Americana: inside the USA

• Updated:
  Weekly
• Average duration:
  26 minutes

Recent episodes (9)

• 29 Nov 2009

  Mon, 30 Nov 09

  Duration:
  28 mins

  It's Thanksgiving week in the United States …a time when Americans pause to appreciate the bounty in their lives, visit with difficult family members, and gorge on way too much turkey. Matt Frei welcomes humorist and storyteller Garrison Keillor, creator of A Prairie Home Companion, to talk about what makes Thanksgiving so important for Americans. We also pay a visit to the site of the very first Thanksgiving, Plimoth Plantation, where a Pilgrim impersonator tries his best to sound like an early English settler. And David Plouffe, Barack Obama's campaign manager in 2008, gives his take on the week's news from Washington.

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• 22 Nov 2009

  Mon, 23 Nov 09

  Duration:
  28 mins

  As Sarah Palin kicks off her book tour around the nation, Americana takes time to learn more about the women that represent America as well as the women who work each day to make it run. Although females account for over 50 per cent of the population, women in the United States are under-represented in the halls of Congress and the boardrooms of corporate America. Matt Frei talks to National Public Radio's senior news analyst Cokie Roberts. She's the author of the best-selling book We Are Our Mothers' Daughters, and helps to highlight the week's top news as well as the many views and characterizations of women's lives in the United States. Matt Frei talks with Democratic Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez of California and Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee about the challenges of working in positions of political power and representing diverse constituencies. American women from around the nation weigh in on the challenges of the glass ceiling or lack thereof.

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• 15 Nov 2009

  Mon, 16 Nov 09

  Duration:
  28 mins

  Matt Frei talks to newsman George Stephanopoulos and civil rights attorney and political commentator Arsalan Iftikhar about the news that's in the forefront of American minds. Americana visits Dearborn, Michigan where community members discuss the challenges faced by American Muslims in the wake of the shootings at Fort Hood.

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• 8 Nov 2009

  Mon, 9 Nov 09

  Duration:
  29 mins

  Heads to sun soaked Los Angeles, California. Guest host David Willis is joined by satirist, comedian and commentator Harry Shearer. Also David rides in the news helicopter over the packed streets of Los Angeles and tags along with the LA's paparazzi to learn more about the industry. Plus American country music singer Toby Keith visits Americana with songs that embody the spirit of the USA.

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• 1 Nov 2009

  Mon, 2 Nov 09

  Duration:
  31 mins

  Matt Frei examines President Obama's love of golf and talks to Dana Perino. Also on the programme: If she looks like Sarah Palin and talks like Sarah Palin, does that mean that Michele Bachmann will be the new Sarah Palin? What exactly does a Governor do? Matt Frei talks with Governor Brian Schweitzer, who moved from ranching to running one of the largest states in the US, Montana.

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• 25 Oct 2009

  Mon, 26 Oct 09

  Duration:
  26 mins

  Matt Frei examines what some might call the engine of Wall Street: greed. The Obama administration is going after the hefty bonuses paid out in America's financial district, and Matt visits the street itself to get insider scoop from Rolling Stone magazine's Matt Taibbi, The Nation magazine's Katrina vanden Heuvel, and bonus consultant Marc Hodak. We also hear from a man who has been selling New York skyscrapers at a discount.

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• 18 Oct 2009

  Mon, 19 Oct 09

  Duration:
  25 mins

  Obama visits New Orleans; the decline in anchor-led journalism; small-town newspapers.

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• 11 Oct 2009

  Mon, 12 Oct 09

  Duration:
  26 mins

  Matt Frei hears about President Obama's Peace Prize, the current state of the US conservative movement, the American love of sex scandals and improving relations with Cuba.

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• 4 Oct 2009

  Mon, 5 Oct 09

  Duration:
  25 mins

  After Chicago learns that it will not host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, Americana talks to locals to learn who the real winners and losers are. Swag - the mugs, scarves, baseball hats and t-shirts sold on corners around the world - can be big money-makers and big message-senders. T-shirt fans from around the US weigh in on the impact a t-shirt can have. As the US Supreme Court begins its new session, Americana talks to top constitutional law experts about what's on the Court's docket and the possible implications these Supreme Court cases may have on the future of justice in the United States. Chickens are clucking and pecking their way into some surprisingly urban locations across the United States. Writer Susan Orlean reflects on what it means to have the feathered friends close at hand.

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