{"podcast":{"title":"Political Currency","slug":"political-currency-6989276","podcast_index_feed_id":6989276,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/politicalcurrency-1","website_url":"https://shows.acast.com/politicalcurrency","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/64fb2b0f977e5a001226cb16/1735495247634-23a6477e-89d6-4ff4-b529-bbb565f05da4.jpeg","author":"Persephonica","episode_count":292,"summary":"Ed Balls and George Osborne take us behind closed doors into the rooms where decisions are made. Having battled it out across the despatch box, the former Chancellor and shadow chancellor now meet in the studio to discuss the decisions that affect the nation’s pockets. Our frenemies have the knowledge and experience to explain how good politics follows the economics - and expose how the powerful become powerless when faced with market forces and political currents they can’t control. Join us every Thursday. Send your messages or voice notes to questions@politicalcurrency.co.uk Find us on social media @polcurrency Political Currency is a Persephonica production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-26T06:17:12.365480+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/political-currency-6989276"},"episode":{"title":"Has the race to succeed Starmer kicked off?","slug":"has-the-race-to-succeed-starmer-kicked-off","published_at":"2026-03-19T19:41:23+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/political-currency-6989276/has-the-race-to-succeed-starmer-kicked-off","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/political-currency-6989276","url":"https://shows.acast.com/politicalcurrency-1/episodes/has-the-race-to-succeed-starmer-kicked-off","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/64fb2b0f977e5a001226cb16/e/69bc4df762f6c66afe5deb2d/media.mp3","summary":"The war in the middle east has entered its third week. Tensions rose overnight when Israel hit a natural gas field in Iran, and Iran retaliated by bombing gas facilities in Qatar. The result was oil prices skyrocketing. Ed Balls and George Osborne discuss what appears to be a communication breakdown between Israel and the US, and question whether they are aligned in their respective endgames.  Earlier this week the Chancellor Rachel Reeves gave the Mais lecture at the Bayes Business School. She said fiscal devolution, closer relations with Europe, AI and innovation would bring growth in the UK. But was the speech too partisan and lacking economic theory? And, Angela Rayner is back - delivering a speech criticising the government’s proposed immigration reforms. Is she planning to stick the knife in Keir Starmer, à la Michael Heseltine and Margaret Thatcher, and if so - does she have the right qualifications to lead the country? Ed and George look at past transitions mid-government for Labour and more widely, and examine how Rayner’s strengths and weaknesses may impact her chances at No. 10. We love hearing from you, so please don’t forget to send all your EMQs to questions@politicalcurrency and make sure to include a voice note of your question. This podcast is sponsored by Chip. Join 400,000 customers building long term wealth. Also Chip have agreed that just for our listeners, for your first £10,000 deposited into Chip before midnight 20 March 2026, they’ll give you a Fortnum & Mason hamper after holding it for 90 days - just head to getchip.uk/politicalcurrency. T&Cs apply, you must be a new Chip customer, over 18, a UK tax resident, and it’s app only. Chip is a trading name of Chip Financial Limited. Savings products are provided by Clearbank and a…","meta_description":"The war in the middle east has entered its third week. Tensions rose overnight when Israel hit a natural gas field in Iran, and Iran retaliated by bombing…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3360,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/political-currency-6989276/episodes/has-the-race-to-succeed-starmer-kicked-off/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/political-currency-6989276/has-the-race-to-succeed-starmer-kicked-off.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}