{"podcast":{"title":"Americast","slug":"americast-89638","podcast_index_feed_id":89638,"rss_url":"https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p07h19zz.rss","website_url":"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07h19zz","image_url":"http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/3000x3000/p0k99j29.jpg","author":"BBC","episode_count":592,"summary":"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 on the World Service. Oh, and by the way, you can now listen to Americast on a smart speaker. If you want to l…","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/americast-89638"},"episode":{"title":"Has Trump given up on the midterms?","slug":"has-trump-given-up-on-the-midterms","published_at":"2026-04-15T17:22:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/americast-89638/has-trump-given-up-on-the-midterms","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/americast-89638","url":"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0ndllg4","audio_url":"http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss/proto/http/vpid/p0ndljlx.mp3","summary":"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 and Sarah discuss China’s involvement in the blockade, the mood amongst Republicans and whether the president will be able to convince voters in November that short-term pain is worth it for long-term national security. And, reports are emerging that four Senate races may fall in favour of the Democrats, including battles in Georgia and North Carolina, two states that Donald Trump won in the presidential election. Can the Democrats keep up their momentum later in the year? HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Sarah Smith, North America Editor GET IN TOUCH: • Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB • Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 • Email Americast@bbc.co.uk • Or use #Americast This episode was made by George Dabby with Alix Pickles and Grace Reeve. The technical producer was Jonathan Greer. 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: http…","meta_description":"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 pri…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1750,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/americast-89638/episodes/has-trump-given-up-on-the-midterms/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/americast-89638/has-trump-given-up-on-the-midterms.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}