Americast

Playing Chicken in Kyiv

Joe Biden defends his first year of presidency in a rare press conference, but his comment about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine is what gets Emily and Jon scratching their heads. They speak to Elaine Kamarck, a former staffer to Vice-President Al Gore and President Bill Clinton, now with the Brookings Institution. She thinks Biden said more than he should have. Meanwhile, Anthony is travelling with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to Ukraine, as the US makes a last ditch attempt at finding a diplomatic solution. He explains why there is no way there is going to be a shooting war between Americans and Russians over Ukraine. And we hear the latest on Donald Trump’s legal troubles: the Supreme Court has allowed the release of his presidential records to the committee investigating the 6 January assault on the Capitol – and it turns out his New York triplex isn’t quite as big as he said. Americast is made by Estelle Doyle and Phil Marzouk. The assistant editor is Alison Gee and the editor is Jonathan Aspinwall.

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 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, like CNN anchor, Christiane Amanpour, Emmy Award-winning TV host, Rachel Maddow, and Succession actress, J Smith-Cameron.
 
Podcasts are published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. As well as being a podcast, we are also available every Friday night on BBC Radio 4 and every weekend on the BBC News Channel.
 
Every Monday we answer your questions on Americanswers, with some help from special guests, including Miles Taylor, who was chief of staff at the Department for Homeland Security during the Trump presidency before becoming a whistleblower.
 
Got a question or a comment? Get in touch with us on email at Americast@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480.
 
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See ya’ll later...