Americast

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...

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 p...

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?...

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...

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 poll...

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 preside...

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 Ameri...

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...

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...

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 –...

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 Representativ...

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....

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 e...

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 p...

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...

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.” T...

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...

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...

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 divi...

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 Tru...

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 cr...

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...

How do we cover a headline-grabbing former president who falsely claims he never lost the election? Two of our bosses step into the worldwide HQ of Americast for the kind of conversation we normally have in our morning meetings: what past mistakes can we learn from and what’s the BBC’s strategy for reporting on Donald Trump’s campaign and his court cases? HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter •...

Charting music's part in US politics, from 1970s disco to 'Rich Men North of Richmond', which has become a surprise No.1 hit. What does this country song, claimed by conservatives, tell us about American society? The Americast team talk to the BBC's 'Professor of Pop', Paul Gambaccini, about protest music in the States. And what happens when musicians refuse to be used by politicians? Karen Willis...

While his challengers clashed in Milwaukee, Donald Trump skipped the first Republican debate of the campaign for the relative comfort of an interview with ex-Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson. Did any of the other presidential candidates surprise? It’s an Americast Wisconsin special as the team try cheese curds and sip beer at a bar near the venue and link up with Sarah, who’s in Atlanta waiting for...