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.
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Ep 121: Goulard rejected — Sondland in hot wate...
Commission drama, impeachment battles, countries struggling to leave and join the EU, and fights over transparency in politics — they’re all here in our latest episode. France's Commission pick Sylvie Goulard is out. It’s a big blow to Commission Presid
37 min
477
SPONSORED CONTENT: As farms go digital, possibi...
In the special branded episode of EU Confidential Goes Green by Bayer: The episode focuses on digital tools being used on European farms, and the new technologies that are around the corner. Featuring interviews with Jan Huitema, a Dutch MEP and farmer, D
35 min
478
Ep 120, presented by ExxonMobil: Boris’ Brexit ...
On our latest episode of the new EU Confidential, POLITICO's Annabelle Dickson unpacks Boris Johnson's new Brexit plan. Meanwhile in Brussels, confirmation hearings for new European Commissioners are well underway. Incoming Commission chief Ursula von der
34 min
479
Ep 119, presented by the European Commission: V...
This week’s episode takes us to London, New York and around the Continent. We start in Brussels, where members of the European Parliament rejected the Romanian and Hungarian nominees for the next European Commission over concerns about potential conflicts
39 min
480
Ep 118, presented by BP: Georgian President Sal...
In our just-released podcast, we review the week in European politics and speak to the president of a small country with big geopolitical challenges."Protecting the European way of life” and other curious job titles in the next European Commission are c
35 min
481
Ep 117 Special Edition: US Ambassador to the EU...
In a special edition of the EU Confidential podcast, U.S. Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland speaks with POLITICO’s Ryan Heath about the state of relations between Europe and the United States. Donald Trump’s man in Brussels talks about the prospects of
25 min
482
Ep 116, presented by Bayer: Swedish Enviro Mini...
The new episode of POLITICO's EU Confidential podcast is part of our "goes green" series. And the timing could hardly be better, with Ursula von der Leyen this week unveiling her team for the new European Commission — featuring a vice president for a Euro
39 min
483
Ep 115, presented by the European Commission: B...
Our brand new podcast focuses on the Brexit drama in London — but not just from a British perspective. POLITICO journalists Rym Momtaz (based in Paris), Matthew Karnitschnig (Berlin), Annabelle Dickson (London) and Andrew Gray (Brussels) bring you insight
38 min
484
Episode 114, presented by Shell: Ryan Heath sig...
In this episode the POLITICO team turns the tables on Ryan Heath, who finishes as host of EU Confidential this episode, and interviews him about the high, lows and changes he has seen in EU politics over the past 12 years. From next week the podcast will
39 min
485
Episode 113, presented by Citi: Megan Richards
Ryan Heath interviews Megan Richards, a Canadian who spent three decades working for the EU, rising to be one of its top officials in digital and later energy policy. It's a short episode this week, all the better to let you enjoy your holidays.
21 min
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Episode 112, presented by Bayer: Electrificatio...
This week we’re going Green again: Ryan Heath talks to Kristian Ruby who runs Eurelectric and the Electrification Alliance, as a way to clean our energy systems. After that, POLITICO's Anca Gurzu takes a hydrogen-powered car for a wild test drive. It's
41 min
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Episode 111 — Inside UK Parliament's groping, h...
As Boris Johnson's begins his term as U.K. prime minister on a fast and furious Brexit course, Annabelle Dickson asks the Conservative leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg, and a group of U.K. Parliament staffers, what they think about a seeming
38 min
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Episode 110: Author Peter May - Boris begins - ...
Best-selling author Peter May talks about his political thriller set in Brussels, The Man With No Face, just republished four decades after he wrote it. Forget the heatwave sweeping the Continent and dive into a dark and wintry world of intrigue and murde
36 min
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Episode 109, presented by BP: Mette Grolleman —...
Mette Grolleman runs the biggest lobbying office in Brussels — FleishmanHillard — and isn’t tempted to return to the Berlaymont to work for her old boss Margrethe Vestager: “When you leave, you have to leave,” she told EU Confidential. Grolleman’s new
31 min
490
Episode 108 — Paul Adamson, godfather of Brusse...
In our latest podcast episode, we discuss the life of a lobbyist, the latest in the Brussels hustle, and the recent transatlantic twitterstorm.This week’s feature interview is with Paul Adamson, the godfather of Brussels lobbying. He talks to Ryan about
33 min
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Episode 107: Moonshot Venture's Mark MacGann ——...
A surprise European Commission presidential nominee landed on Brussels this week: the polished and much-criticised defense minister of Germany, Ursula von der Leyen. The job is now hers to lose, and she might indeed lose it. German greens and socialists a
37 min
492
Episode 106, presented by Bayer: Can capitalism...
In the latest in our occasional series focusing on green issues, we ask whether capitalism can save the planet.The European Commission held a sustainable finance conference this week, and two of our reporters went along to get beyond the hype. Tune in t
45 min
493
Episode 105, presented by Romania's EU presiden...
David Miliband speaks to POLITICO’s Brexit editor James Randerson in our feature interview this week.It’s delicious timing, given the U.K. is getting a new prime minister and the EU is getting a new slate of leaders. Had history taken just a slightly di
34 min
494
Episode 104: Jean-Claude Juncker & Shada Islam
Hear European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in conversation with POLITICO's Florian Eder, discussing Trump, Brexit and more.Also this week, Shada Islam from think tank Friends of Europe talks to POLITICO's Ryan Heath about educating EU newbies
38 min
495
Episode 103: Danny Alexander — Debating the Tru...
In a week full of world-shaping history, from the 75th D-Day anniversary to the 30th anniversary of the Tianamen Square massacre, our feature interview is with former U.K. Cabinet minister Danny Alexander. He flew in from Beijing to discuss his new work a
32 min
496
Episode 102: Martin Selmayr — EU election results
A look back at the European Parliament election results, and a look ahead to the race for EU top jobs.Ryan Heath interviews Martin Selmayr, the powerful and controversial secretary-general of the European Commission, at a special POLITICO event the day
36 min
497
Episode 101: Bruno Le Maire and EU election pre...
Bruno Le Maire, French minister of economy and finance, outlines his big ambitions for collecting tax from giant companies, creating a eurozone budget and ensuring European sovereignty on key new technologies. Does it, or will it, amount to a "new capital
30 min
498
XX Factor Episode 5 — UK: Annunziata Rees-Mogg,...
After three years of divisive Brexit debate and voting in the United Kingdom, POLITICO's Annabelle Dickson surveyed the damage and opportunities that have arisen as British voters unexpectedly head to vote in the 2019 European Parliament election. How hav
29 min
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**Episode 100** presented by Bayer: Air polluti...
For EU Green Week and EU Public Health Week, we go to an issue at the intersection of those themes: air quality. The World Health Organisation attributes up to seven million deaths annually to air pollution. The topic is getting political too, thanks to
35 min
500
Episode 99: Frans Timmermans and Margrethe Vest...
We have a double-header this week: interviews with both Frans Timmermans (Socialist) and Margrethe Vestager (Liberal), two rivals to become European Commission president.Ryan Heath and Nazan Gökdemir jointly interviewed the candidates as part of a telev
42 min