{"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":"Week Ender: Verhofstadt on \"Trumpism\", plus summer must-reads","slug":"week-ender-verhofstadt-on-trumpism-plus-summer-must-reads","published_at":"2026-08-07T02:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/brussels-playbook-podcast-730322/week-ender-verhofstadt-on-trumpism-plus-summer-must-reads","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/POLL7975022962.mp3","summary":"It’s August in Brussels, which means it’s vacation time. Whether you’re heading off to the beach or holding down the fort in town, this episode is brimming with book recommendations from our newsroom and from you, our listeners. Whatever your genre preference, from true crime thrillers to deep political dives, we've got your summer holiday covered. But this installment is not just a book chat. We're also tackling the rise of populism and the crises facing liberal democracies around the world. That’s the topic of “Defeating Trumpism,” a new book by former Belgian Prime Minister and European Parliament Member Guy Verhofstadt. The book is a self-diagnosis from one of Europe’s most passionate centrists about the failures of his movement. And his prescription? A new political paradigm he calls “Citizenism.” We’re on a break for two weeks, so expect us to pop back up on your feed with the daily Brussels Playbook Podcast on Aug. 24 and the Week Ender podcast on Aug. 28. Questions? Comments? Get in touch! You can message us or send a voice message to our WhatsApp here or at +32 491 05 06 29. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"It’s August in Brussels, which means it’s vacation time. Whether you’re heading off to the beach or holding down the fort in town, this episode is brimmin…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2102,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/brussels-playbook-podcast-730322/episodes/week-ender-verhofstadt-on-trumpism-plus-summer-must-reads/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/week-ender-verhofstadt-on-trumpism-plus-summer-must-reads.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}