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
As Americans face going hungry, Trump builds a ballroom
11/7/2025
The US government shutdown became the longest in history this week, crossing the 36-day mark. Food stamp benefits have been delayed for millions of Americans, and 10% fewer flights are going to take off from major airports across the country because government employees aren’t turning up to work since their pay was stopped. Rachel Leingang and David Smith discuss why the president has decided to focus his time on grand architectural plans instead
Duration:00:21:21
Mamdani wins in New York and takes the fight to Trump
11/5/2025
This time last year, no one had really heard of him. Now, Zohran Mamdani is the first Muslim, millennial and south Asian mayor of America’s largest city. Jonathan Freedland speaks to Ed Pilkington about Mamdani’s historic win, his challenge to the president, and what the Democrats should take away from a successful night at the ballot box
Duration:00:29:54
Why is Trump talking about nuclear weapons?
10/31/2025
Less than an hour before Donald Trump met the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, to discuss a deal that could end the trade war between the two superpowers, the US president posted on Truth Social that he had directed the Pentagon to match Russia and China in nuclear weapons testing. Jonathan Freedland speaks to Jonathan Czin, the former director for China at the National Security Council, about why Trump did this and whether he or Xi left South Korea feeling the strongest
Duration:00:32:19
Is Trump preparing for civil war?
10/24/2025
Millions of people across the US attended No Kings protests against Donald Trump last weekend. The president publicly denied he wanted to be a king, but he posted an AI-generated video of himself dressed as one, flying a fighter jet and dumping excrement on protesters. Jonathan Freedland speaks to the political scientist Barbara Walter about the tactics the Trump administration is using against protesters
Duration:00:28:58
Donald Trump: King of the world?
10/17/2025
Donald Trump has his hands in multiple pies around the world. Not satisfied with the Middle East, the president is attempting to end the war in Ukraine, influence elections in Argentina and manage conflict with Venezuela. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Guardian’s Andrew Roth about what happened to the ‘America first’ president. Having made himself the king of America, does Trump want to be king of the world?
Duration:00:30:00
Gaza ceasefire plan: how much credit does Trump deserve?
10/9/2025
Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday night that Israel and Hamas had agreed the first phase of a new ceasefire deal in Gaza. We’ve been here before, but is it different this time? Has Trump proved the doubters wrong? Jonathan Freedland speaks to Julian Borger about the prospect for peace in the Middle East and the US president’s role in getting to this point
Duration:00:28:20
When did the US supreme court become so ‘lawless’?
10/3/2025
The US supreme court starts a new term on Monday, and the nine justices are preparing to take on cases that could prove crucial to the future of American society and democracy. Jonathan Freedland speaks to Prof Leah Litman about what exactly motivates the nine judges who are supposedly tasked with upholding the US constitution? When did the highest court in the land become so apparently partisan? Is there any coming back from this?
Duration:00:27:02
US government shutdown: now what?
10/1/2025
After weeks of threats from both sides and negotiations that went nowhere, the US is once again experiencing a government shutdown. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Marianna Sotomayor, a congressional reporter at the Washington Post, to look at who should take the blame, who suffers, and who will blink first
Duration:00:21:37
Why is the Trump administration obsessed with autism?
9/26/2025
The US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has long been consumed by the neurological condition autism – what causes it, and whether there’s a treatment. This week, Donald Trump took on the cause, making claims about acetaminophen, also known as Tylenol and paracetamol, that were dismissed outright by medical experts around the world. Jonathan Freedland speaks to Carter Sherman, the reproductive health and justice reporter at Guardian US, about when and why the obsession with autism became political
Duration:00:28:21
What does Donald Trump think free speech means?
9/19/2025
This week, the US president has announced he is suing the New York Times for $15bn, and gloated that the late-night TV show Jimmy Kimmel Live! had been suspended. JD Vance has also promised to crack down on ‘far left’ groups.
Jonathan Freedland speaks to the president of The Nation magazine, Bhaskar Sunkara, about the future of the constitutional right to free speech for Americans who disagree with Trump
Duration:00:28:33
Where does the US go after the Charlie Kirk shooting?
9/11/2025
On Wednesday night, Charlie Kirk, an influential rightwing activist and Donald Trump ally, was shot dead at a university campus in Utah. The US president immediately blamed the ‘radical left’ but failed to mention rising violence against Democrats. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Guardian’s Washington DC bureau chief, David Smith, about the increase in political violence in the country
Duration:00:32:22
Is Trump trying to rig the midterm elections?
9/5/2025
Donald Trump wants to change the way Americans vote, promising to introduce measures such as mandatory voter ID and a ban on mail-in voting. But what is his motivation? And what might the consequences be? This week Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Guardian US politics and democracy reporter George Chidi about whether the president could be trying to tip the scales in next year’s midterms Send your questions and thoughts to politicsweeklyamerica@theguardian.com
Duration:00:28:34
Can the Democrats win by trolling Trump?
8/29/2025
A fight over a redrawing of the congressional map in Texas united Democrats across the country. This week, we hear from the state representative Nicole Collier about why she slept on the House floor for two nights, and Jonathan Freedland speaks to the KQED reporter Marisa Lagos about why the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, sees an opportunity in fighting dirty
Duration:00:29:17
The ‘Nerd Reich’: how tech billionaires infiltrated the White House
8/22/2025
This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to the journalist Gil Duran about his upcoming book The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Global Democracy
Duration:00:34:33
Is Trump abandoning his ‘America First’ policy for Ukraine?
8/19/2025
Donald Trump has been all smiles with both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the last few days, but in trying to be ‘peacemaker-in-chief, is the president abandoning his ‘America First’ policy? Rachel Leingang and Andrew Roth discuss
Duration:00:18:25
Is Donald Trump too weak to be a strongman?
8/14/2025
With a summit in Alaska and national guard troops in DC, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Susan Glasser of the New Yorker about the week that may dent the US president’s ‘strongman’ image
Duration:00:23:56
Trump, Sydney Sweeney and the ‘war on woke’
8/8/2025
Donald Trump needed his Maga base to focus on something other than the Jeffrey Epstein files. Enter Sydney Sweeney and the uproar over a jeans advert. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to politics reporter Amanda Marcotte about ‘cancel culture’ being a useful tool in a political crisis
Duration:00:28:45
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