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.
Location:
United States
Genres:
Politics
Networks:
The Guardian
Description:
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.
Language:
English
Episodes
Is Trump building a political dynasty? – episode 3
8/4/2025
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?
Duration:00:31:47
How much longer can the Fed defy Trump?
8/1/2025
Despite growing pressure to lower interest rates to appease the president, the Federal Reserve voted to leave them unchanged. This week Jonathan Freedland speaks to Heather Boushey, former chief economist to Joe Biden, about the latest tussle between the White House and the Federal Reserve
Duration:00:28:23
Is Trump building a political dynasty? – episode two
7/28/2025
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
Duration:00:32:18
Murdoch v Trump: will the media tycoon be the president’s downfall?
7/25/2025
Donald Trump has filed another lawsuit against a media company. This time though, he’s up against the billionaire media tycoon Rupert Murdoch. Jonathan Freedland speaks to the author of Murdoch’s World: The Last of the Old Media Empires, David Folkenflik, about the potential fallout for the president
Duration:00:30:19
Is Trump building a political dynasty? – episode one
7/21/2025
In this first episode of our special Politics Weekly America series, author Gwenda Blair, and 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 his time in office
Duration:00:33:36
Trump goes to war with Maga over Epstein files
7/17/2025
Donald Trump really wants people to stop talking about Jeffrey Epstein, but his Maga base, including some prominent commentators such as Laura Loomer, want his administration to ‘release the files’. Jonathan Freedland speaks to Ali Breland of the Atlantic about the tricky situation the US president finds himself in
Duration:00:32:01
Why is the media paying millions to Trump?
7/11/2025
Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS News, settled a lawsuit filed against it by Donald Trump for $16m last week. It came after Disney and Meta settled lawsuits with the president in similar ways. Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Guardian US columnist Margaret Sullivan about why these companies are caving to Trump’s demands, and whether critics are right to be worried about what this means for the future of a free press
Duration:00:26:50
The winners and losers of Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’
7/3/2025
Jonathan Freedland is joined by Eleanor Mueller of Semafor to look at the potential fallout from Donald Trump’s tax-and-spending bill – financially and politically
Duration:00:30:53
A socialist underdog makes history in New York
6/27/2025
How did a political nobody, Zohran Mamdani, beat one of New York’s best-known establishment figures, Andrew Cuomo? Rachel Leingang speaks to Moira Donegan about how Democratic party leaders view the historic New York City mayoral primary result. Does the party need to fundamentally change to meet voters where they are?
Duration:00:29:08
Trump’s plan for Iran divides Republicans
6/19/2025
What is Donald Trump’s plan for Iran? Is he about to break his campaign pledge for ‘no more wars’? And if he does, could this be the moment he loses some of his most loyal Maga supporters? The Guardian’s Rachel Leingang and Andrew Roth discuss
Duration:00:28:34
Has Trump turned the US into a police state?
6/13/2025
As Donald Trump deploys more troops to fight protesters in LA, and as plans come together for a military parade in Washington DC on the president’s birthday, journalist Judith Levine tells Jonathan Freedland why she believes the US has entered a new era of authoritarianism
Duration:00:28:13
Missing in the Amazon: the disappearance – episode 1
6/7/2025
Three years ago British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian indigenous defender Bruno Pereira vanished while on a reporting trip near Brazil’s remote Javari valley. The Guardian’s Latin America correspondent Tom Phillips investigates what happened in the first episode of a new six-part investigative podcast series. Find episode 2 – and all future episodes – by searching for “Missing in the Amazon”
Duration:00:26:50
Trump and Musk’s spectacular bust-up
6/5/2025
As Elon Musk and Donald Trump continue to sling accusations at each other on their social media platforms, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Susan Glasser of the New Yorker about what caused it to all fall apart
Duration:00:29:21
Has RFK Jr misdiagnosed America?
5/30/2025
Last week Robert F Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump’s health chief and a longtime vaccine sceptic, presented a report on children’s health by the Make America Healthy Again (Maha) commission. The study singled out the negative impact of vaccines, ultra-processed foods, environmental chemicals, lack of exercise and “over-medicalisation”.
This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Jessica Glenza about the long-term implications of the Maha movement’s influence on US policy
Duration:00:27:30
Did the White House cover up Joe Biden’s ill health?
5/23/2025
As scepticism grows over Joe Biden’s mental and physical health during his presidency, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Bakari Sellers, a political commentator and former Democratic state lawmaker, about what the party needs to do to regain trust after the fallout from the 2024 election
Duration:00:25:31
Who are the players behind Trump’s foreign policy?
5/16/2025
From a trip to the Middle East to talks between Russia and Ukraine, it’s a busy week for Donald Trump and US foreign policy. Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Guardian’s global affairs correspondent, Andrew Roth, about the big players behind the US president’s deals and decisions on the world stage
Duration:00:33:16
Trade deals, global wars and AI Jedi posts: where is Trump’s focus?
5/9/2025
Jonathan Freedland and the senior Washington editor of Semafor, Elana Schor, discuss what the US president is choosing to make a priority, and what he’s neglecting in return
Duration:00:29:02
What does Trump really think of his first 100 days in office?
5/2/2025
To mark his 100th day in office, Donald Trump sat down with the Time journalist Eric Cortellessa, who here speaks to Jonathan Freedland about what he learned from his hour-long interview with the US president
Duration:00:30:13
The rule of law in Trump’s America and what it means for Mel Gibson’s guns
4/25/2025
The US justice department says it did not fire a former pardon attorney, Liz Oyer, after she refused to recommend reinstating Mel Gibson’s gun rights. But Oyer tells Jonathan Freedland a different story, one she believes points to a wider crackdown by the Trump administration on the rule of law in America
Duration:00:30:36
Trump vs universities
4/18/2025
This week, Harvard University, the oldest and wealthiest in the US, defied Donald Trump a list of demands. The Trump administration responded by freezing $2.2bn in federal funding for the Ivy League school. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Harvard professor Ryan Enos to consider why the university is pushing back, how far this fight may go and why other universities are watching closely
Duration:00:27:57