BBC Reboots Emily Maitlis’ ‘Americast’ Podcast With New Hosts On the Same Day Her New Global Show Launches
variety.comK.J. Yossman It seems the feud between former “Newsnight” host Emily Maitlis and her former employer, the BBC, shows no signs of letting up.
Less than a week after former Maitlis publicly excoriated the BBC during her MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival, the corporation has hastily rebooted its “Americast” podcast – which Maitlis first launched alongside then North America editor Jon Sopel in 2020 – with an introductory episode posted today, Aug.
30, the very same day Maitlis and Sopel’s new podcast series “The News Agents” launches at Global. The BBC announced this morning that Today presenter and former BBC North America editor Justin Webb would front “Americast” alongside Sopel’s replacement for the North America editorship Sarah Smith and disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring.
The BBC’s North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher (known as “the Zurch”) also returns for the show. Webb apparently interrupted his vacation in Spain to record the introductory episode alongside Smith, who dialled in from the BBC’s studio in Washington D.C. “At the moment of course [the podcast] is coming back in a slightly strange way because we are quite literally all over the place,” Webb said on the almost-eight minute episode. “I’m in Spain – I would say what time it was here only I’m not quite sure because it’s, well, it’s that kind of holiday – I’m glad to know you’re not on holiday though Sarah, and you have at least the advantage of being able to anchor us in the place we’re meant to be talking about.” Maitlis and Sopel’s “The News Agents” is also set to launch on Tuesday, although at the time of publishing no episode was yet available on Global’s podcast player.
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