{"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":"Trump’s Iran Strike and Britain’s Dilemma","slug":"trump-s-iran-strike-and-britain-s-dilemma","published_at":"2026-03-05T21:25:48+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/political-currency-6989276/trump-s-iran-strike-and-britain-s-dilemma","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/political-currency-6989276","url":"https://shows.acast.com/politicalcurrency-1/episodes/trumps-iran-strike-and-britains-dilemma","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/64fb2b0f977e5a001226cb16/e/69a9f4dce2ffe1fef601aa87/media.mp3","summary":"After weeks of warnings from George Osborne and Ed Balls, Donald Trump has rolled the dice and launched Operation Epic Fury and Operation Rising Lion against Iran. The strikes sent shockwaves around the world, with many wondering what Trump’s real motivations were. Why did Trump act now? What is his endgame? And what could the domestic and geopolitical consequences be? Ed and George unpack the strategic calculations behind the decision, from Middle East security to access to oil, and discuss the geopolitical fallout that may follow. The conflict in Iran has also brought about the starkest moment of disagreement between UK and US since the Vietnam war. Keir Starmer refused to follow the US and Israel, but how much was that position based on internal disagreements within Labour and the long political shadow of the Iraq War? Finally, the pair turn to Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement. Did the Chancellor miss the mark? With defence spending pressures rising and unresolved questions around student loans, they ask if the statement was unusually partisan despite delivering few major policy changes. 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. Thanks for listening. To get episodes early and ad- free join Political Currency Gold or our Kitchen Cabinet. If you want even more perks including our exclusive newsletter, join our Kitchen Cabinet today: 👉 patreon.com/politicalcurrency 👉 Apple Podcasts Please note: Kitchen Cabinet is only available via Patreon. Credits: Research: Sam Burton Production: Caillin McDaid & Caitlin Caitlin Hanrahan   Video Editor: Avi Asher Executive Producer: Ellie Clifford Political Currency is a Persephonica Production and is part…","meta_description":"After weeks of warnings from George Osborne and Ed Balls, Donald Trump has rolled the dice and launched Operation Epic Fury and Operation Rising Lion agai…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3760,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/political-currency-6989276/episodes/trump-s-iran-strike-and-britain-s-dilemma/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/trump-s-iran-strike-and-britain-s-dilemma.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}