{"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":"We’re all just normal people railing against politics","slug":"we-re-all-just-normal-people-railing-against-politics","published_at":"2026-05-26T16:24:26+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-state-of-it-5218105/we-re-all-just-normal-people-railing-against-politics","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-state-of-it-5218105","url":"https://shows.acast.com/times-daily-world-briefing/episodes/are-reform-worried","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/times-daily-world-briefing/e/6a1596f3942fd18754419c0a/media.mp3","summary":"In the Makerfield by-election, Reform UK have put forward a local plumber in the hope of derailing Burnham’s push for power — but a string of deeply questionable old social media posts has left the campaign wobbling. Meanwhile, on Reform’s right flank, Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain party is threatening to split the vote after a Sunday Times poll put them on 7% — enough to potentially hand Labour the advantage. Back in Downing Street, Rachel Reeves is machine-gunning her colleagues. The question is whether she genuinely believes she can survive in post under an Andy Burnham leadership. Patrick Maguire, chief political commentator, The Times Lara Spirit, deputy political editor, The Sunday Times Producers: Euan Dawtrey, Harry Kitson Executive producer: Molly Guinness Picture credit: Getty Images 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":"In the Makerfield by-election, Reform UK have put forward a local plumber in the hope of derailing Burnham’s push for power — but a string of deeply quest…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1721,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-state-of-it-5218105/episodes/we-re-all-just-normal-people-railing-against-politics/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/we-re-all-just-normal-people-railing-against-politics.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}