American Friction

Elon Musk is taking over and shutting down chunks of government with help from his merry band of young mega nerds. What’s going on? And why is nobody stopping him? And Trump is talking about yet more expansion for the United States, now turning his focus to Gaza. Why’s he pushing for a new frontier?  Back us on Patreon – we need your help to keep going. Get ad free episodes, extra bits and merch: patreon.com/americanfriction This week Chris and Jarv are joined once again by Casey Burgat, author of We Hold These "Truths": How to Spot the Myths that are Holding America Back – who is their very close second favourite American, Nikki’s still first. Plus new guest Greg Grandin, Yale professor and author of the upcoming book America, America: A New History of the New World, joins to talk through the history of American imperialism and expansion. Buy We Hold These "Truths": How to Spot the Myths that are Holding America Back through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund American Friction by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.Buy America, America: A New History of the New World through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund American Friction by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.Follow us on Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/americanfric.bsky.social We’re now on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AmericanFrictionPod Follow us on social media: TwitterInstagram TikTokWritten and presented by Chris Jones and Jacob Jarvis. Audio editor: Simon Williams. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Executive producer: Martin Bojtos. Artwork by James Parrett. Music: Orange Factory Music. AMERICAN FRICTION is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Not satisfied with picking on Canada, Greenland, and Panama already - Trump continues his bullying spree. This time it’s Colombia that’s the target – Why? And for how much longer can he get away with being so brutish? Plus, over half of Americans see China as the biggest threat to the US. How will Trump manage the relationship with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and could Elon Musk act as a middleman between the two nations? Isaac Stone Fish is the founder and CEO of Strategy Risks and the author of America Second: how America’s elites are making China stronger. He joins the pod to go through it all!Buy America Second: how America’s elites are making China stronger through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund American Friction by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.Back us on Patreon – we need your help to keep going. Get ad free episodes, extra bits and merch: patreon.com/americanfriction We’re now on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AmericanFrictionPod Follow us on social media: TwitterInstagram TikTokWritten and presented by Chris Jones and Nikki McCann Ramírez. Audio editor: Simon Williams. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis Executive producer: Martin Bojtos. Artwork by James Parrett. Music: Orange Factory Music. AMERICAN FRICTION is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trump has been on a pardoning spree and an executive order bender in his first days as president. How crazy has this been, what will actually happen — and how bad is it for America? Nikki, Chris and Jarv review the first week and rope in support from Tim Dickinson, senior politics writer at Rolling Stone.Back us on Patreon – we need your help to keep going. Get ad free episodes, extra bits and merch: patreon.com/americanfriction Follow us on Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/americanfric.bsky.social We’re now on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AmericanFrictionPod Follow us on social media: TwitterInstagram TikTokWritten and presented by Jacob Jarvis and Nikki McCann Ramírez. Audio editor: Simon Williams. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Executive producer: Martin Bojtos. Artwork by James Parrett. Music: Orange Factory Music. AMERICAN FRICTION is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Donald Trump officially became president on Monday – delivering a speech which was predictably full of lies, exaggerations and right-wing nonsense. Nikki and Jarv unpack the madness, and add the context that Trump certainly didn’t. Oh and they talk about Elon Musk doing a hand gesture which looked pretty suspect… Back us on Patreon – we need your help to keep going. Get ad free episodes, extra bits and merch: patreon.com/americanfriction Follow us on Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/americanfric.bsky.social We’re now on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AmericanFrictionPod Follow us on social media: TwitterInstagram TikTokWritten and presented by Jacob Jarvis and Nikki McCann Ramírez. Audio editor: Simon Williams. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Executive producer: Martin Bojtos. Artwork by James Parrett. Music: Orange Factory Music. AMERICAN FRICTION is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Donald Trump is about to officially become president and he’s been bragging about everything he’ll do right away. But, what can he really get done on day one? Our friend Casey Burgat, host of the Mastering the Room podcast and author of the upcoming book We Hold These "Truths": How to Spot the Myths that are Holding America Back, joins us to discuss. And, just what is America’s place in the world? Alan Friedman, author of The End of America? A Guide to the New World Disorder, talks us through the global positions of Trump, what the landscape he is coming into looks like – and what his presidency might mean for us. Back us on Patreon – we need your help to keep going. Get ad free episodes, extra bits and merch: patreon.com/americanfriction Follow us on Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/americanfric.bsky.social We’re now on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AmericanFrictionPod Follow us on social media: TwitterInstagram TikTokWritten and presented by Chris Jones and Jacob Jarvis. Audio editor: Simon Williams. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Executive producer: Martin Bojtos. Artwork by James Parrett. Music: Orange Factory Music. AMERICAN FRICTION is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trump is refusing to deny that he could invade Greenland and elsewhere, while he’s also set on renaming a few places to make ‘em more American. What the hell is he on about? And, Mark Zuckerberg has been zuck-ing up to Trump lately – is he just as bad as Musk? Plus, independent investigative journalist Jacqueline Sweet was banned from X for digging into a conspiracy theory about the Twitter owner and buddy-in-chief. She talks to us about her busy week. Back us on Patreon – we need your help to keep going. Get ad free episodes, extra bits and merch: patreon.com/americanfriction Follow us on Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/americanfric.bsky.social We’re now on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AmericanFrictionPod Follow us on social media: TwitterInstagram TikTokWritten and presented by Chris Jones, Jacob Jarvis and Nikki McCann Ramírez. Audio editor: Simon Williams. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Executive producer: Martin Bojtos. Artwork by James Parrett. Music: Orange Factory Music. AMERICAN FRICTION is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Donald Trump is backing Elon Musk in a major clash with MAGA loyalists. So why is the president-to-be siding with the Tesla boss? Plus – we all know what happened on January 6th 2021. Should we be worried about any chaos this time out? Back us on Patreon – we need your help to keep going. Get ad free episodes, extra bits and merch: patreon.com/americanfriction Follow us on Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/americanfric.bsky.social We’re now on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AmericanFrictionPod Follow us on social media: TwitterInstagram TikTokWritten and presented by Chris Jones, Jacob Jarvis and Nikki McCann Ramírez. Audio editor: Simon Williams. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Executive producer: Martin Bojtos. Artwork by James Parrett. Music: Orange Factory Music. AMERICAN FRICTION is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

American politics has been a real treat this year, hasn’t it? Lol. Well, it’s been interesting at least so the gang unpacks the key moments and lessons from a year that saw Trump elected President again. Follow us on social media: TwitterInstagram TikTokSupport us on Patreon: patreon.com/americanfrictionWritten and presented by Chris Jones and Nikki McCann Ramírez. Audio editor: Simon Williams. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Executive producer: Martin Bojtos. Artwork by James Parrett. Music: Orange Factory Music. AMERICAN FRICTION is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Donald Trump might yet get punished over his hush money shenanigans — what’s going on with this never-ending legal saga? Plus — drones, stars and planes have made America’s right-wing angry and confused. Why have they dived into conspiracies and what’s the truth? As far as we know it anyway… Follow us on social media: TwitterInstagram TikTokSupport us on Patreon: patreon.com/americanfrictionWritten and presented by Chris Jones and Nikki McCann Ramírez. Audio editor: Simon Williams. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Executive producer: Martin Bojtos. Artwork by James Parrett. Music: Orange Factory Music. AMERICAN FRICTION is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

• Get 20% off a year’s Patreon support in our Black Friday sale. Why not ask for it for Christmas?Donald Trump’s first TV interview since winning the election didn’t disappoint, or did, depending on your point of view. Joining Kristen Welker on NBC News’s Meet the Press, he outlined his plan for the economy, immigration, and his “concepts of a plan” for healthcare. Did any of it make sense and is he already trying to spread the blame for impossible policy ideas? Plus, he claims the Democrats want all future elections to be decided exclusively by the Electoral College. Is that true? And is the voting system even fit for purpose? Writer, presenter, and host of WNYC Studio's Radiolab, Latif Nasser, joins the show to get into it all. Back us on Patreon – we need your help to keep going. Get ad free episodes, extra bits and merch: patreon.com/americanfriction Follow us on Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/americanfric.bsky.social We’re now on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AmericanFrictionPod Follow us on social media: TwitterInstagram TikTokWritten and presented by Chris Jones and Nikki McCann Ramírez. Audio editor: Tom Taylor. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Executive producer: Martin Bojtos. Artwork by James Parrett. Music: Orange Factory Music. AMERICAN FRICTION is a Podmasters Production. www.podmasters.co.uk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices