Americast

Marianna and Justin are street side in the Pop-Up Podcast Studio answering your questions. HOSTS: * Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter * Marianna Spring, Social Media Investigations Correspondent GET IN TOUCH: * Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB * Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 * Email Americast@bbc.co.uk * Or use #Americast This episode was mad...

Welcome to another day on the road with the Americast pop-up studio! Justin and Marianna are trick-or-treating in Philadelphia, a crucial area in the key state of Pennsylvania. They're speaking to voters on their doorsteps about how they’re feeling ahead of 5 November, which is now just five days away… They discuss whether people are concerned about the fallout after election day, their trust in t...

The row over who said who is garbage refuses to go away, and it's starting to stink. It started as a controversial joke at a Trump rally, but the word has now become a problem for the Democrats too. Sarah and Anthony go through the story from the start and discuss whether it’s another ‘basket of deplorables’ moment. HOSTS: - Sarah Smith, North America Editor - Anthony Zurcher, North America Corres...

The 2024 presidential election could hinge on the state of Pennsylvania, with polls currently indicating that the crucial swing state is locked in a dead heat. On the next stage of our pop-up podcast studio, Justin and Marianna travel to Philadelphia to speak to three first-time Democratic voters who are planning to vote for Kamala Harris. Sitting down in a family home, we chat to them about their...

Kamala Harris attracted a huge crowd in DC for one of her final speeches of campaign. But the event’s been overshadowed - at least in part - by a gaffe from Joe Biden that’s caused another row about garbage. Sarah’s there for the speech. And, Marianna’s been speaking to users on X who share content that includes election misinformation, AI-generated images and unfounded conspiracy theories, who sa...

With just one week to go until the U.S. presidential election, Americast roleplays as campaign managers for the Trump and Harris teams. Justin, Sarah and Marianna look at how they should be handling the last days of their campaigns, who should they be targeting, where should they go, and what their key messages should be in the last stretch before polling day. HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 present...

The Trump team has distanced itself from Hinchcliffe’s remarks which he made at the Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday. That hasn’t stopped one of the world’s top Latin celebrities, Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, from endorsing Kamala Harris as president. Is this an opportunity for Kamala Harris to gain momentum with the 36 million Hispanic voters eligible to vote this year? We hear from a call...

With just over a week to go until election day, Donald Trump has done a three hour sit down interview with America’s biggest podcast host, Joe Rogan. It’s a direct appeal to men, particularly young, undecided male voters, and those who aren’t interested in traditional politics. Justin and Sarah discuss how significant this might be for Trump, and also, whether Kamala Harris is losing some momentum...

In a phone call following the 2020 election, Donald Trump pressured Georgia’s Secretary of State to "find 11,780 votes" – a move which along with other alleged efforts to overturn the result led to criminal charges against Trump and some of his allies. ​​ ​​Sarah’s there, and she’s been hearing about legal cases over who can and can’t vote, as well as from Trump supporters who already have doubts...

Our pop-up podcast studio is on the move! Sarah has gone to Georgia, and the weather isn’t the only thing that’s heating up. Kamala Harris has openly described Donald Trump as a “fascist” at a town hall, and Sarah is outside one of his rallies to find out why his supporters are sticking by him. She’s joined by Anthony to talk about what life is like for a BBC correspondent reporting from political...

Anthony joins fresh off a trip with Kamala Harris, spending time on Air Force Two with Kamala Harris and other journalists as two tours three states. Sarah, Justin and Anthony reminisce on times spent with other nominees. Sarah’s been speaking to voters in Dearborn, Michigan, where the largest population of Arab and Muslim Americans in the US live. Could it be a deciding factor in the state? And w...

With election day just two weeks away, Americast looks at the different campaign approaches being taken by both candidates. What are Donald Trump’s and Kamala Harris’s different strategies, and whose is the most effective? As Harris campaigns with Republican Liz Cheney across three swing states, we also hear from Anthony Zurcher who spent the day travelling with the vice president on Air Force Two...

Americanswers is back on 5 Live to answer your questions as America is just over two weeks away from electing its next president. With so much attention being paid to swing states and how they might vote this year, are we ignoring other states which could be up for grabs? The team discuss which other states could offer up a surprise for either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. One of the swing states...

The Global News Podcast, Global Story and Americast join forces to answer your questions about the US presidential election. We look at what the result could mean for the Middle East, Ukraine and climate change. HOSTS: * Sumi Somaskanda, BBC Chief Presenter * Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent * Oliver Conway, Presenter of the Global News Podcast and The Newsroom GET IN TOUCH: * Join our...

Many voters will be picking the candidate that aligns with their views on abortion access this year, and in some states, the issue is literally on the ballot. One of them is Arizona, where people are voting on the law around access, and Sarah's been speaking to voters about the debate. We discuss why it’s the debate that Democrats hope this election comes down to, and what Trump's changing view on...

Barack Obama is back on the campaign trail for Democrats, and over the weekend criticised some voters for finding "excuses" to not vote a woman for president. The former president has taken some flak for his remarks, but polling indicates there is a widening gap between how men and women intend to vote in this election. Sarah, Justin and Marianna unpack the reasons for this shift and why Donald Tr...

With Matt Chorley in the US this week, the Americast team joined presenter Leila Nathoo for another round of Americanswers on 5 Live. With less than 25 days until the election and tensions escalating in the Middle East and elsewhere around the world, how much does foreign policy resonate with undecided voters? With the events of January 6 2021 still fresh in voters' minds, how likely is the prospe...

James Carville, the influential Democrat strategist, and man behind Bill Clinton’s successful ’92 presidential campaign, is on Americast. His message, ‘It’s the economy, stupid!’ is credited with some of that success. He tells Justin what he thinks Kamala Harris’s message should be in 2024, and why he thinks her party’s campaign needs to be more aggressive. And he talks about being the subject of...

More than 3 million homes and businesses in Florida have been left without power after Hurricane Milton tore through the center of the state. The Americast team have partnered with Newscast to bring you a special episode on the storm that arrived less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated the Gulf Coast. Sarah is in Miami to survey the scale of the damage, and Justin, Marianna and Adam...

Americast is back on BBC Radio 5 Live! The whole team assembled to join Matt Chorley to answer your questions live on air. With almost four weeks until the election, Melania Trump has entered the campaign with the release of snippets from her upcoming memoir in which she forcefully defends abortion rights. Does this present a problem for her husband, as he tries to win over voters who are pro-choi...

How important is the United States when it comes to resolving conflict in the Middle East, and how much power does the U.S. president really have in the region? With the election just weeks away, Justin and Sarah look at how the conflict might affect voters, and what it means for both Donald Trump’s and Kamala Harris’s presidential campaigns. CNN’s Chief International Anchor, Christiane Amanpour j...

Vice presidential candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz have taken part in their first, and likely only, debate of the 2024 US election. There were heated moments discussing January 6th, one muted microphone, and lots of policy ground covered: foreign policy, immigration and abortion rights. Will Vance and Walz’s performances help or hurt Donald Trump or Kamala Harris? Sumi joins Marianna and Anthony w...

As expectation builds that an Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon is imminent, we answer your questions on how the escalating conflict in the Middle East is likely to impact the upcoming US election. JD Vance says he has “learnt his lesson” when it comes to speaking on behalf of Donald Trump. Is he likely to play it safe in tomorrow’s debate with Tim Walz? And, the last presidential election had a...

Meet Camille and ‘Wild Mother’. Both women love nature, animals, and the outdoors. Both women also believe the assassination attempts on Donald Trump were staged – but have very different political views. Why do people believe the things they do? And what role do social media sites – and their algorithms – play? In this series, BBC disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring trav...

Latinos are the second-largest group of eligible voters in the US, making their influence in the presidential election potentially pivotal. Sarah is investigating their sway in Arizona - a state that could help decide the outcome of the race. Which party benefits the most from winning The Grand Canyon State? And is Donald Trump or Kamala Harris making more in-roads with Latino voters? Americast br...