{"podcast":{"title":"Brussels Playbook Podcast","slug":"brussels-playbook-podcast-730322","podcast_index_feed_id":730322,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/ASD6061651607","website_url":"https://www.politico.eu/eu-confidential-podcast/","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/457b396e-5e02-11ef-9ea9-13174c9e6348/image/51c7306a884c9c73a7da2290ebca2b8d.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"POLITICO","episode_count":640,"summary":"POLITICO’s daily audio briefing on what’s moving Brussels — and why it matters. The Brussels Playbook Podcast is the audio extension of the Brussels Playbook newsletter. Hosted by POLITICO's chief EU correspondent, Zoya Sheftalovich, the podcast runs Monday through Thursday, offering a clear, reporting-driven guide to EU politics in under 15 minutes. It’s a perfect companion for your morning coffee. Each episode takes listeners inside the decisions, power shifts and debates shaping the day in Brussels — and explains how they connect to national capitals across Europe. Clear, conversational and shaped by reporting from the heart of the EU, the Brussels Playbook Podcast brings context to EU politics as your day begins. On Fridays, the same feed features a longer episode that goes deeper into the week’s biggest themes, offering context and analysis beyond the daily news cycle — with Sarah Wheaton behind the mic.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-18T10:19:02.663938+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/brussels-playbook-podcast-730322"},"episode":{"title":"Could Orbán lead Hungary again?","slug":"could-orb-n-lead-hungary-again","published_at":"2026-08-28T02:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/brussels-playbook-podcast-730322/could-orb-n-lead-hungary-again","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/brussels-playbook-podcast-730322","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/POLL3839753761.mp3","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/POLL3839753761.mp3","summary":"For 16 years, Viktor Orbán exerted an iron grip on Hungarian politics and society. Now it’s being dismantled. Has Hungary finally turned a page on the Orbán era, or could he make one final return?  It’s only a few days before Péter Magyar’s government, which succeeded Orbán, learns whether his anti-corruption reforms have done enough to persuade the European Commission to release €10.4 billion of frozen funds to help the country recover after the Covid pandemic. The money was withheld over breaches of EU law under Orbán, who suffered a landslide defeat at the polls in April. Host Anne McElvoy talks to János Bóka, who now leads Orbán’s Fidesz party from the opposition benches in the Hungarian Parliament. He was minister for European affairs in the previous government and is seen as a relatively moderate voice tasked with rebuilding a party reeling from defeat. Does he want to cast off an ousted strongman’s shadow – might Orban still be seeking to find a way back? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"For 16 years, Viktor Orbán exerted an iron grip on Hungarian politics and society. Now it’s being dismantled. Has Hungary finally turned a page on the Orb…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2070,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/brussels-playbook-podcast-730322/episodes/could-orb-n-lead-hungary-again/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/brussels-playbook-podcast-730322/could-orb-n-lead-hungary-again.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}