{"podcast":{"title":"In The Room","slug":"in-the-room-7693582","podcast_index_feed_id":7693582,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/69861398d4e01f1069d58875","website_url":"https://shows.acast.com/intheroom","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/cover/1770393584398-595c81ff-ae25-4c77-8905-6731a37e97f1.jpeg","author":"The Independent","episode_count":20,"summary":"Two former Westminster insiders reveal how politics and power really work. Ever wondered what goes on behind closed doors at No 10? Or who’s the first person on the phone when a Prime Minister lands themselves in hot water? Each week former Deputy Cabinet Secretary Helen MacNamara and Cleo Watson, former political advisor to Theresa May and Boris Johnson, dissect the week’s biggest news, revealing how decisions get made, why they go wrong, and what should happen next. In The Room is straight-talking, insider analysis with a dose of humour, every week. This podcast is part of The Independent Podcast Network and is produced in association with Next Chapter Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/in-the-room-7693582"},"episode":{"title":"Mandelson files: 1,504 pointless pages?","slug":"mandelson-files-1-504-pointless-pages","published_at":"2026-06-02T16:58:55+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/in-the-room-7693582/mandelson-files-1-504-pointless-pages","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/in-the-room-7693582","url":"https://shows.acast.com/intheroom/episodes/mandelson-files-1504-pointless-pages","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/69861398d4e01f1069d58875/e/6a1f0bcfa5a56cd1510667f7/media.mp3","summary":"After 83 days of waiting, the government has finally released the second tranche of files on the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador to Washington. The first tranche was already heavy on the filler, but the latest set of documents takes it to a whole new level. It features an incredible amount of seemingly pointless material: Mandelson’s resignation letter appears 8 times, there’s pages of printed versions of Microsoft Teams notifications and the full transcript of a President Trump interview with ABC News.  Today, we dissect the files, picking out the parts that do really tell us a lot - in particular about how Peter Mandelson himself operated behind the scenes. Find the best clips from the podcast and more from Helen and Cleo on the show's Instagram page here . This podcast is part of The Independent Podcast Network and is produced in association with Next Chapter Studios Executive Producers: Olivia Foster and Carrie Rose Producer: Sam Durham Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"After 83 days of waiting, the government has finally released the second tranche of files on the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador to Washin…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2573,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/in-the-room-7693582/episodes/mandelson-files-1-504-pointless-pages/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/in-the-room-7693582/mandelson-files-1-504-pointless-pages.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}