{"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":"Keir Starmer's fight with \"reckless\" striking doctors. And Labour's Zack Polanski problem","slug":"keir-starmer-s-fight-with-reckless-striking-doctors-and-labour-s-zack-polanski-problem","published_at":"2026-03-31T15:26:47+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-state-of-it-5218105/keir-starmer-s-fight-with-reckless-striking-doctors-and-labour-s-zack-polanski-problem","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-state-of-it-5218105","url":"https://shows.acast.com/times-daily-world-briefing/episodes/how-zack-polanski-plans-to-eat-labours-lunch","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/times-daily-world-briefing/e/69cb978de8519e977f3f88c6/media.mp3","summary":"Inside the negotiations between the government and the doctors' union, the BMA. Why is Keir Starmer putting himself front and centre of this rather than leaving it to his health secretary, Wes Streeting? Even though the Green Party's spring conference this weekend descended into chaotic rows, their leader Zack Polanski has a plan to win over the unions, and it might just work. We have some exclusive words from him. Scoop: what exactly is going wrong with the small boats talks between Britain and France? Gabriel Pogrund, Whitehall editor, The Sunday Times Lara Spirit, deputy political editor, The Sunday Times Producers: Euan Dawtrey, Harry Kitson Executive producer: Molly Guinness Picture credit: Getty Images Email us: thestateofit@thetimes.co.uk 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":"Inside the negotiations between the government and the doctors' union, the BMA. Why is Keir Starmer putting himself front and centre of this rather than l…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1693,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-state-of-it-5218105/episodes/keir-starmer-s-fight-with-reckless-striking-doctors-and-labour-s-zack-polanski-problem/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/keir-starmer-s-fight-with-reckless-striking-doctors-and-labour-s-zack-polanski-problem.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}