Podcasts: USA

Many people were surprised when President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this year. We listen in on different reactions to the news.

Thanksgiving is celebrated to give thanks for the harvest. It is a national holiday in America, and a good excuse to taste all that lovely new food with a huge family meal.

Bob Eder, an ocean fisherman from Oregon, describes his working day. Here on the podcast, Bob tells us how catching crabs — different types of shellfish — can be dangerous; in fact, how it can sometimes be deadly.

This week in our podcast, we bring you an excerpt from Ginger Kuenzel’s American Life column for September. As you listen, can you answer the questions?

He once trained to be a ballet dancer. He became a successful investment banker. He's now the most powerful person in the White House after the president himself. But who exactly is he?

Recently, experiments with school uniforms in the United States have shown that they also serve a useful social function. But how do Americans feel about this?

Later this month, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. He has already chosen many members of his team. We take a look at some of the choices he has made.

The countryside in New England in autumn, or “fall”, as Americans call it, is so colourful that even the locals talk about it a lot. In this week's podcast, New Hampshire resident Ruth Meyers describes autumn in her state.

In this month's Spotlight magazine find out more about the glittering gaming metropolis of Las Vegas. Here in the podcast, Spotlight presenters Anne Alexander Sieder and David Creedon look at some of the language you might hear in a casino.

Los Angeles is the subject of Spotlight's travel feature this month. In honour of the 80th Academy Awards being held there this week, we have a little quiz lined up for you on our podcast.