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PODCAST

Americast

Americast is the authoritative US news and politics podcast from the BBC. Each week we provide audiences with the best analysis from across the BBC, with on-the-ground observations and big picture insights about the stories which are defining America right now. The podcast is hosted by trusted BBC journalists including the BBC’s North America editor, Sarah Smith, BBC Radio 4 presenter, Justin Webb, the BBC’s disinformation and social media correspondent, Marianna Spring, and BBC North America

news politics

All Episodes

26:27

Democrats fight back against Trump in Virginia… and win

Americast ·

2026/04/22

A small election in Virginia looks set to have a major impact on Donald Trump’s power, and the capacity to derail the rest of the president’s second term in office.Overnight, voters in Virginia approved a measure to redraw the state’s political map in favour of the Democrats, who now stand to gain as many as four additional seats in November’s midterms. Given Trump’s thin majority in the House of Representatives, that shift could be enough to flip Congress and put Democrats back in control of the

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27:32

Americanswers… on 5 Live! Is insider trading...

Americast ·

2026/04/20

BBC News investigates claims that traders have been betting millions of dollars just before president Trump makes major announcements over Iran. Some of the biggest movements have been in oil trades. Sarah, Justin, Anthony and Marianna join Matt Chorley on 5Live to answer your questions on what this means for the Trump administration and whether the US president is likely to investigate the claims? We also discuss the FBI Director Kash Patel with new allegations of alcoholism and absenteeism made

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33:13

Have the Democrats found a new strategy to scare Trump?

Americast ·

2026/04/17

Why has an oyster fisherman from Maine - criticised for having a Nazi tattoo - become a frontrunner for the Democrats, and one of their best hopes to help take back the US Senate in this year’s midterm elections? The north eastern state of Maine has become integral for Democrats as they look to unseat Republican senator Susan Collins, and elect their first Democrat senator in decades. But it also tells a bigger story, about how the Democratic party is looking to take on Donald Trump more widely,

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29:10

Has Trump given up on the midterms?

Americast ·

2026/04/15

Donald Trump is losing public support over the war in Iran, but how much does the president care? He said in a recent interview with Fox News that gas prices may be “a little bit higher” but has downplayed fears that high prices could cost Republicans at the midterm elections. With the U.S naval blockade in full swing - and Iran threatening to stop shipping in the Gulf in retaliation - the president’s latest assertion that the war is “very close to over” may be optimistic. In today’s episode, Justin

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28:28

Americanswers... on 5 Live! Donald Trump vs Pope Leo...

Americast ·

2026/04/13

President Trump has become entangled in a very public row with Pope Leo XIV, who has been critical of the US war with Iran. The US president has slammed the pope for being “weak” on crime and “terrible” at foreign policy, whilst also posting a picture of himself as Jesus (this post has been taken down from social media since we recorded the episode). Sarah, Anthony and Marianna join Matt Chorley to discuss the Pope’s response, and where this leaves the US president and those who voted for him.

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30:39

Is Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth waging a holy war...

Americast ·

2026/04/10

Why has Hegseth fired top generals from the military, and how does he use religion to justify America’s war aims? We look at the frontman for the US war in Iran, the former Fox News host, Pete Hegseth. A key feature of his Pentagon press briefings are his religious rhetoric, which may reveal the motivation behind his reforms of the U.S. military. Despite only narrowly making it through the confirmation process to become defense secretary in the first place, Hegseth has become a key figure in the

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30:41

Trump pulls back from the brink...but for how long?

Americast ·

2026/04/08

Donald Trump’s MAGA base - and the Republican party - are divided over his threats to wipe out an entire civilisation. In this episode, Justin, Anthony and Sarah unpack how we got from Trump’s annihilistic threats to the start of a two week ceasefire and new claims from the US president, that Iran will stop enriching uranium. With both sides claiming victory, what are Donald Trump’s options now for ending the war, and how big a factor is keeping the support of his MAGA Republican base? With

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32:45

Americanswers! Can Zohran Mamdani keep his promises...

Americast ·

2026/04/06

Since it began last month, the Iran War has dominated global headlines and deflected attention away from other important stories happening across the U.S. In today’s Americanswers, the team join up to discuss stories playing out under the radar.For example, is the U.S. still targeting strikes against alleged boats off the coast of Venezuela, and who will fill the country’s power vacuum now that Nicolas Maduro is on trial in New York? Plus, with Zohran Mamdani‘s feet now firmly under the table as New

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38:59

Are the Democrats ready to win back Congress?

Americast ·

2026/04/03

Excitement has been building among some Democrats after the party won a special election in Florida last week in a district that includes Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach. This win, along with several others recently, suggests the party may have the momentum heading into November’s midterm elections, when they’ll be looking to reclaim control of the House, and possibly even the Senate. Despite the optimism, some Democrats are cautious about the party’s progress as frustration builds over

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35:28

Trump v Supreme Court: The battle over birthright...

Americast ·

2026/04/01

It was an historic day in the Supreme Court on Wednesday as it began hearing arguments on Donald Trump’s effort to ban birthright citizenship. The president began his second term in office by signing an executive order to end automatic citizenship for babies born in the U.S to parents who are in the country illegally or temporarily, an order which has now made its way to the highest court in the land. In a sign of the case’s importance to Donald Trump, he became the first ever sitting president to

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31:44

Americanswers! Why does Trump want to take Iran’s...

Americast ·

2026/03/30

Donald Trump has said the US will “conclude” its war in Iran by “blowing up and completely obliterating” key assets in the country, including Kharg Island - Iran’s key oil export terminal - if a deal is not reached. He also suggested in a social media post that “great progress” had been made with Iran’s “new” regime. The president’s rhetoric has raised fears that the war could still escalate and the U.S might actually be prepared to seize Iranian territory. Justin and Sumi join up for this week’s

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28:34

What is RFK doing to vaccines for children in America?

Americast ·

2026/03/27

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from making big changes to vaccines for children in the United States. It’s a blow to Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy - RFK Jr - a longtime vaccine sceptic who was given free rein by Donald Trump to “go wild with health”.Since taking office a year ago, Kennedy has sought to slash the number of recommended shots for children from 17 to 11. The American Academy of Paediatrics and other large medical groups have sued, saying

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23:54

Will Trump succeed in changing the US voting system?

Americast ·

2026/03/25

Should voters be required to prove they are US citizens and show photo ID before being allowed to cast their ballots?Donald Trump is pushing for these changes and more in the SAVE (Save America Act) telling Republican lawmakers he’s “not going to sign anything until this is approved."In this episode, Justin and Anthony look at the politics of the SAVE act. Would it make voting harder and who would benefit? Also, we explain how the bill is linked with huge delays at US airports, and why Democrats

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27:04

Americanswers… on 5 Live! Trump claims Iran wants to...

Americast ·

2026/03/23

Donald Trump has told reporters there have been talks between the US and Iran in which the two sides had “major points of agreement” and both wanted “to make a deal”. The US president says his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner talked to Iran on Sunday and that discussions would continue on Monday.However, the Fars news agency, which is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, denied any such talks took place, saying there were neither direct nor indirect

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26:47

Trump vs Anthropic... the battle over who controls AI

Americast ·

2026/03/20

Away from the war in Iran, the Pentagon is engaged in another battle, with Anthropic and its AI chatbot Claude. After awarding the company a contract potentially worth $200 million last year to integrate their artificial intelligence into the Department of Defence’s classified systems, that relationship has ended with a lawsuit and a threat which puts the future of Anthropic in jeopardy. Anthropic says it cannot acquiesce to the government’s demand that it breaches its own ‘red lines’ in how its

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26:54

Trump threatens TV networks over unpatriotic Iran...

Americast ·

2026/03/18

Donald Trump’s fight with US media has entered a new chapter since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran. The president has taken issue with Wall Street Journal reporting on an Iranian attack against US tankers in Saudi Arabia, while going as far to accuse the “Fake News Media” of working with Iran to circulate AI-generated videos of the USS Abraham Lincoln in flames. Until now the president has largely used the courts in his fight with the press, but he’s now considering revoking broadcast

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36:54

Americanswers… on 5Live! Will Trump lose his MAGA...

Americast ·

2026/03/16

How serious is the growing split within Trump’s MAGA base, as prominent Republican commentators and influencers criticise why the US started a war with Iran, and how long it might go on for. Also, might Trump voters turn on the president who told them ‘no more wars’ and ‘America First’? Justin, Sarah and Marianna join Matt Chorley on 5 Live to answer your questions. They also look at pressure from Trump for other countries to help police the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran is currently blocking to

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32:07

Is Cuba Trump’s next target after Iran?

Americast ·

2026/03/13

President Trump has renewed his threat of a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, saying the island is in deep trouble and that the Cuban government is desperate to make a deal. In this episode, Justin and Anthony look at how seriously we should we be taking these threats, and look into the talks taking place between the US and Cuba. Pressure on Cuba has been building since the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro earlier this year, a long-time ally of Cuba’s government. The Trump administration has

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27:36

Can Trump persuade Americans to ignore oil prices and...

Americast ·

2026/03/11

Does Donald Trump actually have a plan for the war in Iran? Eleven days on from the start of the conflict - with rising oil prices, and worries over oil supplies - the president’s narrative has shifted, branding the war “very complete”, while also signalling that ”we're going to go further.” Can he persuade Americans to back him? However, the decision to withdraw from Iran is not as straightforward as it may seem. Anthony and Sarah discuss what factors might be keeping the US forces in the region

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40:27

Americanswers… on 5Live! Why is Trump’s White House...

Americast ·

2026/03/09

The US-Israel war with Iran has continued into a second week, with America’s allies still scrambling to respond. Oil prices are dominating the headlines with the cost of a barrel exceeding $100 for the first time since 2022.In this episode, Justin, Marianna and Anthony join Matt Chorley on 5 Live to answer your questions about the war, including whether Europe still needs to cooperate with the White House, and whether Trump’s war is motivated by oil.Meanwhile, the White House is uploading social

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