America Revisited: The Discussion

When Barack Obama was elected in 2008 there was a mood of optimism in America and around the world. No President in history has inspired such hope and promise of change as the first black man to step into the White House. In the weeks before his election the BBC drove a bus coast to coast across the US asking people about their lives and their hopes and fears for the future. Now, as Obama’s Presidency comes to an end, we are retracing that route to find out why the country seems more divided than ever. In this four part series the BBC travels from Los Angeles down through the southern states to the East coast to gauge the mood in a country where anger among the population has been spilling into the streets.

In the final programme in the series we bring together five of the most exciting speakers from the road trip to talk through the burning issues in the election this year: race, migration, the economy and religion. Presenter Philippa Thomas chairs a discussion between an unemployed miner, a Trump enthusiast, a former opiates addict, a young black student and a Muslim blogger. We hear which of the candidates is going to get their vote and why.

(IMAGE: American Flag with people silhouettes. Credit: Getty Images)