Justin Webb

Justin Webb is one of the BBC's leading broadcasters and currently co-presents Radio 4's flagship influential breakfast show, the Today programme.

Between 2001 and 2009 Justin was based in Washington DC as the BBC's North America Editor. The eight years he spent on the other side of the Atlantic was book-ended by some of the most powerful events in US history including the attacks of 9/11 and leading the BBC's coverage of the 2008 US Presidential elections, and of course Barack Obama's first moves as America's 44th President.

Justin became a senior member of the White House press corps and was the first British journalist to conduct a full television interview with President Obama in The White House. In his after dinner talks, Justin describes some of the difficulties that faced Obama, what singled him out from previous incumbents and how his incredible self-belief sometimes failed to translate into effectiveness on the ground.

However, despite writing on his blog ‘Justin Webb's America' that there was nowhere in the world he would rather be than Washington DC, the lure of bad weather and 3am starts eventually persuaded him to return to the UK and once-again join the Today programme.

He continues to analyse the American political, social, and economic landscape, reporting on the dramatic events on Capitol Hill, Wall Street, and Main Street.

Justin Webb joined the BBC as a graduate trainee in 1984 working in Northern Ireland for BBC Radio Ulster based in Belfast. After leaving Today, he worked as a foreign affairs correspondent based in London covering news around the world.

He then presented the BBC news - moving from Breakfast to the Six O'Clock News - during which time he interviewed prime ministers John Major and Tony Blair. There then followed three years working as the BBC's Europe correspondent based in Brussels before being posted to Washington as the chief radio correspondent in 2001.

Justin is the author of several books. In 2011, he published “Notes on Them and Us: From the Mayflower to Obama – the British, the Americans and the essential relationship”. Here, he argues that there is a fault line in the long-standing marriage between these two great nations; a cultural divide that separates us. For Justin, recognising this divide, even celebrating it, is the key to a rich future collaboration.

His follow up book, Cheers, America: How an Englishman Learned to Love America, was published in 2013. And he has also published a memoir of the 1970s, The Gift of a Radio, which the Sunday Times described as 'fascinating and hugely entertaining.’

Justin now spends his mornings interrogating British politicians and newsmakers the agenda-setting Today programme. He also co-hosts the popular Americast podcast and radio show, offering both serious and irreverent perspectives on US events.

Justin Webb is a highly versatile and accomplished conference moderator and awards host, and a charismatic, gifted and engaging after dinner or keynote speaker.

In his after dinner speeches, Justin delves into the realities of America and Americans — drawing upon his books Have A Nice Day and Notes on Them and Us — and he has great fun illustrating some of the nuances and differences in interviewing techniques between ‘old’ and ‘new world’ journalists.

Justin has unprecedented insights into US politics and the transatlantic relationship. His analysis of American politics, and its potential to self-destruct, is highly topical.

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Clients often ask about purchasing books for giveaways and delegate packs. Below you’ll find a selection of products by Justin Webb. Click the images to view on Amazon's website. For bulk orders, please speak with your Booking Agent.