About this episode
What do we know about President Trump’s long term strategy when it comes to dealing with Russia, and where does that leave America’s relationship with Europe and Ukraine? Justin, Sarah and Anthony get an inside view from Celeste Wallander, one of Biden and Obama’s top security staffers who has been in meetings with Vladimir Putin. How does the Russian leader behave during negotiations, and what advice does she have for the Trump administration? We also look at what Trump’s reset of US/Russia relations means for Europe, and the war in Ukraine. HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Sarah Smith, North America Editor • Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent GUEST: • Celeste Wallander, Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense (2022-25) 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 This episode was made by Chris Flynn with Rufus Gray and Claire Betzer. The technical producer was Michael Regaard. 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 The Global Story, The Today Podcast, and of course Newscast and Ukrainecast. 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. The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd The Today Podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r Newscast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p05299nl Ukrainecast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0bqztzm