{"podcast":{"title":"Irish Times Inside Politics","slug":"irish-times-inside-politics-170288","podcast_index_feed_id":170288,"rss_url":"http://feeds.feedburner.com/irish-times-politics","website_url":"http://www.irishtimes.com","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/6155db9059a3fa00137f30a9/1784627000904-f83ef9b4-de0a-40ee-8563-37b26a0853db.jpeg","author":"The Irish Times (news@irishtimes.com)","episode_count":1050,"summary":"The best analysis of the Irish political scene featuring Irish Times journalists, political thinkers and the occasional politician. Hosted by Hugh Linehan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-25T02:17:08.301765+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/irish-times-inside-politics-170288"},"episode":{"title":"Does salesman  Andy Burnham have a product to sell?","slug":"does-salesman-andy-burnham-have-a-product-to-sell","published_at":"2026-07-22T08:42:07+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/irish-times-inside-politics-170288/does-salesman-andy-burnham-have-a-product-to-sell","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/irish-times-inside-politics-170288","url":"https://shows.acast.com/inside-politics-2/episodes/does-salesman-andy-burnham-have-a-product-to-sell","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6155db9059a3fa00137f30a9/e/6a6079924fac21e67f0f4f35/media.mp3","summary":"Returning to the podcast today is UK political commentator, broadcaster and author Iain Dale to talk to Hugh about the arrival of Andy Burnham as prime minister and the death of Iain's friend Ann Widdecombe. Burnham's excellence as a communicator and a political salesman means there's a strong contrast between him and his predecessor. But after being swept to office unopposed, it's not yet clear what he is offering to the British public. How will he handle issues like immigration, defence and the economy, and what have we learned from his cabinet picks? In part two: The killing of Ann Widdecombe has shaken British politics. Despite disagreeing with many of her convictions, Iain and the former Conservative MP had a close relationship. He talks about her life, her views, the growing threat politicians perceive to their safety and the role of social media in coarsening political debate and encouraging extremism. Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsletters/global-briefing/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"Returning to the podcast today is UK political commentator, broadcaster and author Iain Dale to talk to Hugh about the arrival of Andy Burnham as prime mi…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1955,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/irish-times-inside-politics-170288/episodes/does-salesman-andy-burnham-have-a-product-to-sell/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/irish-times-inside-politics-170288/does-salesman-andy-burnham-have-a-product-to-sell.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}