Sarah is on holiday so the BBC's US Special Correspondent Katty Kay steps into her breach on Americast, equipped with stories of Dr Anthony Fauci saving a guest at the prestigious Gridiron dinner.

The team speak to Marianne Williamson, who found fame as Oprah Winfrey's 'spiritual advisor', and who now wants to usurp Joe Biden to become the Democratic nominee for President, despite newly-emerged allegations of bullying her staffers.

There are other challenges for Biden this week, though - Marianna Spring talks us through how the president's controversial plans to approve oil drilling in Alaska are being received online.

And a former economist at the United States Department of the Treasury, Brad Setser, explains how damaging the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank is for the US.

Americast is presented by the BBC’s US Special Correspondent Katty Kay, Today host Justin Webb, social media and disinformation correspondent Marianna Spring, and North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher.

Find out more about our award winning "undercover voters" here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-63530374.

Email Americast@bbc.co.uk with your questions and comments and send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp, to +44 3301239480.

This episode was made by Rufus Gray and Alix Pickles. The studio director was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor was Simon Watts. The senior news editor was Sam Bonham.