{"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":"Will ICE agents stay away from the 2026 World Cup?","slug":"will-ice-agents-stay-away-from-the-2026-world-cup","published_at":"2026-05-03T06:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/americast-89638/will-ice-agents-stay-away-from-the-2026-world-cup","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/americast-89638","url":"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0nhmj79","audio_url":"http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss/proto/http/vpid/p0nhmh9j.mp3","summary":"Controversy continues to surround the build-up to the 2026 World Cup after reports emerged that Trump officials had asked FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the tournament, and that some fans would have to pay more than $100 for a 30-minute journey to games in New Jersey. The pushback from New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill is in response to what she described as a $48 million safety bill for fans and that she will not “stick New Jersey commuters with that tab for years to come.” Meanwhile in Texas a row broke out between Houston city officials and Texas Governor Greg Abbott after he threatened to withdraw World Cup safety grants if the city did not promise to cooperate with ICE officials. In this episode, Justin, Anthony and Marianna discuss the risks to Donald Trump if the event fails to run smoothly, and the real reasons why some Democrats are pushing back against plans for the tournament. HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 Presenter • Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent • Marianna Spring, Social Media Investigations Correspondent GUEST: • Dan Miller, Reporter at POLITICO 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 Stephen Bailey. 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…","meta_description":"Controversy continues to surround the build-up to the 2026 World Cup after reports emerged that Trump officials had asked FIFA to replace Iran with Italy…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1624,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/americast-89638/episodes/will-ice-agents-stay-away-from-the-2026-world-cup/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/americast-89638/will-ice-agents-stay-away-from-the-2026-world-cup.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}