Americast

About Americast

Insight and analysis on what's happening inside Donald Trump's White House. Podcast episodes Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Watch on iPlayer here: https://bbc.in/4j3DjKy (https://bbc.in/4j3DjKy). 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 social media investigation correspondent, Marianna Spring, and BBC North America correspondent, Anthony Zurcher. As well as political analysis, we also specialise in social media. Each week Marianna Spring brings listeners the latest updates from the BBC’s Undercover Voters, our award-winning investigation into the content that is recommended to US voters on social media. The team is also joined by special guests each week. Podcasts are published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. As well as being a podcast, we are also available every Friday on BBC Radio 4 and every Saturday on the BBC World Service. Oh, and you can now watch us on YouTube and on iPlayer: https://bbc.in/4j3DjKy (https://bbc.in/4j3DjKy). Also, you can listen to Americast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say ‘”Ask BBC Sounds to play Americast”. It works on most smart speakers. Every Monday we answer your questions on Americanswers, with some help from our friends, including BBC Radio 5 Live's Matt Chorley. Got a question or a comment? Get in touch with us on email at Americast@bbc.co.uk (mailto:Americast@bbc.co.uk) or WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480.

Publisher

BBC News

Category

government · news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

29 Jan 2020

Latest episode

6 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

473 of 667 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   6 Nov 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Midterms! What do the results mean for Trump's presidency?

   After one of the most disastrous set of midterm results in US political history, how are Republicans dealing with the outcome, and where does it leave a JD Vance presidential run in 2028? The bad news for Republicans is that the midterm results aren’t yet finalised and there could be more bad news in the Senate races taking place in Mississippi and Alaska. Those results are not yet in. Regardless, senior Republicans have already gone public with their own take for the party’s performance, most notably vice president JD Vance, who’s broken ranks by publicly declaring that the party’s losses were caused by Donald Trump’s war in Iran. That’s led to reporting suggesting that Pete Hegseth’s position as US defence secretary could now be under threat with Donald Trump considering whether to remove him from his position. As the inquest begins within the Republican Party, the entire Americast crew get together to unpack what Democratic control of Congress will mean for the rest of Donald Trump’s presidency. HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Sarah Smith, North America Editor • Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent • Marianna Spring, Social Media Investigations Senior Correspondent GET IN TOUCH: • Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB (https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB) • Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 • Email Americast@bbc.co.uk (mailto:Americast@bbc.co.uk) • Or use #Americast This episode was made by George Dabby, Nik Sindle and Alix Pickles. The technical producer was Phillip Bull. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. If you want to be notified every time we publish a new episode, please subscribe to us on BBC Sounds by hitting the subscribe button on the app. You can now listen to Americast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Americast”. It works on most smart speakers. US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony’s BBC newsletter: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155) Americast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Americast also makes lots of other podcasts, including Newscast. If you enjoy Americast (and if you're reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below. Newscast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p05299nl (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p05299nl) Top Comment: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001mssm (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001mssm) Radical: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r) The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd)

2. 

   4 Nov 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Midterms! Democrats make historic shift in US politics (results, part 2)

   Radio 4 presenter Justin Webb, North America Editor Sarah Smith, and North America Correspondent Anthony Zurcher analyze the Democrats' historic midterm gains and their impact on the Trump presidency in this interview.

3. 

   4 Nov 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Midterms! Democrats win back control of Congress (results part 1)

   Justin Webb, Sarah Smith, and Anthony Zurcher analyze the midterm election results, exploring what Democratic gains mean for both parties and the presidency in this interview.

Inside a recent episode

Midterms! What do the results mean for Trump's presidency?

Published 6 Nov 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] You know, there's a risk of pushing too far, too fast, which is something that Donald Trump, I think, and the Republicans encountered over the past two years, a year and a half, where they tried to do so much that the nation rebelled against them. We saw it with maybe Obama in 2009 with health care reform. […]

Who has been a guest on Americast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Carrie Dann
• Abdul El-Sayed
• Hasan Piker
• Mike Madrid
• Chuck Rocha

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

3.9 / 5

439 ratings

Spotify

4.3 / 5

1,714 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 68 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

96

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

100

Contact Americast

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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Questions about Americast