Americast

We speak to a US/China tech expert who served under presidents Biden and Trump about America’s race with China to develop Artificial Intelligence. Does he agree with president Trump’s statement “whoever wins AI wins”, and what does “winning” look like?
Justin, Marianna and Anthony discuss Donald Trump’s rejection of any regulation for Artificial Intelligence, and whether this is in line with public opinion in the United States.
The team also talk about Congress, and how Republicans are reacting to Donald Trump’s most outspoken comments yet on AI. Plus, could Democrats be making the issue more central to their campaigning ahead of this November’s midterm elections? It’s an issue which has also united progressive Democrat senator Bernie Sanders and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon - what was their message to voters?
Our guest this week is Chris McGuire, a US-China technology expert with the Council on Foreign Relations. He’s a former senior advisor at the State Department for Trump in both his first and second terms, and previously served as Deputy Senior Director for Technology and National Security at the National Security Council from 2022 to 2024 under president Biden.
HOSTS:
• Marianna Spring, BBC Social Media Investigations Correspondent
• Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent
• Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter
GUEST:
Chris McGuire, US-China technology expert with the Council on Foreign Relations, former senior advisor at the State Department for President Trump. Former Deputy Senior Director for Technology and National Security at the National Security Council from 2022 to 2024.
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 Emma Close with George Dabby, Josh McMinn and Nik Sindle. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. 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
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
Radical: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r
Top Comment: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001mssm
The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd

The US president has lashed out at the US Supreme Court for blocking his plans to end the right for all Americans to vote by mail in elections. But will Donald Trump find a different way to get around the ruling before this November’s midterm elections?
Back in March, the president signed an executive order that ended the right for all US citizens to vote by email. He’s long argued that the move would help combat electoral fraud, despite cases of fraud being rare.
The court’s decision is not, however, the end of the story and the Trump administration may return to the case with a renewed effort to block mail-in ballots ahead of the 2028 presidential election. Meanwhile, FBI Director Kash Patel has not ruled out sending FBI agents to election polling sites in November, raising alarm among some Democrats that the White House is seeking to assert greater control over the coming elections.
Sarah and Anthony assess how big a setback this is for Donald Trump, whether the US president might find other ways to influence this November’s midterms and whether the case undermines the credibility of the US election system.
HOSTS:
• Sarah Smith, North America Editor
• Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent
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 Nik Sindle. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. 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
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
Radical: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r
The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd

The president is pushing back against calls from tech bosses to slow down the development of artificial intelligence. After claiming “whoever wins AI, wins” can Trump convince voters that greater regulation isn’t needed?
And will Republican senator Mitch McConnell reappear as the senate reconvenes this week? The 84 year old has been absent after months of illness and, as conspiracy theories surrounding his wellbeing grow, he is facing mounting pressure to say whether he will return to his duties or resign.
Plus, what’s on the president's hand-picked Air Force One playlist?
Justin, Sarah and Sumi join Matt Chorley on 5 Live to answer your questions.
HOSTS:
• Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter
• Sarah Smith, North America Editor
• Sumi Somaskanda, BBC Chief Presenter
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 Alix Pickles with Emma Close and Nik Sindle. 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: 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
Top Comment: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001mssm
Radical: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r
The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd

President Trump made the pledge at the Republicans' first ever midterm convention, promising every adult American a $5,000 payment if his party wins both chambers of Congress in November.
Sarah, who was in the arena in Dallas watching Trump’s speech, and Justin look at whether this is a serious policy or a desperate measure. The payment would cost over a trillion dollars, no detail has been given on how it would work, and federal law restricts payments made in connection with how people vote. JD Vance has suggested it could be paid for by revenue raised from trade tariffs.
Trump told supporters to pretend he was on the ballot himself, and said he would campaign in every close race. But with his approval ratings at historic lows, an unpopular war with Iran, and some Republicans on the ballot this year choosing to stay away from the convention, is he now more of a hindrance than a help to his own party?
And a year on from the killing of Charlie Kirk, Justin and Sarah discuss his legacy on the American right, and ask whether anyone has emerged to take his place.
HOSTS:
• Sarah Smith, BBC North America Editor
• Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter
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 Nik Sindle. The technical producer was Jonny Hall. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
The battle for Charlie Kirk’s legacy - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct8lzb
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
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
Top Comment: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001mssm
Radical: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r
The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd

The journalist Peter Bergen also talks to us about meeting Osama Bin Laden before 9/11, and what happened during that interview.
In this episode, Justin, Sumi and Marianna discuss America twenty five years on from 9/11 and to what extent it still shapes the United States, despite millions of Americans today having no lived experience of the attacks.
We also look at the politics, as families who lost loved ones in the attacks have petitioned New York mayor Zohran Mamdani not to attend the 25th anniversary ceremony. More than 100,000 people have signed the petition, objecting to specific members of the mayor’s team. Is this the biggest test yet of Mamdani’s standing in New York City?
Peter Bergen, a national security analyst for CNN who produced the first television interview with Osama Bin Laden in 1997 joins us to give his reflections, and details how the interview came about. His latest book, All the Presidents' Wars, charts the quarter century of conflict that followed the attacks. He is also donating an archive of 150,000 documents on the rise of al-Qaeda to Georgetown University.
He reflects on the legacy of 9/11 and argues that America, not Bin Laden, created the quagmire that came after. And he explains why the alleged mastermind of the attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, is still awaiting trial at Guantanamo Bay, more than 20 years after his arrest.
HOSTS:
• Marianna Spring, Social Media Investigations Senior Correspondent
• Sumi Somaskanda, BBC Chief Presenter
• Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter
GUEST:
• Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst
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 Nik Sindle. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. 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
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
Top Comment: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001mssm
Radical: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r
The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd