{"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/a7aca373f8c088b9c22041f0f8e39e20.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"POLITICO","episode_count":577,"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":"2026-06-12T12:19:54.869432+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/brussels-playbook-podcast-730322"},"episode":{"title":"The US embassy's divisive birthday bash","slug":"the-us-embassy-s-divisive-birthday-bash","published_at":"2026-06-11T04:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/brussels-playbook-podcast-730322/the-us-embassy-s-divisive-birthday-bash","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/POLL9818952454.mp3","summary":"The U.S. embassy’s mega 250th birthday bash in Brussels is one of the most sought-after events for the city’s top brass ... but it’s also drawing ire. Today on the show, Zoya Sheftalovich and Ian Wishart discuss why MEPs and environmental activists are growing increasingly frustrated with this American July 4th celebration. The event is set to be attended by 5,000 people and will shut down the public Cinquantenaire park for up to 36 hours. Also on the show, we got our hands on the spending figures of lobby groups in the EU capital. Which country doles out the most cash to influence policymaking? We break it down. And finally: The FIFA World Cup officially kicks off today, so we ranked the tournament’s countries by metrics other than footie. If you have comments, do send us a voice note or message us on WhatsApp here or at +32 491 05 06 29. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"The U.S. embassy’s mega 250th birthday bash in Brussels is one of the most sought-after events for the city’s top brass ... but it’s also drawing ire. Tod…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":926,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/brussels-playbook-podcast-730322/episodes/the-us-embassy-s-divisive-birthday-bash/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-us-embassy-s-divisive-birthday-bash.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}