked foreign policy inbox. HOSTS: Sarah Smith, North ...
Apr 01, 2024•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast As the election comes closer into view, potential candidates are lining up to be on the ticket with Donald Trump in 2024. After former Veep Mike Pence rules himself out, Americast assembles to answer FAQs about who makes the shortlist and why. Plus, what makes a good VP anyway? And what do they actually do? Find out in the latest Americast. HOSTS: • Sarah Smith, North America editor • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Anthony Zurcher, North America correspondent GET IN TOUCH: • Join our online co...
Mar 28, 2024•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast The city of Baltimore has woken up in shock this morning after a major bridge in the US city of Baltimore snapped and plunged into the Patapsco River. The city’s mayor has called the event an “unspeakable tragedy” and confirmed that construction workers were on the bridge when it collapsed. A state of emergency has been declared in Maryland while a huge search operation is under way for at least seven people. HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter GUESTS: • Dr Stergios Aristoteles, Head of Stru...
Mar 26, 2024•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Americast is now publishing two episodes a week! We’re joined once again by special guest hosts Miles Taylor, Trump staffer turned whistleblower, and Katie Hill, former Democratic Congresswoman. They sit down with Sarah and Marianna to go through some of the most commonly asked questions we get on Americast. This episode contains a reference to drug overdose which some listeners may find upsetting. HOSTS: • Sarah Smith, North America editor • Marianna Spring, disinformation and social media corr...
Mar 25, 2024•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast In an interview that ranged from content moderation on X to its chairman’s use of ketamine, Don Lemon sat down for an hour-long interview with one of the world’s most prominent entrepreneurs. The interview was meant to be the first in a series in collaboration with the platform, but the company posted that “after careful consideration, X decided not to enter into a commercial partnership with the show.” Justin and Marianna spoke with Don to get his thoughts on why the Tesla boss cut ties with hi...
Mar 21, 2024•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Americast is now publishing two episodes a week! We’re joined once again by Special Guest Hosts Miles Taylor, Trump staffer turned whistleblower, and Katie Hill, former Democratic Congresswoman. They sit down with Sarah and Anthony to go through some of the most commonly asked questions we get on Americast. This episode contains a reference to suicide which some listeners may find upsetting. HOSTS: • Sarah Smith, North America editor • Anthony Zurcher, North America correspondent GUESTS: • Miles...
Mar 18, 2024•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Fentanyl is a pharmaceutical drug that can be prescribed by a doctor to treat severe pain. But like its predecessors, that drug has been illegally manufactured and sold by criminal gangs. The president has called the crisis an “American tragedy” but many angles to the epidemic lie elsewhere in China and Mexico. Ben Westhoff was the first journalist to enter a Chinese fentanyl lab posing as a buyer. He spoke with us about the origins of the epidemic, the scale of the problem for US towns and citi...
Mar 14, 2024•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast We answer the biggest questions in the race for the White House... Americast is now publishing two episodes a week! In the first Monday edition of Americast, we’re joined by Special Guest Hosts Miles Taylor, Trump staffer turned whistleblower, and Katie Hill, former Democratic Congresswoman. They sit down with Sarah and Justin to go through some of the most commonly asked questions we get on Americast. HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Sarah Smith, North America editor GUEST HOSTS: • Mil...
Mar 11, 2024•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast Donald wins... and then lashes out at Nikki Haley. 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....
Jan 24, 2024•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 
