Emily Maitlis publicly excoriated the BBC and now the channel is coming out with Maitlis’ ‘Americast’ Podcast Reboot

The conflict between former “Newsnight” host Emily Maitlis and her old company, the BBC, appears to be continuing unabated.
Less than a week after former Maitlis publicly criticised the BBC during her MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival, the organisation has hurriedly revived its “Americast” podcast. Maitlis first launched the show with then North America editor Jon Sopel in 2020. The new podcast series “The News Agents” debuts at Global on the same day.

This morning, the BBC said that Justin Webb, a presenter for Today and a former BBC North America editor, will co-host “Americast” with misinformation and social media journalist Marianna Spring and Sarah Smith, Sopel’s successor as the region’s editor. Anthony Zurcher, a.k.a. “the Zurch,” the BBC’s North American correspondent, also makes a comeback for the programme.

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.”

After airing their first episode in 2020, Maitlis and Sopel produced over 106 more. Since both broadcasters revealed in February that they would be leaving the BBC for the corporate media business Global, no new episodes have been released.

Despite the initial appearance of amicability, Maitlis used her platform at the Edinburgh TV Festival last week to air her complaints with the BBC, accusing it of allowing a “active Tory agent” to influence its news agenda and asserting that the BBC had apologised too hastily after she was accused of violating impartiality rules. The lecture, which Sopel attended in the front row of, may be heard in full on “The News Agents” podcast on Global’s website.

The BBC denied Maitlis’ claims.

“It’s the perfect time for Americast to return, as the next year brings a massive range of engaging topics for us to cover,” said the BBC’s senior editor for news podcasts Jonathan Aspinwall in a statement today. “The congressional mid-terms and the primaries and campaigns leading up to them will provide ready-made drama, with winners and losers among many interesting personalities.”