A Merry Cast: Past, Present and Future of US Politics

Americast

BBC

News, Government, Politics

4.3 • 3.1K Ratings

🗓️ 28 December 2023

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Americast reimagines the Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol, to understand the changing landscape of American politics.

They are joined by Heather Cox Richardson, historian and author of the hugely popular newsletter "Letters from an American", who helps guide them through the past, the present and the future of the United States on this special Christmas edition.

HOSTS: • Sarah Smith, North America editor • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Marianna Spring, disinformation and social media correspondent • Anthony Zurcher, North America correspondent

GUEST: • Heather Cox Richardson, author

GET IN TOUCH: • Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB • Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 • Email Americast@bbc.co.uk • Or use #Americast

Find out more about our award-winning “undercover voters” here: bbc.in/3lFddSF.

This episode was made by George Dabby with Catherine Fusillo. The technical producer was Jack Graysmark. The series producer is George Dabby. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts.
0:04.7	Justin, have you seen Jill Biden's White House Christmas video this year?
0:09.6	Yay!
0:11.6	Yay! It's been compared to the hunger game.
0:17.0	Yeah, I haven't seen the hunger games actually, but I have seen the video and it's just weird.
0:22.0	It's got a load of kind of random people
0:24.8	jumping in and out of shot. It's sort of like the nutcracker so it's meant to be like the
0:29.1	sort of nutcracker ballet and they're all kind of dancing it's actually using that
0:32.1	Ticock effect which is where it's sort of like the phone is following you.
0:36.2	I think that might have been what they were trying to do. What's it meant to be telling me?
0:40.2	Just wishing you a Merry Christmas. It made me feel quite unsettled.
0:44.0	Well, it's quite social media inspired and it hasn't inspired
0:48.0	necessarily too many fans online.
0:51.0	Quite I think people have said, oh, this is a bit bizarre. And a lot of people
0:54.8	have been comparing it to another first lady or former first lady because Joe Biden's not
1:00.7	the first lady to be taking flack for the White House Christmas video.
1:05.8	Melania, Donald Trump's wife, took a fair bit of criticisms for hers, which could not be more different.
1:11.7	Was very Instagram inspired.
1:13.4	Lots of kind of beges and gold.
1:19.4	Yeah I remember.
1:22.4	Yeah, very, very beige and gold and light and white with her kind of
1:27.0	I think she was the only person in it is that just her just her. Why do they do these things?
	...

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