Global News Podcast - The Global Story: US at 250 – your questions answered

Episode Date: July 5, 2026

As the United States celebrates 250 years since its founding, this week The Global Story has been exploring the surprising and often hidden ways the US has shaped the modern world. In this episode, listeners from The Global Story and Global News Podcast ask their questions to hosts Asma Khalid, Tristan Redman and Celia Hatton. BBC’s international editor, Jeremy Bowen, who has reported from more than 90 countries over the past 40 years, also joins.To hear more of the US and the World at 250 special episodes, search for The Global Story, wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

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How has America shaped the world? I'm Asma Khalid, host of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. As the United States marks its 250 year anniversary, we've been exploring the surprising and often hidden ways the U.S. has shaped the modern world. And today on the show, we answer your questions about this moment and what to expect in the years to come. From the BBC, it's The United States at 250. Listen to The Global Story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, it's Celia Hatton here from the Global News podcast. As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary,

we've teamed up with our sister podcast, The Global Story, to answer your questions about America's impact on the world. It's a great listen. This episode is part of a special series the Global Story has been doing, as host Asma Khalid explains. To hear more episodes, search for the global story wherever you get your BBC podcasts. This week, as the United States celebrates 250 years since its founding, we here at the Global Story have been marking the moment too,

with a very special series exploring the surprising and often hidden ways that the United States has shaped the modern world. Is the world a better place for having the United States in it? Interesting question. I think I have to have enough pride in my country to say yes. I feel like the American dream is alive, but not well. I believe that future historians will look back at this very time and conclude that it was the beginning of the end of American Empire.

The change is happening in China's economy represent a real threat to the United States' geopolitical hegemony. I was in Kenya and I had to choose between the two. I would choose America. I don't know why. I guess it's my first love. And today we hear from you. Hi, this is John.

from Houston, Texas. This is Sonia from Canada. I am Swelit from India. I am Wazir Saina from San Paulo, Brazil. From the BBC, I'm Tristan Redman in London. And I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. And today on the Global Story, in collaboration with the Global News Podcast, we answer your questions about how America has shaped the world. All right.

Well, I'm pleased to say that today we're doing something a little bit. different here on the global story. Normally, and regular listeners know this, we do a deep dive on one story every single day. And along with our sister podcast, the Global News podcast, where you can go for the latest news headlines every single day, twice a day. We are teaming up today at the end of our special week of episodes on America's 250th anniversary. We're doing a co-lab to answer questions from our combined audiences. And I'm pleased to say that we have some global news podcast input here with us today in the studio. Celia Hatton, welcome back to the show. Thank you very much. And Celia, I will say, you know, regular listeners of the Global Story Podcast will, of course,

have heard you. You've been a guest on our show. And of course, listeners of the Global News podcast, the show that you host, will know you. But for anyone who may be a new listener, could we have you just introduce yourself? Tell us a little bit of about what you do in your specific area of expertise? Sure. So my reporting background lies in China. I was a correspondent inside China for 15 years, the last few years with the BBC. And then I had 10 years being regional editor focusing on Asia-Pacific for the BBC here in London before I became a full-time presenter. I should say, too, that I'm Canadian. So I'm sure you'll be hearing that a little bit today because it definitely factors into my thinking about the U.S. 250th anniversary.

It's wonderful to have you with us. Well, I'm also pleased to say we're joined by BBC's international editor, Jeremy Bowen. For listeners who are joining us for the first time, Jeremy, how would you introduce yourself? Well, I've been a BBC journalist now for my entire working life, which is 42 years, and I've been most of that time a foreign correspondent. So I suppose I'd introduce myself by saying I have had a hand in the reporting of most of the, the major world stories since the late 1980s. And as for America, well, I have worked in Washington, but I've also studied in Washington.

And Jeremy, is it accurate that you've reported for more than 90 countries? That's the folklore I hear around here at the BBC. Well, you know, if you actually average that up per year, it's not very many. I mean, it's still impressive to me. So welcome, welcome back to the show. Let's drive straight in with some questions then.

We have one from our listener, John. in Texas, and here's what John has to say. Hi, this is John from Houston, Texas. I suggest you contrast how the outside world views the USA today versus in the two decades following World War II. The changes have been radical. Jeremy, over the course of our lifetimes, how has the way the United States is perceived around the world change?

Well, it's interesting that the question was about the two decades, and I suppose those two decades, 1945 to 1965, were, in a sense, the era of American ascendancy and so many things, because they emerged from the Second World War, unlike their European allies, not just with their industrial base intact. It was enhanced, where, you know, poor old Britain were worse sitting, was bankrupt. America was booming. And it was certainly a time when America's prestige was high,

when people in Europe really admired what the Americans had achieved, there was, of course, as well, martial aid, the Marshall Plan, which helped rebuild Europe after the destruction of the Second World War. But America had become a world power in the Second World War, and they continue to use that power after the Second World War. They didn't go back to the isolation that they'd had previously, right back to the foundation of the Republic 250 years ago. So I think if you were sitting somewhere in West Germany where the American, Americans were pouring in money, rebuilding industry. America probably looked pretty good.

And you go drinking Coca-Cola and maybe trying your first burger or something like that. But if you're in Iran in 1953, when the British and the Americans unseated, pretty much democratically elected president, or if you were in Guatemala or other parts of Latin America where America was putting its interests first, second, third, and fourth, that really was America first. then you would have different views. And of course, by 1965, that was after the assassination of Kennedy. America was getting very involved in Vietnam, and President Johnson, his successor, escalated that. So after 65, that's when, you know, America, the very flawed world power,

killing loads of people abroad in the interests of, what, anti-communism or whatever reason they were giving at the time. And, of course, with turmoil at home by the 1960s, because civil rights movement, assassinations. So yeah, on some levels, America was probably at its apogee in those years of 45 to 65, but the seeds of what you might say they've become were always very much there.

Maybe it goes with the territory if you are the global hedgeman. When you travel around the world now to various different conflict zones, do people speak differently about the United States to how they used to or is it much the same? I mean, never mind traveling around the world. who just walk out of this building in central London, you'll find people whose perceptions of the United States, British people, have changed massively in the years of Donald Trump.

Of course they have. The US is not seen by many people in this country anymore as an ally. But I think over the years, for me personally, I have to say, being exposed to, in a way, the American dream, a sense of possibility and optimism that certainly for the privileged people I was mixing with in Washington, D.C., was absolutely nothing, we had nothing of a sword in this country. For me, going to the United States in the early 1980s, broadened my horizons enormously and

gave me a sense of what might be possible in life that I don't think I would have had, had I stayed in grimial Britain, which in the early 1980s was not a very happy place. Let me take us on to our next question. We have talked a lot on our show, and Celia, I'm sure you all have as well on the Global News podcast about the changing world order and how the United States in this second Trump term is taking a more isolationist approach to foreign policy. And we have a message here from Sonia in Canada. Let's take a listen. Hi, Asma and Tristan, this is Sonia from Canada.

As a close neighbor to the States, the last 10 years or so has been really interesting and somewhat concerning to observe. What has contributed to the U.S. becoming more insured? and isolationists in recent years. How is this more isolationist path going to shape the country in the years to come? In what ways could the U.S. become stronger or weaker? I feel that we must go first to your fellow Canadian, Sonia. And that is Celia Hatton.

From your perspective, how do you see the wider impact of an isolationist United States? Asma, it's a good question. And I kind of had to go back to something that Jeremy said a few moments ago. He was talking about how in the past, you know, The United States was seen by many countries as a strategic ally that the United States was there. And it's interesting listening to Sonia asked these questions about why the United States has become more isolationist. You know, when I think about Canada and the reactions of Canadians to Donald Trump coming into the White House for a second term, all of those pronouncements sort of crouched as jokes that Canada was going to become the 51st state,

I still remember the real fear almost that kind of rippled through Canada. And it wasn't just that Donald Trump said it once or twice. It kept coming up again and again. In his truth social comments, he would say it on camera. He said it to Justin Trudeau, the then prime minister. And so. Governor Trudeau. Exactly.

Governor Trudeau. He didn't even give him the title. I remember that summer, just after Donald Trump had come back into office, I went home for my annual summer trip back to Canada, and I walked into a grocery store called Poconis, which is a famous grocery store where I'm from. And like many stores in Canada, it had been completely overhauled so that every single item in the store that was made in Canada was front and centered. There were Canadian flags plastered all over the store. And really, the entire store had been reworked to become an advertisement for Canadian products. That's fascinating. Sili, you're almost suggesting that the United States isolationist approach is pushing its neighbor to the north to adopt a somewhat similar. I don't want to extrapolate on that, but a somewhat similar approach, at least when it comes to economics.

So this kind of attitude is almost contagious, this kind of feeling that you need to kind of put up the hatches and just support your own. I think just emotionally, things have really changed with this isolationist bent. And I think Sonia's right. It's right to kind of focus in. on it because that's been a major change that has happened in the United States and it's had huge effects elsewhere. Well, all of this is contributing to the idea that an old world order is coming to an end. There's been a lot of debate about that over the last few months. We have a question on this tack from our listener Swarrett in India and this is what he'd like to know. Hi, I'm Swarth from India. As the USA celebrates 250 years of independence and seeks to shape the international order for the decades ahead,

where does India fit into that vision? And can India deepen cooperation with Washington while preserving the strategic autonomy that has traditionally defined its relationship with Russia, Iran and the wider global south? I would love to hear what you guys have to say about it. Thanks. Well, I would say that actually, in a sense, the rise of India is part of America's decline. There are other large powers that are rising. You look at India. It's, you know, it's got a growing and very highly educated. middle class. It's got a very large population. It's got all sorts of attributes, which in the next 50-odd years, I think they will be as a rising power, one of the countries which America will have to deal with. Can I just just a follow-up here? Because my sense, for the last couple of administrations here in the United States, you can go back to George W. Bush. There was a systematic effort in the United States amongst Republicans and Democrats to court India to balance out the influence of China in the region. And what I've been struck by in this term is that we don't see that deliberate effort

anymore, which makes me wonder where India fits into the equation. I mean, I heard President Trump referred to India, his words, a big tariff abuser. He slapped really significant tariffs on India. I guess my question is just, is it possible in this moment when we talk about a shifting world order to be a country that is, as we've heard, Mark Carney of Canada, say a middle power that isn't really aligned with the United States or with China directly. Do you remember after the Ukraine invasion, India was under real pressure to say where it stood? You know, was it on Russia's side, was it on Ukraine's side? And that's difficult because India gets a lot of its energy from Russia. And at the time, Narendra Modi, the prime minister said, we are not neutral, but we have

strategic autonomy, meaning that they kind of change their strategy based on what they need at the time. They said that back in 2022. And other countries have followed. You know, the year. Europeans are embracing strategic autonomy. Even Mark Carney has said that strategic autonomy is the way to go. And so I think India really has no choice. They need to keep alliances with Iran. That's where they get oil from. They need to keep alliances with Russia. But then they also need to ship products outside of their borders. And so they need to maintain their close ties with Western countries as well. They're going to buy products that are made in India. So they're just a great example of a country that cannot afford. to position itself either to one side or another. It's kind of sitting in the middle. We're going to move on to talking a little bit about the American dream.

Barbara from California has sent us this. Hi, my name is Barbara Yovanovitch. I'm from Novi Sad, Serbia. I grew up and finished my education there, and my family still lives there, so I visit frequently. I never imagined that I would move to the U.S. I don't think that was my plan. immigrating to the United States has obviously opened up a world of opportunities

I never would have had in my home country. This is still very much the land of opportunities. I deeply appreciate the idea that if you believe in yourself and you work hard, you can make a positive future for yourself and your family. And I feel like the U.S. really puts that at a forefront. So yeah, that's me. Thanks for listening. Now, we had a similar message from our listener, Alexandra,

who emigrated to the United States from Ukraine, and also from Diana, who arrived in the US from Colombia, and she said my family moved to the United States in 1987, which is the summer I turned 13. We left Colombia due to insecurity the country who was going through at that moment. My parents were the victims of kidnapping by the FARC in 1985. The US offered my husband and I the promise that if we worked hard, we would live comfortably.

We did and now enjoy a comfortable life thanks to the opportunities offered and accepted. Jeremy, you've reported, as we've already discussed, from unstable places all over the world, conflict zones. What does the United States mean to people in those places that you visited? Generally, in the places where I have worked over the last 30 or 40 years, in many of those places, the Americans were not seen as a positive force because American intervention had had terrible consequences. I've spent many years reporting from different countries in the Middle East.

East. Of course, there are other countries where the Americans were seen as absolutely vital. I lived in Israel for five years in the 90s. And there, America, as it has been until really very recently, was seen as the absolute reliable ally. Now, as for the American dream, of course, America's always been a magnet for immigrants, but also for those people who are well established in the country, one of America's big problems now, and I think it's impacting actually the debates about the potential foreign policy in the next five or ten years is the dissatisfaction

with the fact that many people in the United States no longer feel that that dream is open to them. They are concerned that their kids won't have the standard of living that they had. And the sort of foreign policy corollary of that is the way in which people are questioning being the global policeman, intervening around the place, having huge and very costly military commitments in places which on the

face of it are not directly impacting on whether or not Americans are safe, but it's still costing them a hell of a lot of money at a time when a lot of people are thinking, well, we could do some of that money back here, thanks. So, you know, it's always the case that foreign policy is an extension of domestic issues, and America is no exception. Who has America shaped the world? I'm Asma Khalid, host of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. As the United States marks its 250 year anniversary, we've been exploring the surprising and often hidden ways

the U.S. has shaped the modern world. And today on the show, we answer your questions about this moment and what to expect in the years to come. From the BBC, it's the United States at 250. Listen to the global story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. The 2026 World Cup started with 48 teams and we've now reached the knockout stage. Records have been broken. The way that Messi has been able to score all these goals late in his career.

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The United States is about to mark its 250th anniversary. And so on the global story podcast from the BBC, we're telling surprising tales of American influence on the world stage and in ordinary people's lives all across the globe. We have this ability to export our story and a lot of people. I've bought it. I feel like the American dream is alive but not well. From the BBC, it's the United States at 250.

Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. We're here with Celia Hatton, host of the Global News podcast, and Jeremy Bowen, the BBC's international editor. And we're answering your questions about how the United States has shaped the world as we celebrate our 250th anniversary here in America. And Tristan, you've got a question for Jeremy. You said that a lot of the places you've covered are places where the reputation of the United States is not necessarily that strong. Having said that, Asma did this incredible interview in our episode earlier this week with a Somali American called Abdi.

Somalia is a country which has had a complicated relationship with the United States. It was the battle of Mogadishu in the early 90s. Abdi talks about the first time he saw these American soldiers arriving in Somalia and giving him this food and he thought they all looked like Rambo. And he thought, I want to go to the United States. it looks incredible. Is that rare in your travels? I was in Mogadishu, actually, in the early 1990s. Of course you were. Well, look, of course, when people turn up like that,

those sorts of scenes were replicated in Europe in 1944 and 1945. GIs arriving and giving people, you know, chewing gum and candy and whatever else they had to chuck out of their cigarettes, probably, in those days. Look, don't get the impression that I think that people around the world, many of them do not admire the Americans. But the image of America that I think still a lot of Americans might actually have in their heads as essentially a country that wants to do good around the world, that is not shared in many, many countries and also in places which have traditionally pretty much liked America, like this country,

the UK. A lot of people don't think that anymore. We want to end with a question from listener Moazir in Brazil. Hello there. I am Moir Sina from San Paulo, Brazil. I was born in Brazil. But all my life I've loved and admired and respected America for its values, for its history, for the concept of freedom and the pursuit for happiness in a way that it's like the American dream. However, I've noticed that over the past 50 years, America has lost its way in really upholding freedom and upholding values of respect and mutual growth and development. So my question is, has America reached its top, its apex, and now is it in its decline?

Let's hope that it's not, because it still is a light shining on the top of a hill. Thank you so much. Happy birthday, America. Thank you for the birthday wishes. I'd love to hear from both of you, Jeremy and Celia. Why don't we start with you, Jeremy? Well, what we've just heard is the classic expression of admiration for American exceptionalism, that it's the shining light on the hill that everybody aspires to, that will stand for liberty, freedom.

But look, here's another way of putting it, if I want to be devil's advocate for a moment. The founding fathers were slave owners. There was a civil war over slavery in the 19th century. In the years after that, even though slavery was no more, the effective enslavement of many African Americans continued, race is still a huge fault line down the center of the country. There are millions and millions of people in America who don't have decent health care,

who don't have much of a safety net of the kind that we would expect to have in Europe if things go wrong for them. And abroad, America, it seems to be in a state of perpetual warfare with a lot of countries at the moment. So it was interesting in the question as I was listening to it,

the sense that his impression was that what seemed great half a century ago might not be so great now, but maybe the answer is people are just using a bit more clarity. And the fact is, maybe America isn't exceptional. Maybe America is just a massive imperial power which works in the way that imperial powers have worked

since the dawn of time. And there'd be many, many empires going back way beyond the Romans. And yeah, the 20th century was known as the America, by many, is the American century. I don't think anyone is going to say right now that the 21st century is also going to be the American century.

So I would say that while it was a great part of America's self-image and the impression that many people had of the country that it stood for all these things. In fact, if you just, you know, look under the stone a little bit, what was happening at home in the States as well as what happened abroad, things were never perfect, even though people inside their own heads and the things that they said believed that they were. So, I'm sounding like a real America skeptic. I'm not. I think it's a great country. I think America was really important for me in my own life. But I think you need to look at it with some clarity. That's all I'm saying.

Can I just say, as an American, one of the things that is so powerful about the United States is you're right. You know, those ideals, I think many of us are clear-eyed that we know the faults of some of the founding fathers. You know, I do think increasingly in the United States. we have had really honest conversations about did we actually uphold these ideals? No, maybe not historically over the decades. But I think the appeal of it was that we had these ideals. And so few nations have these founding ideals that they theoretically strive towards. And I find that really, really beautiful. It is aspirational. I get that totally. But I think that is what the allure is for so many people about the United States. I don't want to knock American.

too much. But I think it's good that countries recognize the faults that they have, of course, and I've heard people in this country saying that actually the problem that we've got is that America had our revolution. The people who should have had a revolution in this country, went to America to have it. Listening to Jeremy and also to do our Brazilian contributor who asked the question, I mean, I think this idea that the United States is on this kind of continual upward trajectory, it's simplistic. As Jeremy said, you know, every country has as complicated past or decades of turbulence and then they overcome those decades if you look back through history. I mean, China's the same thing. I'm asked repeatedly, is this going to be the

Chinese century? Is this the century where China can kind of vault to the top and the United States withers away? And, you know, my answer is continually, well, China has huge domestic problems when you peel back the layers. You know, the economy is really struggling. There are thousands of protests every year because of unpaid wages or real estate deals gone bad. It's an aging country. There just simply aren't enough babies being born. That's a very real threat. So I guess when we think about one superpower that was kind of a glittering example of continual development, well, you only have to look behind the scenes to kind of really uncover these pictures within the United States of gun violence and racial issues. You know, those are.

just as true at a time when we thought that America was really the only superpower. Can I just interject with just one last thing before we close? Hydration breaks. At the World Cup, this idea that instead of having a game of two halves, which football, as we call it, has always been. It's now becoming, thanks to hydration breaks in the United States, and I suppose by extension in Canada and Mexico I suppose they're having them there too

a game of quarters and that's why people, if you listen to the football coverage over here people are grumbling about hydration breaks and saying it's just for American TV advertising look what they're doing to our beloved game well Jeremy we were talking about whether or not we were going to do an episode of the global story about hydration breaks but now we don't need to

so thank you so much for doing that. I said it all. Well I think where we land here is that nothing is all good and nothing is all bad my feelings about the United States are, it's impossible not to love a place that gave us the song September by Earth, Wind and Fire, which in all impartiality is the happiest song ever created.

And a place that it came from cannot be bad. That's my opinion. Thank you so much, guys. Thank you all. It's been great fun to have you with us. Thank you. Thank you. That was Celia Hatton, host of the Global News podcast,

and Jeremy Bowen, the BBC's international editor. And thanks so much to everyone who wrote into us. We're sorry we couldn't include every question, but know that we do read every email and we appreciate hearing from you. So please keep sending us your thoughts and ideas on The Global Story at BBC.com. And if you all didn't catch some of our other episodes this week

from our special USA and the World 250 series, you can scroll back through this feed to find them. Now, Celia, as we mentioned, is the host of the Global News Podcast. And if you all haven't heard that show, I really do recommend checking them out. They bring you the very latest news from around the world every day. And you'll find them again wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

And that's it for the global story for today. Today's episode was produced by Kat Farnsworth, Aron Keller and Hannah Moore. Our studio engineer was Hannah Montgomery. It was edited by James Shield and mixed by Travis Evans. Our digital producer is Matt Pintas. Our senior news editor is China Collins. And I'm Tristan Redmond. And I'm Asma Khal.

And we'll talk to you again soon. See you soon. Cheerio. How has America shaped the world? I'm Asma Khalid, host of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. As the United States marks its 250 year anniversary, we've been exploring the surprising and often hidden ways the U.S. has shaped the modern world.

And today on the show, we answer your questions about this moment and what to expect in the years to come. From the BBC, it's the United States at 250. Listen to the global story on BBC. or wherever you get your podcasts.