The Presidency of Donald Trump will come under the scrutiny of a number of Sussex academics in a new series of Trump Watch Sussex.

The Trump Watch Sussex podcast returns this term with a series of episodes covering topics from corruption to fake news, featuring academics across various schools at the University of Sussex.

Created by Dr Doug Haynes  and Dr Melissa Milewski from the Sussex Centre for American Studies, the podcast explores the Trump presidency from a UK perspective, conducting interviews with a range of experts and commentators.

Trump Watch has already discussed a number of topics including Trump as the second celebrity president, white supremacy, foreign policy and the Muslim ban.

The new term will see episodes on Trump and corruption featuring Professor Dan Hough  Politics); Trump, Israel and Palestine featuring Anne Irfan (History); artists’ responses to Trump with Dr Joanna Pawlik (Art History) and Dr Ben Burbridge (Art History); and fake news with Professor Ivor Gaber (Media and Film).

Dr Doug Haynes said: “I’m looking forward to a new season of Trump Watch to consider some of the stories behind the constantly shifting headlines. The podcast uses academic expertise to look for the less obvious, sometimes hidden, but always relevant aspects of Trump, his ideas, and his actions. We will, for example, look at Trump’s taste in art, and what that says about him, as well as consider how his presidency has itself inspired recent artworks.”

In the next episode of Trump Watch, available on Monday 12 November, Professor Dan Hough will discuss how Trump is actually prompting analysts to re-think what they know about corruption.

Dr Milewski said: “We're excited for a new season of Trump Watch that will feature the expertise of a wide range of scholars from the University of Sussex and the experiences of Sussex students. 

"We began TrumpWatch Sussex because we felt that the deeper story about what was occurring in American politics often was getting lost in the 24/7 news cycle. Through the podcast, we've endeavoured to draw on various perspectives and the expertise of a range of scholars and public figures to provide a deeper and broader context to aspects of the Trump administration.

"In the forthcoming episode on Trump and corruption, Professor Dan Hough discusses how the academic study of corruption can help us better understand reports of corruption in American government today. He explains the signs that scholars look for when examining corruption, outlines how corruption is often legal, and analyses how the Trump presidency is leading corruption scholars to think about the issue differently."