{"podcast":{"title":"The State of It","slug":"the-state-of-it-5218105","podcast_index_feed_id":5218105,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/3b497baf-71cb-4c27-ae5a-f1e801822221","website_url":"https://www.thetimes.co.uk","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/621f5d0f4892fde41624d4ac/1758518523558-c1d7432f-3f01-45e2-a3c5-4c0c8592e901.jpeg","author":"Dan Box","episode_count":51,"summary":"Real reporting from the coalface of British politics. Join The Times and The Sunday Times’s political heavyweights Steven Swinford, Patrick Maguire and Lara Spirit as they dig deep into the latest tea room tip offs, reveal insider conversations and bring analysis, authority and insight. No party loyalty. No spin. Not hosted by some old politicians. Taking you into the real business of politics, from those who live it daily. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-22T22:18:38.877022+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-state-of-it-5218105"},"episode":{"title":"Ghostings and betrayals: Starmer's cabinet prepares for an Andy Burnham coup","slug":"ghostings-and-betrayals-starmer-s-cabinet-prepares-for-an-andy-burnham-coup","published_at":"2026-06-16T16:35:02+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-state-of-it-5218105/ghostings-and-betrayals-starmer-s-cabinet-prepares-for-an-andy-burnham-coup","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-state-of-it-5218105","url":"https://shows.acast.com/times-daily-world-briefing/episodes/ghosted-by","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/times-daily-world-briefing/e/6a314b371f4c78697a49f22c/media.mp3","summary":"Makerfield is the most consequential by-election in history. Andy Burnham is confident he'll win. What happens then? When and how does he make a move? What can Keir Starmer do to thwart him? We have several scoops for you today. Listen to find out which cabinet ministers are thinking of resigning after Makerfield and which senior figure has been ghosting the PM. If Andy Burnham does get to Number 10, the whole direction of his premiership will depend on who he picks for his cabinet. We bring you the latest on what his team is thinking. And of course it's also possible that Reform UK could beat Labour in Makerfield — what then? Steven Swinford, political editor, The Times Patrick Maguire, chief political commentator, The Times Lara Spirit, deputy political editor, The Sunday Times Executive producer: Molly Guinness Video editor: George Clare Picture credit: Getty Images Audio: Times Radio This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe  here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"Makerfield is the most consequential by-election in history. Andy Burnham is confident he'll win. What happens then? When and how does he make a move? Wha…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1723,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-state-of-it-5218105/episodes/ghostings-and-betrayals-starmer-s-cabinet-prepares-for-an-andy-burnham-coup/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-state-of-it-5218105/ghostings-and-betrayals-starmer-s-cabinet-prepares-for-an-andy-burnham-coup.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}