{"podcast":{"title":"Middle East Focus","slug":"middle-east-focus-529488","podcast_index_feed_id":529488,"rss_url":"https://middleeastinst.libsyn.com/rss","website_url":"http://www.mei.edu","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/a/4/a/8/a4a832f884ee9d9116c3140a3186d450/MEF_square-20250424-uf9f282kb1.png","author":"Middle East Institute","episode_count":100,"summary":"Weekly discussion of Middle East policy, arts, and culture, featuring experts from the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-18T08:19:26.403871+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/middle-east-focus-529488"},"episode":{"title":"Special Episode: Europe and the Iran War","slug":"special-episode-europe-and-the-iran-war","published_at":"2026-04-02T15:08:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/middle-east-focus-529488/special-episode-europe-and-the-iran-war","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/middle-east-focus-529488","url":"https://middleeastinst.libsyn.com/special-episode-europe-and-the-iran-war","audio_url":"https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/middleeastinst/Middle_East_Focus_4.2.26_mixdown.mp3?dest-id=531685","summary":"This special episode of Middle East Focus features a conversation from MEI's Virtual Briefing Series. Host Alistair Taylor is joined by former National Security Council Senior Director Stephen Flanagan and MEI Senior Fellow Iulia-Sabina Joja to discuss the impacts of the Iran war on US-European relations. The conflict has hit Europe's economy hard and created deep divisions across the continent, even as some European countries play a quiet supporting role to the US. President Donald Trump has called for NATO member states to help secure shipping through the Iranian-blocked Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for international maritime trade. Flanagan and Joja explore the prospects for stepped-up European military involvement, the knock-on effects on the war in Ukraine, and the potential longer-term impact on the future of the US-European alliance. Watch the Virtual Briefing Series here . Recorded on March 31, 2026.","meta_description":"This special episode of Middle East Focus features a conversation from MEI's Virtual Briefing Series. Host Alistair Taylor is joined by former National Se…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3509,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/middle-east-focus-529488/episodes/special-episode-europe-and-the-iran-war/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/middle-east-focus-529488/special-episode-europe-and-the-iran-war.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}