Episode details
News · 10 Nov 2025 · 33 mins · Available for over a year
President Donald Trump has threatened a $1 billion lawsuit against the BBC, accusing the broadcaster of making a “false and defamatory” edit to his January 6th speech in a Panorama programme. BBC chair Samir Shah has apologised for what he called an “error of judgement” over the edit and said the corporation is weighing how to respond.
In this episode Justin Webb is joined by Anthony Zurcher and Marianna Spring to unpack what Trump actually said on January 6, how his long-running conflict with mainstream media outlets has played out, and what the row might mean for the BBC’s reputation and editorial processes.
Other items discussed in the episode include the US government shutdown, Elon Musk’s plans for a rival to Wikipedia, and whether a political comeback by Barack Obama is conceivable.
Hosts:
• Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter
• Anthony Zurcher, North America correspondent
• Marianna Spring, Social Media Investigations correspondent
Get in touch:
• Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB
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Credits:
This episode was made by Rufus Gray with Alix Pickles and Grace Reeve. Technical producer: Ben Andrews. Series producer: Purvee Pattni. Senior news editor: Sam Bonham.
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Further reading and related shows:
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. If you enjoy this show, you might also like Newscast, Ukrainecast, Radical and The Global Story:
Newscast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p05299nl
Ukrainecast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0bqztzm
Radical: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r
The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd
Programme website and more episodes: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0mfxsk5
More episodes: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p07h19zz
