How can Democrats persuade more voters to like them? (with Ben Rhodes, Obama’s former senior advisor)
Americast
BBC
4.3 • 3.1K Ratings
🗓️ 26 June 2026
⏱️ 43 minutes
🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What should Democrats be doing when it comes to challenging Donald Trump, and in particular, why are Democrat politicians struggling to connect with voters? In this episode, Ben Rhodes joins Americast and gives Justin his current view on the Democrats (and whether they should avoid lecturing voters) plus, why Republicans have been more successful at getting their message out in the digital sphere. What are they doing more effectively than the Democrats?
Ben Rhodes was a speech writer and Deputy National Security Advisor to President Obama and is now the co-host of the popular Pod Save the World podcast. They also discuss Ben’s latest book “All We Say: The Battle for American Identity” which explores American history through the lens of 15 speeches; from Benjamin Franklin to President Trump.
Are we living through a unique moment in time or can we learn more about our present through a study of the past? Have arguments over immigration, citizenry, race and religion always been part of the American story? And, as negotiations continue between the US and Iran, Ben Rhodes gives us an inside view after his experience negotiating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) directly with Iran in 2015. What sort of deal could Trump strike with Iran and should we trust it?
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
HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter
GUEST: • Ben Rhodes, former Deputy National Security Advisor under President Obama and author of All We Say: The Battle for American Identity, A History in 15 Speeches
This episode was made by Alix Pickles, Bethan Ashmead Latham, Purvee Pattni and Tom Gillett. The technical producer was Rohan Madison. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
If you want to be notified every time we publish a new episode, please subscribe to us on BBC Sounds by hitting the subscribe button on the app.
You can now listen to Americast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Americast”. It works on most smart speakers.
US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony’s BBC newsletter: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155
Americast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Americast also makes lots of other podcasts, including Newscast. If you enjoy Americast (and if you're reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below.
Newscast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p05299nl Top Comment: BBC Sounds - Top Comment - Available Episodes Radical: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd
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
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts |
| 0:04.5 | Newscast is on the face of it, a podcast about the news. |
| 0:11.2 | But it's also perhaps the world's most athletic podcast, |
| 0:14.0 | we have BBC correspondents dashing in and out, |
| 0:16.3 | ready to give us a deeper understanding of the biggest stories of the day. |
| 0:19.9 | Thankfully, we let them catch their breath before we actually start recording the podcast. |
| 0:24.1 | Listen to Newscast every day on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:27.6 | What's the future of the American left? |
| 0:29.3 | What happens when Donald Trump departs the stage? |
| 0:32.2 | There's a lot of discussion about it and we frequently talk about it on the podcast. |
| 0:36.3 | But I'm going to talk about it now with |
| 0:37.7 | someone who really has thought it through and knows his stuff on this, partly because he was |
| 0:43.8 | a member of the Obama administration. He knows how Democrats can win and can govern, but also |
| 0:49.9 | he thinks a lot about the future of the party and the way it's got to appeal to Americans. |
| 0:55.1 | So, welcome to AmeriCast with Ben Rhodes. |
| 1:01.0 | AmeriCast. |
| 1:01.8 | AmeriCast from BBC News. |
| 1:04.1 | You hear that sound? |
| 1:05.2 | Oh, I think when I hear that sound, it reminds me of money. |
| 1:09.0 | We didn't start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it. |
| 1:13.2 | This is a big cover-up, and this administration is engaged in it. |
| 1:16.6 | This guy has Trump-arrangement syndrome. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.