America Explained

May 01 2024 898
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America Explained is a podcast about American politics, foreign policy & culture for an international audience. Every fortnight it brings you the voices and perspectives shaping America - and its impact on the world - today. Hosted by historian and columnist Andy Gawthorpe, each fortnightly episode features analysis and interviews which help you understand a key issue in a way the regular news cycle never will. If something really big happens in-between, we’ll drop a bonus episode to keep you up to date.

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From the archive: Iran, the U.S., and the bomb

May 01 2024 35 mins  
*** Check out the America Explained Substack newsletter for a few written posts a month on the big issues in U.S. politics and foreign policy and no extra spam: https://amerex.substack.com/ ***In this episode I spoke to Gregory Brew, deputy editor of the Texas National Security Review and a historian of U.S.-Iranian relations, about U.S. relations with Iran. We talked about the dee

The Supreme Court is more complicated than you think

Apr 16 2024 31 mins  
*** *** Receive 15% off the America Explained newsletter *** ***Andy and Catherine go over some lesser-known and surprising recent Supreme Court decisions covering democracy, animal rights, and Native affairs. CreditsHost - Andy GawthorpeCo-host - Catherine Wood

Why America really fears China

Apr 02 2024 46 mins  
*** *** Receive 15% off the America Explained newsletter *** ***Nowadays we're used to the idea that antagonism exists between the West and China, but we don't often pause to consider that this antagonism long predates China's rising economic and military power. Our guest today, Professor Jeffrey Crean from Tyler Junior College in Texas, is someone who has considered this - and he'

Why is American politics so depressing?

Mar 19 2024 21 mins  
*** *** Receive 15% off the America Explained newsletter *** ***In this special 100th episode of America Explained, Andy zooms out to look at what happened in the four years since the podcast launched to bring us back to this moment - one in which Donald Trump could once again become president of the United States.CreditsHost - Andy Gawthorpe

Will Ukraine gets its military aid?

Mar 05 2024 21 mins  
*** *** Receive 15% off the America Explained newsletter *** ***In this episode, Andy is joined by Martijn to talk about the hold-up in getting aid for Ukraine through the House of Representatives. How is it that Speaker Mike Johnson can single-handedly hold up this aid? And will Ukraine eventually get it?CreditsHost - Andy GawthorpeCo-host - Martijn van Ette

How should Europe prepare for Trump 2.0?

Feb 21 2024 46 mins  
*** *** Receive 15% off the America Explained newsletter *** ***In this special episode, Andy is interviewed by Phil Dobbie and Roger Herring of The Why Curve podcast about how Europe should prepare for a second Trump presidency. We talked about trade, alliances and democracy, as well as how Trump's re-election might lead to an undignified scramble to get on his good side.CreditsHo

Republican border sabotage - and worse

Feb 07 2024 24 mins  
*** *** Receive 15% off the America Explained newsletter *** ***The border is the big news in America right now. The Biden administration has embraced a hard-right approach to border security - but Republicans in Congress won't pass it because they want the president to look bad. Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is taking the law into his own hands - using arguments that date

Trump's weaknesses are becoming apparent

Jan 23 2024 24 mins  
*** *** Receive 15% off the America Explained newsletter *** ***Donald Trump has won early primary contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. But the results have highlighted some warning signs for his campaign. Plus, Ron DeSantis is gone. Why was anyone enthusiastic about him in the first place? Andy discusses.CreditsHost - Andy Gawthorpe

From the archive: What did the Founders really think?

Jan 09 2024 21 mins  
*** Receive 15% off the America Explained newsletter ***Since our last episode it was the Fourth of July, the holiday that many politicians and commentators like to mark by talking nonsense about the Founding Fathers. In this episode Andy explores all of the ways in which popular debate often gets the Founders wrong, and explains how the founding generation was riven by all kinds o

Merry Christmas from America Explained!

Dec 26 2023 1 mins  
Merry Christmas!