Our predictions for the year... The 2025 Time Capsule!

Feb 14, 2025

The hosts dive into their speculations for 2025, contemplating how many stars might grace the US flag. They reflect on past predictions while debating the implications of a potential government shutdown. The conversation shifts to Donald Trump's legacy and international relations, highlighting tech rivalries between figures like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Legal challenges facing Jill Biden add another layer of intrigue as they analyze the Democratic Party's strategies for the upcoming midterms and the evolving political landscape.

Ask episode

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

Intro

00:00 • 2min

Reflecting on Past Predictions and Future Possibilities

01:56 • 2min

Predictions of an Imminent Government Shutdown

03:37 • 2min

Speculations on Politics, Technology, and Social Media

05:27 • 11min

Legal Predicaments and Political Influence

16:02 • 4min

Election Dynamics and Predictions

19:40 • 14min

Episode Prediction Game and Listener Engagement

34:01 • 3min

Americast makes its predictions for 2025 as Donald Trump continues to create headlines with his first 100 days as president. Justin, Sarah, Anthony and Marianna make an audio time capsule of predictions, with plenty of suggestions from Americasters. It’s something we promised to do after the election, but with a packed news schedule, we’re belatedly bringing it to you now!

How many stars will be on the US flag by the end of the year? Who will be the winner of the tech world? How will the Trump presidency end? Only the time capsule well tell…

HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Sarah Smith, North America Editor • Marianna Spring, Social Media Investigations Correspondent • Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent

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 Rufus Gray. The technical producer was Mike 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