Shows / American Friction
American Friction
Does what’s going on in American politics scare and bemuse you? Want to know what Trump is up to, without pulling your hair out? Then you need American Friction, the UK podcast about US politics – from the makers of Oh God, What Now? and The Bunker. Every Friday and Monday, we unpack the big issues, speak to leading experts and talk with blockbuster commentators from the United States to explain the latest news and the big issues with hosts Jacob Jarvis (ex-Newsweek), Chris Jones (Podmasters)…
Episodes
American FrictionWill Trump’s Epstein denials ever end?
Trump is once again denying sending Epstein the creepiest card ever which is even more creepy than we first thought. Will the weird denials ever end? Will…
American FrictionCharlie Kirk and America’s political violence epidemic
The fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk has sent shockwaves across the globe. Discussion of it has been confused and in many cases problematic. Chris and Jarv sit…
American Friction'Everything Trump is doing is unpopular' – Molly Jong-Fast on America's MAGA reckoning
Trump is taking America on a course that nobody is happy with, even members of his own party and movement. Molly Jong-Fast, Vanity Fair correspondent, host of…
American FrictionTrump takes on death, Epstein victims, China and Venezuela
Trump is alive, or at least that’s what he wants you to think. He’s been on one since rising from the fake dead, we unpack what’s going on with best friend of…
American FrictionNeo-Nazi America and Trump – A love-hate relationship
Donald Trump’s relationship with America’s far right is no secret. So has his second coming only served to embolden the neo-Nazi movement further – or are the…
American FrictionWhite House clown - Trump’s circus show goes on
Donald Trump’s recent cabinet meeting was everything we’ve come to expect - a circus. All of his secretaries were competing with one another to see who could…
American FrictionTrump vs. Newsom – Battle of the attention whores
Ooh they’re thirsty! Trump and Newsom have been battling it out for the headlines, with the California Governor trying to take the fight to the president. Will…
American FrictionTrump goes gaga over Putin – America's latest embarrassment
Trump went all weak at the knees when he got to meet his idol Vladimir Putin this week. How embarrassing for America was their get together? Plus, Chris…
American FrictionTrump, Texas and the death of democracy – Inside the gerrymandering war
There’s weird political meddling happening in Texas and it all revolves around “gerrymandering”. What’s that all about, then? David Daley, author of…
American FrictionTrump, Big Balls and Washington – Explained
Trump has sent in troops in a bid to take over Washington, D.C. in a draconian move seemingly sparked by a bloke called Big Balls being attacked. Nope, us…
American FrictionTrump vs. the US economy – If it’s broke, don’t break it more!
Trump’s economic plans of tariffs for the sake of tariffs ain’t working well. We speak to Mark Zandi, from Moody’s Analytics, to find out why it’s all going so…
American FrictionTrump: I hate numbers but I love Sydney Sweeney!
Trump has waged war on statistics as he looks to take charge of the truth in America. Meanwhile, people are losing it over Sydney Sweeney and her jeans/genes –…
American FrictionWhy hasn’t Trump stopped Netanyahu?
Trump “broke” with Netanyahu recently by accepting the reality that people, including many children, are starving in Gaza. But despite this slight change in…
American FrictionTrump's crazy week – Scotland rants, Epstein trouble, the Unabomber and more!
Trump has been getting weirder and somehow MAGA and the GOP are ignoring it. Plus, he’s talking himself in knots over Epstein — does he understand how big a…
American FrictionTrump vs. the media – Has he killed it or is he keeping it alive?
Donald Trump continues to bully news outlets in the US, suing Murdoch and seemingly getting Stephen Colbert fired. Why can’t the media stand up to him? Is it…
American FrictionTrump’s Epstein distraction plan – Remember Obama and Clinton?!?!
Trump’s really pulling out all the stops and playing all the old hits to try and distract from the Epstein list. Even though it doesn’t exist and he’s…
American FrictionAfter Trump and Biden – Can young people reclaim politics?
American politicians are too old. So, how can more young people win? Jarv and Chris speak to Amanda Litman, who is the president of Run for Something, an…
American FrictionWhat Trump's massive Epstein meltdown means
Oh Trump, you can’t get the QAnon supporters too upset! They like you! But with his Epstein list denials and combative stance on the whole subject, the…
American FrictionTrump vs. the climate crisis – Denial, cuts and tragic consequences
The tragic situation in Texas is bringing into focus the horrific and fatal consequences of Trump’s cuts. As he continues to gut agencies focused on the…
American FrictionWhy Elon Musk’s ‘America Party’ is doomed – plus, Grok goes full Nazi!
Elon Musk wants to start a new political party – and obviously that’s a terrible idea! We discuss why it would fail and why he needs to stop being such a weird…
American FrictionTrump vs. Iran – Foreign policy led by extortion?
Donald Trump’s involvement in the conflict between Israel and Iran has got us thinking – does he have any idea how foreign policy works at all? What is leading…
American FrictionThe ugly truth behind Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill
Donald Trump’s trademark Big Beautiful Bill has passed – but not after a whole lot of scrutiny. What state is it in now, and what real-life impacts will it…
American FrictionInside America's "lawless" Supreme Court – with Leah Litman
The US Supreme Court hasn’t been working well of late. To discuss why it’s so malfunctioning, Jarv speaks to Leah Litman, author of Lawless: How the Supreme…
American FrictionZohran Mamdani: What his win means for Democrats
Zohran Mamdani’s primary win has “baffled” establishment Democrats who can’t imagine why a young candidate with big new ideas might do well. We discuss what…
American FrictionInside the Republican Party's long war on democracy
Trump hates democracy – but that’s not exactly something new for a leading Republican. To understand the history of the GOP hating people they don’t like being…
American FrictionEvil and weird – Trump's ten year review!
How was the last decade for you? Well, I’m guessing Trump made it a little bit worse. Ten years after he descended that golden escalator, we look back on the…
American FrictionTrump's lapdog – How Congress gave its power away
With Trump going feral you’d hope that Congress would do something to keep him in check. But that doesn’t appear to be the case whatsoever. And, it’s not a new…
American FrictionWelcome to Trump’s police state
Trump finally appears to be getting what he wants – a draconian police state he can rule. Jarv, Chris and Nikki are joined by Asawin Suebsaeng, a senior…
American FrictionInside the LA protests: “This is a fight for survival”
The news has focused heavily on sensational images from LA, but what is the real feeling among protestors – and how did this all escalate? Ben Camacho is a…
American FrictionWhy Trump wants the Los Angeles protests to boil over
The scenes in Los Angeles are Trump’s fault – and it’s clear he wanted the situation to crank up, and he wants to make things worse. Nikki and Jarv discuss why…
American FrictionMAGA vs. the CIA and the FBI – How US intelligence works and why it matters
America has the biggest intelligence operation in the world – but that wasn’t always the case. And under Trump – it might be completely trashed and pointless…
American FrictionTrump vs. Musk goes nuclear — The girls are fighting!
Musk and Trump’s messy breakup hit new nights this week. We recorded a whole episode, then it went nuts — so Nikki and Jarv jumped on for a late night call and…
American FrictionFox News: The Trump propaganda factory explained
Fox News is weird and it’s absolutely huge. To talk about its ties to the Trump admin and how influential it is, Chris and Jarv spoke to Matt Gertz, senior…
American FrictionElon Musk, we hardly knew ye – with special guest Molly Jong-Fast
Elon Musk is packing his bags, he’s ready to go and he’d hate to wake you up to say good bye. But, is he really leaving politics, or is he still crawling like…
- American Friction
How Trump and RFK Jr. are risking a global health crisis
From cuts to Medicaid to trying to remove fluoride from water – Trump’s administration is making America's health worse off. Dr Celine Gounder is the…
American FrictionThe big Trump bill and the big Biden conspiracy theory!
Trump’s “big beautiful bill” made it through the House, so we discuss why this caused so many issues for the president and what it means for everyone else…
American FrictionWhat does it take to fight back against Trump?
Protests are on the rise across the US against Trump and his policies. What impact will they have? What sorts are the most effective? And how do people get…
American FrictionTrump: The most corrupt president ever goes on tour!
Trump wants a new plane and why shouldn’t he be given one by a foreign state his family also does lots of business with? Oh yeah, there’s that thing called…
American FrictionHow to handle Trump being a "blathering moron" – with Jamelle Bouie of The New York Times
It’s obvious to us all that Trump is terrible – but some people seem to struggle to say that. Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times never pulls his punches…
American FrictionInside Trump's latest plan to destroy America
Trump’s budget looks like a disaster, as he pledges to cut more spending on anything he doesn’t care about. This week he’s taking on greedy children with too…
American FrictionRFK Jr. is totally wrong about autism. Here's why
RFK Jr. won’t stop talking about autism – and his comments are anti-science, wrong and generally offensive. So, we wanted to speak about just how bizarre and…
American FrictionTrump’s horrid 100 days – The worst bits you might have missed!
Trump’s first 100 days have been so awful that you’d be forgiven for forgetting some of the worst bits. Nikki, Chris and Jarv recap the horrible moments, and…
American FrictionTrump’s chaotic economy – An idiot’s guide!
Donald Trump’s economic chaos is hard to keep track of – even if you’re an expert. Well, we’re not experts – so we got one in to help us out. Mark Zandi, chief…
American FrictionTrump vs. America, JD Vance vs. the Pope and Hegseth vs. himself
It’s tough to do this show every week and make sense of what’s happening! And this week is one of the wildest yet so we figured we’d just let it rip… Nikki…
American FrictionDonald Trump vs. human rights
Donald Trump made it abundantly clear he doesn’t care about human rights this week, if it were ever in doubt. Nikki, Chris and Jarv unpack another horrifying…
American FrictionTrump and Bukele – Inside the president's disturbing fascination with El Salvador
Trump’s draconian move of deporting people to El Salvador with no due process disgusted onlookers – but unfortunately there could be worse to come. Nikki…
American FrictionTrump’s tariff u-turn — Why is he like this?!
Donald Trump’s U-turn on global tariffs was his genius strategy all along, according to his most loyal minions. But anyone conscious can see that blatantly…
American FrictionTrump third term – Why we need to take his threats seriously
Trump has said there are ways he could run for a third term. But, are there any which are legal and not insane? Jarv and Chris are joined by Casey Burgat, host…
American FrictionAre Trump's tariffs breaking the world?
Trump’s tariffs speech was as weird and confusing as you’d imagine – and has ended up causing more frustration than liberation. What’s going on and is it good…
American Friction"Democrats need to grow a f*cking spine!” – Kat Abughazaleh on her run for Congress
Democrat incumbents are bracing for a raft of primary challengers in upcoming elections. Among those vying for a seat is Kat Abughazaleh, who’s appeared on the…
American FrictionSignal sh*tshow gives the Dems some ammunition!
The Pete Hegseth Signal chat disaster has finally put MAGA on the backfoot and given the Dems some ammunition. Nikki, Chris and Jarv discuss the fallout and…
American FrictionWho is Pete Hegseth? And could he destroy the US military?
Trump’s Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is at the centre of a scandal – so how bad things could things get under his watch? After a journalist was…
American FrictionTrump and Musk vs. America’s safety net
Trump and Musk are taking an axe to chunks of America’s social security infrastructure – so just how badly will this hurt ordinary citizens? Justin Glawe…
American FrictionThe Trump dictatorship begins
Donald Trump has been on a power grabbing spree – is he firmly behaving like a dictator? Nikki, Chris and Jarv discuss the latest US political fallout and…
American FrictionEverything Trump is getting wrong about immigration
Donald Trump takes being anti-immigration to a new extreme as president. On a human level, it’s clear for many to see why his policies are abhorrent. But, on a…
American FrictionTrump tanks the economy and becomes a Tesla salesman!
Donald Trump is tanking the US economy – what’s going to go wrong next? And how’s his job as a Tesla salesman going? We unpack all the latest American…
American FrictionDo Native Americans have a voice in the United States?
For centuries, Native Americans, Alaskans, and Hawaiians have faced hardship at the hands of the US federal government. Because of that, participation within…
American FrictionWhy did Trump say that?! – His first major speech unpacked
Trump’s first major speech as president was about as gross as you’d expect. What substance was there – and how much was just dishing out punishment to…
American FrictionTrump and Zelenskyy’s Oval Office clash – what happens now?
Trump and Zelenskyy’s fallout in the Oval Office, egged on by Vice President JD Vance, shocked onlookers and has left the world reeling. So, what comes next?…
American FrictionIs the tide turning on Elon Musk?
Elon Musk seems to be p*ssing off everyone – including members of the Trump cabinet. But, the president is still backing him and he’s still ploughing on with…