Brussels Playbook Podcast

POLITICO’s daily audio briefing on what’s moving Brussels — and why it matters.

The Brussels Playbook Podcast is the audio extension of the Brussels Playbook newsletter. Hosted by POLITICO's chief EU correspondent, Zoya Sheftalovich, the podcast runs Monday through Thursday, offering a clear, reporting-driven guide to EU politics in under 15 minutes. It’s a perfect companion for your morning coffee.

Each episode takes listeners inside the decisions, power shifts and debates shaping the day in Brussels — and explains how they connect to national capitals across Europe.

Clear, conversational and shaped by reporting from the heart of the EU, the Brussels Playbook Podcast brings context to EU politics as your day begins.

On Fridays, the same feed features a longer episode that goes deeper into the week’s biggest themes, offering context and analysis beyond the daily news cycle — with Sarah Wheaton behind the mic. 


News
Politics
News Commentary
1
About those energy bills, Commissioner...
Zoya Sheftalovich speaks with Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen in a conversation recorded live at POLITICO’s Competitive Europe summit.
15 min
2
More Russian snooping allegations
After Hungary was accused of leaking sensitive EU discussions to the Kremlin, the spotlight is now shifting to Germany.
13 min
3
Is Hungary leaking EU secrets? A crisis of trus...
Zoya Sheftalovich and Nick Vinocur unpack Donald Tusk’s accusation that Hungary may have leaked sensitive European Council discussions to Moscow
15 min
4
High price to pay: EU and UN wrestle with Middl...
34 min
5
Time for a tense summit
EU leaders gather in Brussels for a high-stakes summit — with Viktor Orbán once again at the center of the debate over funding Ukraine.
14 min
6
Breaking the Orbán deadlock
Europe is working hard to end the standoff with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán over the €90 billion loan promised to Ukraine.
13 min
7
Europe rejects Trump’s Iran demands
European affairs ministers meet in Brussels to prepare this week’s EU summit
14 min
8
The EU's energy dilemma
Energy markets are on edge as Iran tensions disrupt shipping and threaten supply shocks.
15 min
9
Europe should back American strikes on Iran, sa...
35 min
10
Zelenskyy vs. Orbán
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is urging Europe to find a way around Hungary.
15 min
11
Europe’s plan to keep Ukraine afloat
Ukraine is running out of money to fight Russia — but Hungary still isn’t budging on its opposition to the EU’s €90 billion loan to Kyiv.
15 min
12
Europe braces for an energy crisis
14 min
13
Von der Leyen accused of overreach
Some European governments are arguing Commission President Ursula von der Leyen overstepped her mandate in her response to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
15 min
14
How Europe survives when there are no rules
For decades, Europeans shared a simple belief: that the world — however messy — ultimately runs on rules.
27 min
15
Iran war: Europe weighs migration risk
A controversial new idea on EU enlargement is stirring debate in Brussels.
15 min
16
The making of 'Made in Europe'
“Made in Europe” is finally here.
12 min
17
Caught between wars
Europe is no longer watching the conflict in the Middle East from a distance — it’s directly entangled.
14 min
18
Europe's balancing act on Iran
After a weekend of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran — and the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — Brussels is moving to coordinate its diplomatic response.
15 min
19
Diplomats or disruptors — when Trump’s ambassad...
Ambassadors are supposed to smooth tensions, not spark them.
27 min
20
Inside EU ambassadors' crisis 'bunker'
Brussels is adjusting to a shifting geopolitical landscape.
14 min
21
Who showed up — and who didn't — for Kyiv's big...
Europe marked four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion with a high-profile show of solidarity in Kyiv on Tuesday.
13 min
22
Four years of war — and Hungary breaks EU unity
On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, European leaders gather in Kyiv to signal unity and solidarity.
14 min
23
Sanctions, tensions — and a birthday at the FAC
EU foreign ministers are gathering in Brussels with one clear goal: to agree on a 20th sanctions package against Russia.
14 min
24
The EU’s envoy to Ukraine on war, resilience — ...
An air raid siren sounded as we were wrapping up our interview with the EU’s ambassador in Kyiv.
34 min
25
Testing Trump’s Board of Peace
The EU is taking a careful seat at Donald Trump’s first meeting of the Board of Peace — sending Mediterranean Commissioner Dubravka Šuica, but not signing up to the initiative.
14 min