Politics Weekly

This week, guest host Rafael Behr puts some epoch-defining questions to the former US ambassador to Nato Nicholas Burns. How does the president convince the Europeans that America is reliable? How does Washington begin to engage with Vladimir Putin’s Russia? Does ‘the west’ exist any more?

Heather Stewart and Richard Partington run through the main budget headlines. Andrew Gimson and Nicola McEwan discuss the state of the Union. Plus, Steven Morris speaks to Peter Robertson about how the Welsh food and drink industry has coped since Brexit

As Donald Trump prepares to address the crowds at the Conservative Political Action Conference this weekend, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Evan McMullin, who is leading the charge to create an alternative option to the current Republican party for conservatives

Jessica Elgot and Polly Toynbee discuss the government’s latest plans to exit lockdown. Richard Partington and Charlotte Alldritt look ahead to next week’s budget, and Larry Elliott and Katy Balls discuss the man behind the budget, Rishi Sunak.

As Joe Biden visited Milwaukee, Wisconsin this week, our guest presenter Kenya Evelyn spoke to the state representative David Bowen about the administration’s early obligations to the Black voters who swung the election in the Democrats’ favour, racial equity in pandemic and vaccine plans, and how the president should combat white supremacy

Heather Stewart and Gaby Hinsliff discuss vaccine passports and the government’s push for legislation to protect free speech in English universities. Aamna Modhin speaks to Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones about why the Conservative party needs to do better with black British voters. Plus, Peter Walker, Sarah Boseley and Rob Hutton try to get into the mind of Boris Johnson as he cautiously prepares to start lifting lockdown restrictions

Jonathan Freedland is joined by Prof Sarah Binder of the Brookings Institution and George Washington University to look at what has happened in Senate trial proceedings so far, and what is most likely yet to come

Jessica Elgot and John Crace look at why the latest coronavirus travel restrictions might not work the way the government expects. Plus, Helen Davidson and Jon Henley on how the world sees the UK’s Covid response

This week Jonathan Freedland speaks to David Miliband. The former UK foreign secretary and current president of the International Rescue Committee explains why Joe Biden’s announcement on Thursday about resettling thousands of refugees in the US is important, following Donald Trump’s abandonment of the cause.

Heather Stewart and Sonia Sodha talk about what’s happening in Westminster, Lisa O’Carroll reports from the border in Northern Ireland and Polly Mackenzie and Torsten Bell discuss the £20 uplift in universal credit.