How important is the United States when it comes to resolving conflict in the Middle East, and how much power does the U.S. president really have in the region? With the election just weeks away, Justin and Sarah look at how the conflict might affect voters, and what it means for both Donald Trump’s and Kamala Harris’s presidential campaigns. CNN’s Chief International Anchor, Christiane Amanpour joins Justin and Sarah, sharing her insights and contacts from the region. HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Sarah Smith, North America Editor GUEST: • Christiane Amanpour, CNN Chief International Anchor GET IN TOUCH: • Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB • Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 • Email [email protected] • Or use #Americast This episode was made by Purvee Pattni with Rufus Gray, Alix Pickles, and Claire Betzer. The technical producer was Hannah Montgomery. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. If you want to be notified every time we publish a new episode, please subscribe to us on BBC Sounds by hitting the subscribe button on the app. You can now listen to Americast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Americast”. It works on most smart speakers. US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony’s BBC newsletter: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155 Americast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Americast also makes lots of other podcasts, including The Global Story, The Today Podcast, and of course Newscast and Ukrainecast. If you enjoy Americast (and if you're reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below. The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd The Today Podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r Newscast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p05299nl Ukrainecast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0bqztzm