{"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":"The man behind the EU's Kremlin outreach","slug":"the-man-behind-the-eu-s-kremlin-outreach","published_at":"2026-07-06T04:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/brussels-playbook-podcast-730322/the-man-behind-the-eu-s-kremlin-outreach","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/brussels-playbook-podcast-730322","url":"https://www.politico.eu/podcast/brussels-playbook-podcast/","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/POLL4208092371.mp3","summary":"On today’s episode, we take a closer look at the busy life of António Costa’s right-hand man, Pedro Lourtie. The European Council President’s head of cabinet was recently thrust into the limelight for opening backchannels with Moscow on his boss’s behalf. Zoya Sheftalovich and Nick Vinocur dig deeper into who this man is and how he does his job. Also on the show: European Parliament President Roberta Metsola is asking lawmakers to vote again on a bill to fight child sexual abuse material — even though it was rejected by MEPs in March. To do this, she’s relying on a rarely used EU procedure. Finally: The allegations that a Hungarian spy ring was operating out of the country’s embassy in Brussels was big news in town last year. We’ve gotten our hands on a document from the investigation. Question? Comment? Send it along as a message or voice note to our WhatsApp here or at +32 491 05 06 29. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"On today’s episode, we take a closer look at the busy life of António Costa’s right-hand man, Pedro Lourtie. The European Council President’s head of cabi…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":983,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/brussels-playbook-podcast-730322/episodes/the-man-behind-the-eu-s-kremlin-outreach/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/the-man-behind-the-eu-s-kremlin-outreach.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}