The State of It: USA

The threat from Iran
The Trump administration has given mixed messages about exactly why US jets have been moved from RAF Fairford. It's still unclear whether there was a terror plot and whether Iran was involved and no one has been charged, but there's speculation that Iran could be activating terror cells around the world.
Midterm U-turn
Donald Trump has made a rare U-turn. He has said he plans to pay for controversial television ads using funds from his Maga Inc. super Pac rather than the federal government after being accused of using taxpayers' money for campaign ads.
America's death penalty problem
The Pentagon has announced that the Fort Hood attacker, Nidal Hasan, will be executed by firing squad. Hasan fatally shot 13 unarmed US soldiers in 2009, injuring another 32. The announcement comes just after Tennessee's botched execution of Christa Pike. We look at the history of the death penalty in America and ask if there really is any way to kill someone without violating the US constitution, which bans cruel and unusual punishment.
What went wrong with Doge?
Katy has interviewed Michael Lewis whose new book Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State tells the story of the people who stood up against Doge. Elon Musk and his team of young cost-cutters would even set up camp in government buildings.

Katy Balls, Washington editor and columnist at The Times and The Sunday Times
Gerard Baker, columnist at The Times and editor at large at The Wall Street Journal

Producers: Euan Dawtrey, Harry Kitson
Executive producer: Molly Guinness

Picture: Getty Images
Audio: Reuters, @WhiteHouse on X

00:00 - Is Iran’s Strategy a Sign of Strength or Weakness?
00:18 - B-1 Stealth Bombers Pulled After RAF Fairford Arrests
01:35 - Washington Weighs the Iranian Drone Threat
04:38 - Are U.S. Bases Worldwide Becoming Easy Targets?
08:44 - Soaring Diesel Prices & Trump's Midterm Nightmare
10:53 - Trump Backs Down On Federal-Funded Campaign Ads
13:55 - The Death Penalty: Botched Executions vs. Firing Squads
21:42 - Michael Lewis Exposes What Really Happened Inside DOGE
23:32 - Why Elon Musk’s Government Cuts Completely Failed
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A blue wave is building across America, as Republicans brace for a brutal midterm reckoning. Red strongholds like Kansas, Oklahoma and Florida are starting to look vulnerable. Does President Trump even care?
The mystery surrounding RAF Fairford is only getting stranger, raising more questions than answers and exposing the fragility of the US-UK relationship. Is Marco Rubio right that a foreign actor is involved? And could it ultimately be good news for Andy Burnham?
And as the world wakes up to the potential dangers of AI, Trump is embracing America’s tech giants. Is he sleepwalking into a crisis?

Katy Balls, Washington editor and columnist at The Times and The Sunday Times
Gerard Baker, columnist at The Times and editor at large at The Wall Street Journal

Producers: Euan Dawtrey, Harry Kitson
Executive producer: Molly Guinness

Picture: Getty Images
Audio: Reuters

00:00 - Is a Republican Midterm Disaster Looming?
00:33 - The "Blue Tsunami" & Key Battlegrounds (Kansas, Florida, Texas)
06:33 - Is Trump Becoming an Electoral Liability?
09:18 - Fearing Subpoenas: The Final Years of a Trump Presidency
11:46 - UK Foreign Security Incident & US Reaction
17:06 - Trump's "Superintelligence" AI Summit & Silicon Valley Backlash
21:01 - AI Anxiety, Tech Billionaires, and Backlash from Voters
This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump and Andy Burnham have had their first meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Trump said that US-UK relations were better now than when Keir Starmer was prime minister. But he reiterated his opposition to the Chagos Islands deal. We look at what was said, what was not said and the body language between the two men.
Making sense of Trump's UNGA speech
In President Trump's UNGA speech he threatened to annihilate Iran but also said he might make a deal after the midterms. The Cuban delegation left the room when Trump called their country an “absolutely failed state” and said “it will fall”. Trump also said that AI should be renamed “super-intelligence”.
Less lame duck, More raging bull
We look at what we learned from the speech about Trump's foreign policy and his priorities. And what does it say about America that the president used the phrase “to the victor belong the spoils”?

Katy Balls, Washington editor and columnist at The Times and The Sunday Times
Gerard Baker, columnist at The Times and editor at large at The Wall Street Journal

Producer: Harry Kitson
Executive producer: Molly Guinness

Picture: Getty Images
Audio: Reuters
This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why is Donald Trump so relaxed about AI regulation?
After the Anthropic boss Dario Amodei called for AI regulation to save the human race, Trump said that his own IQ was the only guardrail needed to prevent an AI Apocalypse. Not everyone has been reassured by that. And President Trump's breezy attitude to AI may end up costing the Republicans votes.
How are rising gas prices impacting the 2026 US midterms?
All the warning signs on the US economy are flashing red, especially after Houthis in Yemen took over key Red Sea shipping routes. Are there any levers left to pull? The problem is all the options are bad.
Why did a Russian oligarch pay for Donald Trump Jr's wedding?
Umar Kremlev, who's a friend of President Putin, paid for wedding celebration for Donald Trump Jr. We look at how the White House is reacting, why Senate Democrats like Jon Ossoff are seizing on the story, and the dismay that Republicans are expressing behind closed doors.

Katy Balls, Washington editor and columnist at The Times and The Sunday Times
Gerard Baker, columnist at The Times and editor at large at The Wall Street Journal

Producer: Harry Kitson
Executive producer: Molly Guinness

Picture: Getty Images
Audio: All In, Reuters
This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katy Balls reports from the Republican midterm convention in Dallas where President Trump made a pledge that every adult will get a $5,000 dividend if the Republicans win the House and the Senate. That adds up to about $1.2 trillion.
Golden balloons were dropped and the crowd joined the president in repeating a vow to vote for "the greatest president in the history of the United States that loves us so much he can't even breathe".
JD Vance's speech was received well and the audience chanted "48", suggesting they'd like the vice-president to become the 48th president of the United States. Is he pulling ahead of Marco Rubio as the bookies' favourite to be the Republican candidate for 2028?

Katy Balls, Washington editor and columnist at The Times and The Sunday Times
Gerard Baker, columnist at The Times and editor at large at The Wall Street Journal

Producer: Harry Kitson
Executive producer: Molly Guinness

Picture: Getty Images
Audio: Reuters
This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.