Nick Bryant: BBC New York & United Nations Correspondent
Thursday 25 February, 7pm
We are delighted to announce that Nick Bryant will be our Thursday Night In guest on 25 February at 7pm.
Nick Bryant is one of the BBC’s most trusted and senior foreign correspondents and a well-known figure on our TV screens. In the run up to the US election, he has provided informed and balanced analysis of life in the US pre and post the Trump presidency.
In his latest book, When America Stopped Being Great, the veteran reporter reveals how America’s decline paved the way for Donald Trump’s rise, sowing division and leaving the country vulnerable to its greatest challenge of the modern era.
Deftly sifting through almost four decades of American history, from post-Cold War optimism, through the scandal-wracked nineties and into the new millennium, Bryant unpacks the mistakes of past administrations, from Ronald Reagan’s ‘celebrity presidency’ to Barack Obama’s failure to adequately address income and racial inequality. He explains how the historical clues, unseen by many (including the media) paved the way for an outsider to take power and a country to slide towards disaster. As Bryant writes, ‘rather than being an aberration, Trump’s presidency marked the culmination of so much of what had been going wrong in the United States for decades – economically, racially, politically, culturally, technologically and constitutionally.’
It concludes with some of the most dramatic events in recent memory, in an America torn apart by a bitterly polarised election, racial division, the national catastrophe of the coronavirus and the threat to US democracy evidenced by the storming of Capitol Hill.
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from and submit your questions to one of the most informed voices on America.
Booking for this event is now closed.
Reviews
“A masterclass from an outstanding chronicler of modern America … Insightful, thoughtful, and beautifully written.” – Orla Guerin
“Nick Bryant is brilliant. He has a way of showing you what you’ve been missing from the whole story whilst never leaving you feeling stupid.” – Emily Maitlis
“There are all too many people who can opine about the United States but there are very few with Nick Bryant’s depth of knowledge, experience and empathy for the country and his ability to communicate intelligently, engagingly and entertainingly.” – Nick Robinson
“Bryant is a genuine rarity, a Brit who understands America” – Washington Post
“Few outsiders explain America better than Nick Bryant or write about it as well. This is a must-read guide to an extraordinary time” – Katty Kay
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