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From coast to coast, an insider's guide to the stories and people shaping the USA today

From coast to coast, an insider's guide to the stories and people shaping the USA today.

Americana: The politics of personality

12/04/2010

The politics of personality

BBC World Service - Americana, The politics of personality

This week: global security and nuclear weapons, and packaging a star political candidate.

This week: global security and nuclear weapons, the politics of personality and the last sardine cannery in the US.

David Willis takes a look at the creative packaging that can make it or break it, in America. He talks to author David Remnick about his new biography, The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama. The book illuminates the ways that the 44th American President crafted his image and landed in the spotlight of the political stage.

As British leaders prepare to step into their first televised debates there is much that can be learned from America about what to avoid in order to come out on top while under the bright television lights.

Award-winning film producer Jerry Weintraub talks about how to spot a winner among a sea of possibilities. From Karate Kid, to Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve, and Ocean's Thirteen, the successful film producer knows what works and what doesn't in this nation of dreamers.

And Americana takes a trip up the northeast coast to Maine. The last remaining US sardine factory will package its last fish despite efforts to keep the factory running after all these decades.

Email: americana@bbc.co.uk
Twitter: @bbcamericana
Podcast: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/americana

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