Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.

Find out how to listen to other BBC stations

Episode details

World Service,07 Oct 2025,19 mins

The cost of a shutdown

Business Daily

Available for over a year

For the first time in nearly seven years, federal operations have been drastically curtailed as the US government shuts down. As it enters a second week, we look in detail at how the collapse in funding for government services is affecting America at large - from the Federal worker fearing for his job, to the wider concerns of slowing growth and rising inflation. What does this say about the state of the world’s largest economy? Produced and presented by Ed Butler (Image: "Closed" signage in front of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, US, on 5 October 20205. Credit: Getty Images)

Programme Website
More episodes