Politics Weekly America

The Guardian

Every Friday, Guardian columnist and former Washington correspondent, Jonathan Freedland, invites experts to help analyse the latest in American politics. From politicians to journalists covering the White House and beyond, Jonathan and his guests give listeners behind the scenes access to how the American political machine works. With a global network of over 900 journalists and five dedicated editions covering news in the US, UK, Australia, Europe, and beyond, the Guardian offers comprehensive reporting across every continent.

  • 28 minutes 35 seconds
    Is blasphemy the last straw for Trump’s Maga base?
    No matter how much Donald Trump outrages his opponents, nothing ever seems to stick. But what about his own base? With controversies surrounding the Epstein files, his war on Iran, and now a ‘blasphemous’ post depicting the president as Jesus, could Maga finally be pulling away? Jonathan Freedland speaks to Rolling Stone’s Nikki McCann Ramírez about the string of scandals dogging Trump, the Maga big beasts biting the hand that fed them, and what happens when a personality cult loses its personality
    17 April 2026, 6:00 am
  • 27 minutes 17 seconds
    Could Trump be forced out of office?
    This week, despite securing a temporary ceasefire with Iran, there were calls from both the left and the right to invoke the 25th amendment of the US constitution to remove Donald Trump from office. Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Guardian’s Washington bureau chief, David Smith, about the various ways Congress could remove Trump from the White House
    10 April 2026, 4:00 am
  • 29 minutes 5 seconds
    How Trump, Musk and Doge shattered the US government
    In the end, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or Doge, sort of just … fizzled out. So did Musk save the taxpayer any money? What happened the people who lost their jobs in the mass bureaucratic culling? What services were affected? Will Americans ever trust their government again? Jonathan Freedland speaks to author Sasha Abramsky about his new book, American Carnage: How Trump, Musk, and DOGE Butchered the US Government, and about what lasting legacy of Doge will be
    2 April 2026, 6:05 am
  • 28 minutes 47 seconds
    Is Trump losing it? (the war of course)
    Donald Trump says the US has won its war with Iran. Iranian officials responded to this by mocking him. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Susan Glasser of the New Yorker about analysis suggesting Trump is losing his touch when it comes to sealing the deal, winning elections or just having the energy to run the White House
    27 March 2026, 5:00 am
  • 26 minutes 42 seconds
    Off Duty: The Crime, episode I
    This is episode one of Off Duty, a new Guardian Investigates podcast series by Melissa Segura. On the evening of 29 December 2011, the police officer Clifton Lewis was moonlighting as a security guard at a Chicago minimart when two men walked in. They shot Lewis several times, then took off with his gun and police star. A week later, police had their suspects: four men affiliated with a gang called the Spanish Cobras. For hours, under intense police questioning, they all denied doing it. But that did not seem to matter. You can find the rest of the series on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts
    24 March 2026, 5:00 am
  • 25 minutes 55 seconds
    What’s really behind Trump’s latest tantrums over Iran?
    Donald Trump has told his Nato allies: ‘We don’t need you.’ He also threatened to ‘massively blow up’ the world’s largest gasfield, despite Americans already having to deal with higher prices. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Kamala Harris’s former national security adviser, Philip Gordon, about what this all means for the Iran war and Trump’s ‘America First’ policy
    20 March 2026, 5:00 am
  • 27 minutes 57 seconds
    Could the US military turn on Trump?
    Since coming back into office, Donald Trump has sent troops to Venezuela, Iran and US cities. He has threatened to deploy them to Greenland in order to get what he wants. But what do the people who serve think of their commander-in-chief? If they wanted to, could they disobey his orders?

    This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Janessa Goldbeck, a former Marine and the chief executive of Vet Voice Foundation
    13 March 2026, 5:00 am
  • 31 minutes 24 seconds
    Was Trump ever in control of the Iran war?
    If you’ve been listening to the Trump administration this week, you would be forgiven for being confused about who started the war, why America got involved and what the end game is.

    This week, the foreign policy expert Ali Vaez tells Rachel Leingang what it was like to take part in war game exercises for the Pentagon and how they compare with what he has seen play out this week. Then the Guardian’s Andrew Roth talks us through the inner chaos in the Trump administration and Congress over Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran
    5 March 2026, 5:49 pm
  • 29 minutes 38 seconds
    ‘Peacemaker’ Trump starts a war with Iran
    The US and Israel launched a joint military operation against Iran on Saturday, killing Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Why did Trump decide (again) to attack Iran during negotiations on a nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic? How does he sell a new war in the Middle East, with potential US casualties, to people at home? What happens next for Iran? In this special collaboration with Today in Focus, Annie Kelly speaks to the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour.
    1 March 2026, 7:42 pm
  • 36 minutes 48 seconds
    ‘I could see myself stepping into that void’: Gavin Newsom on fighting Trump and running in 2028
    The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, is widely regarded as one of the Democratic party’s leading contenders for the 2028 presidential election. He has also published a new book, Young Man in a Hurry, reflecting on his childhood and his path to the governor’s mansion. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Newsom about why he believes the Democrats suffered such heavy losses in 2024, why the party needs to be less judgmental, and whether he intends to run for president in 2028
    28 February 2026, 5:00 am
  • 27 minutes 7 seconds
    The ‘golden age of America’? Trump delivers the State of the Union address
    Donald Trump made history again on Tuesday evening, delivering the longest State of the Union address on record. But while the president declared the ‘golden age of America’, many Democrats boycotted the event, telling the country Republicans are ‘making your life harder’. The Guardian’s Jenna Amatulli talks to Rolling Stone’s Nikki McCann Ramírez about Trump’s claims, the Democrats’ rebuttal, and how the speech will land with a divided nation
    25 February 2026, 12:31 pm
  • More Episodes? Get the App