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.

  • 27 minutes 34 seconds
    Epstein files: why is Trump defending the Clintons?
    After months of negotiations, threats and refusals, Bill and Hillary Clinton have finally agreed to testify in front of Congress as part of a Republican-led investigation into the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Politico Magazine columnist and former federal prosecutor Ankush Khardori about why Donald Trump thinks it is a ‘shame’ the Clintons have been forced to testify
    6 February 2026, 5:00 am
  • 27 minutes 52 seconds
    Is Trump’s ICE dream over?
    After weeks of federal insurgency, Minnesota fought back, and it seems Donald Trump has lost faith in the people running his ICE operation in the state. So where does this leave Trump’s ‘ICE patriots’? How do Republicans unite over immigration policies that kill Americans? And where does it leave the far-right agitators in Trump’s cabinet? Jonathan Freedland speaks to George Conway, a founding member of the Lincoln Project, who is running for Congress, about what happens next
    30 January 2026, 5:00 am
  • 30 minutes 5 seconds
    ICE shootings, tariffs and Greenland: why we’re experiencing ‘Trump exhaustion syndrome’
    At the beginning of Donald Trump’s trip to Davos, the US president’s plans for Greenland were vague, and a worry to European leaders. By the end of the day, military force was off the table and threats of tariffs dropped. This is just one example of what it has been like to follow Trump 2.0 in the last year. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Ashley Parker of the Atlantic about why she thinks Americans are suffering from a new politically induced condition and why the midterms in November might be the perfect remedy
    22 January 2026, 11:30 am
  • 23 minutes 16 seconds
    Is Trump regretting his battle with the Fed?
    Last week, Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into the chair of the Federal Reserve – and longtime foe of Donald Trump – Jerome Powell. In an extraordinary move, world central bank governors and bank bosses in America pushed back against the Trump administration. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to the economist Heather Boushey about why a fight with Wall Street might be one the president regrets
    16 January 2026, 5:00 am
  • 28 minutes 15 seconds
    Watch out Greenland: Trump is pro-imperialism now
    If it’s not threats of military action against Colombia and Cuba, or talk of taking Greenland from Denmark, it’s seizing oil tankers in European and Caribbean waters. All of it has world leaders scrambling to figure out how to handle Donald Trump’s revived form of US imperialism. Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Pulitzer-winning author Anne Applebaum about what to expect from a world changing by the hour at the hands of the US president
    8 January 2026, 12:43 pm
  • 20 minutes 12 seconds
    Trump captures Maduro and vows to ‘run’ Venezuela
    Early on Saturday morning, Donald Trump announced that US forces had captured the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores. Hours later, they were indicted on drug and weapons offences in New York. Later on Saturday, he suggested that the US was “going to run” the country for the time being Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Guardian’s Latin America correspondent, Tom Phillips, about whether or not Trump is likely to end his military campaign in the region – or if this is just the beginning
    3 January 2026, 7:38 pm
  • 31 minutes 22 seconds
    Revisited: Is Trump building a political dynasty? – episode three
    Jonathan Freedland and the Politics Weekly America team are taking a break this week, so we’re replaying a special series made during the summer, all about the Trump family and whether the president is planning to pass on the political baton once he has to leave office. In the final episode of our special Politics Weekly America series, Eric Cortellessa, Rosie Gray and Dan Adler look ahead to the future of the Trump family’s political ambitions. Could one of Donald Trump’s children take up the political mantle? Or might the president wish to keep politics all to himself?
    1 January 2026, 5:00 am
  • 30 minutes 50 seconds
    Revisited: Is Trump building a political dynasty? – episode two
    Jonathan Freedland and the Politics Weekly America team are taking a break this week, so we’re replaying a special series made during the summer, all about the Trump family and whether the president is planning to pass on the political baton once he has to leave office. In the second episode of our special Politics Weekly America series, the reporters Ashley Parker, Rosie Gray and Eric Cortellessa explain why some of Trump’s family decided to step back from political life, and who stepped up to get him back to the White House
    31 December 2025, 5:00 am
  • 33 minutes 40 seconds
    Revisited: Is Trump building a political dynasty? – episode one
    Jonathan Freedland and the Politics Weekly America team are taking a break this week, so we’re replaying a special series made during the summer, all about the Trump family and whether the president is planning to pass on the political baton once he has to leave office. In the first episode, the author Gwenda Blair and the reporters Rosie Gray and Ashley Parker introduce us to the family members who helped Donald Trump succeed on his road to the White House and in his time in office
    30 December 2025, 5:00 am
  • 50 seconds
    A Christmas message
    Jonathan Freedland and the Politics Weekly America team are taking a break this week, but will be back with a new episode in the new year
    26 December 2025, 5:00 am
  • 28 minutes 12 seconds
    Trump in the White House: is it time to call it corruption?
    The White House has consistently denied that Donald Trump has ever engaged in conflicts of interest while president. But experts have been tallying up examples of decisions made over the last 12 months which, they say, amount to corruption coming from the highest office. Jonathan Freedland is joined by the anthropologist Prof Janine Wedel, as they wade through the most egregious allegations of corruption from Trump’s first year in office
    19 December 2025, 5:00 am
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