President Donald Trump has just completed his first week in the Oval Office. He's been busy - swiftly signing a handful of executive orders, undoing some of President Barack Obama's policies, and picking fights with the press over reports of in

Bracing

Jan 20th, 2017 17m 45s

If you listen to Donald Trump's speeches, it's all about deals. So how will this play out in the world of international diplomacy? Jon Sopel talks to Steven Erlanger, New York Times London bureau chief, about how the world is bracing for a Trum

Out With the Old

Jan 13th, 2017 16m 40s

Barack Obama leaves with a squeaky clean reputation - in terms of personality, at least. In terms of policy President Obama himself says "The United States of America is the one advanced nation on Earth in which we do not have sufficient common

Adversaries... Continued

Jan 6th, 2017 21m 22s

President-Elect Donald Trump made it clear throughout his campaign that he’s no lover of the press – he banned the Washington Post from attending rallies, threatened to expand libel laws, and has even ditched the media pool. One of his recurrin

Conflicts of Interest and Russia

Dec 23rd, 2016 19m 18s

"Mr Trump is choosing to be wilfully ignorant of events around the world," says Tim Weiner, a journalist specialising in security issues and author of Legacy of Ashes, a history of the CIA. He speculates about Russia's influence on the US elect

The Supreme Court

Dec 16th, 2016 20m 1s

"The Supreme Court ends up having the last word on a lot of issues that people care deeply about that affect their religious beliefs and moral beliefs," says law professor Kermit Roosevelt III at the University of Pennsylvania. This week Jon So

Populism - With Guest Tony Blair

Dec 9th, 2016 20m 25s

"It's only if centre ground, and the centre left particularly, are changemakers not guardians of the status quo, that we'll succeed. Otherwise... the person who comes along and represents change will take the laurels."Is populism just about bei

Reconciling

Dec 2nd, 2016 21m 22s

"I want admirable, intelligent, prudential people in important slots, because we're not playing tiddlywinks here. This is the Presidency of the United States and there's an enormous amount that rests on how well the President acts."Peter Weh

Why the Democrats Fared as They Did

Nov 25th, 2016 20m 12s

"This is the worst situation that Democrats have been in in my entire life. Not only have they lost the Presidency, both houses of Congress, Trump immediately gets to name a Supreme Court Justice. It's the biggest wipeout I've ever seen," says

Hopes and Fears

Nov 18th, 2016 18m 55s

"I think a lot of the backlash is against the uncertainty. We have no idea what's coming," says one student protester. An increase in hate crimes has been reported, with many blaming the election for creating bitterness across the United States

What a Week

Nov 11th, 2016 23m 59s

People scoffed, the pollsters dismissed it, the media thought better, the world is shocked - Donald Trump is President elect of the United States. But as one Trump voter put it "He's done something amazing. He has turned the establishment on

A Hard Race

Nov 4th, 2016 18m 59s

"The FBI is not to be used for political purposes and he should realise he was being used for just that."Jon Sopel speaks to Richard Painter, former chief White House ethics lawyer for President George W Bush, about whether FBI Director James C

Divided States of America

Oct 28th, 2016 20m 2s

This week marked the start of early voting for many key states, and millions of Americans visited their local polling station to cast their votes for president. With less than two weeks to go before election day, many Americans are feeling tens

Jaw-dropping

Oct 14th, 2016 20m 33s

This week Jon Sopel looks at how a video of Donald Trump bragging about groping women and accusations of sexual assault in a New York Times article have changed the dynamics of the presidential campaign. As one voter said "100% it matters. I do

A Taxing Week

Oct 7th, 2016 16m 39s

"On a dozen counts you would say Donald Trump should be out of this race, but he's not."Donald Trump’s week was marked by a New York Times story about his near billion-dollar business losses in 1995 and further questions about his tax returns.

The Psychology of the Presidential Debate

Sep 30th, 2016 16m 56s

Light-hearted and deeply analytical, this podcast is both. "Lord help us. We need prayer. Cos we're in trouble," says one voter on the programme. Just what is going on in the US? Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post shares her thoughts on the p

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