Americast

Introducing... Why Do You Hate Me? USA

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 travels to the United States to investigate the social media backdrop to the 2024 presidential election and explore the different ways in which what is happening online is influencing the campaign offline.Marianna starts her journey in Colorado, looking at how conspiracy theories have spread so far across the political spectrum in the US. She interrogates the consequences for Camille, ‘Wild Mother’, and the upcoming election.Host: Marianna Spring
Producers: Daniel Wittenberg &amp; Emma Close
Story Editor: Matt Willis
Editor: Sam Bonham
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
Sound Designer: Tony Churnside
Production Co-ordinator: Rosie Strawbridge

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.
 
By the way, 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.
 
See ya’ll later...