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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Episode 55, presented by Raytheon: Inside the N...
A special defense-themed episode take you inside this week’s tense NATO summit and discusses the new specialism of 24/7 POTUS management. The stellar line-up includes United States Ambassadors Alexander Vershbow and Daniel Fried; Beatrice Fihn who leads I
31 min
552
Episode 54: NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg — Polis...
A bumper episode featuring NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg who’s got a present for Donald Trump ahead of next week’s NATO summit in Brussels, and Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who has presided of the sacking of 27 Polish judges this we
37 min
553
Episode 53, presented by Google: Wolfgang Schäu...
It’s summit week: crammed with migration and Trump and eurozone and Brexit and will-Merkel-stay-or-go drama.One man who could benefit greatly from Merkel going is Wolfgang Schäuble, her long-time rival and finance minister, now president of the Bundesta
43 min
554
Episode 52, presented by Martens Centre: Women ...
This week’s theme is Women Rule! Our feature interview is with Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of U.N. Women, who’s got passionate views about violence, #MeToo and more.Mlambo-Ngcuka spoke to POLITICO reporter Ginger Hervey, who joins us to
36 min
555
Episode 51: Helle Thorning-Schmidt — European P...
Helle Thorning Schmidt, the former Danish PM who's now head of Save the Children International, is our main guest. Host Ryan Heath asks her about tackling populism and who should lead Europe.Ryan also talks to Jaume Duch, who runs communications for the
36 min
556
Episode 50, presented by Google: How NGOs lobby...
A blockbuster episode, our 50th, in which three guests from the world of NGOs talk about the joys of their work and their frustrations at dealing with the EU and national governments.Our first 50 episodes featured nine current national leaders, eight Eur
47 min
557
Episode 49, sponsored by Barilla Foundation: Ni...
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon talks to host Ryan Heath in an interview recorded in front of an audience at POLITICO's Brussels HQ. Sturgeon shares her views on Brexit, the chances of Britain remaining in a customs union with the EU, and anothe
49 min
558
Episode 48: Big tech’s brain hijack — Data prot...
It’s a tech special this week — but you don’t have to be a geek to understand any of it. Host Ryan Heath talks to Tristan Harris, who spent three years as a design ethicist at Google and has been called “the closest thing Silicon Valley has to a conscienc
34 min
559
Episode 47: Combating anti-Semitism — Boosting ...
We dive right in with two interviews — the first with the EU’s coordinator for combatting anti-Semitism, Katharina von Schnurbein. Then we speak to Martina Larkin, who is heading up a World Economic Forum initiative to support the Balkans. And the podcast
42 min
560
Episode 46, presented by Grow with Google: Curb...
Host Ryan Heath talks to author Vincent Stuer about his new book, Curb Your Idealism: The European Union as seen from within.Ryan also chats to Luca Jahier, the new president of the European Economic and Social Committee, who says it's time to rediscover
41 min
561
Episode 45: Margrethe Vestager — EU budget batt...
Ryan Heath hits the road with Europe’s Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager — darling of Emmanuel Macron and foe of tax cheats and tech giants — to learn about how one Belgian city went from wasteland to strength in diversity. Sound like a campaign
37 min
562
Episode 44, presented by Grow with Google: EU's...
Spencer Dale, the former chief economist at the Bank of England who now holds the same position at energy giant BP, is our main guest this week. He looks into Europe’s energy future and discusses the dangers of groupthink in both his current and former jo
40 min
563
Episode 43, presented by Grow with Google: Céci...
Cécile Kyenge, one of the few black members of the European Parliament, talks to Ryan Heath about the obstacles and abuse she’s faced in her career — and what she wants the EU institutions to do to foster more diversity in their ranks. We also talk to o
35 min
564
Episode 42: The Orbán effect — Mr. Data Protect...
Kati Marton, a veteran reporter and author now with the Committee to Protect Journalists, talks to host Ryan Heath about how the reelection of Victor Orbán in Hungary will impact media freedom in Europe. Jan Philipp Albrecht, also known as Mr. Data Prot
32 min
565
Episode 41: Bill Gates — Judging junkets — Gree...
Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder and philanthropist, is this week’s main guest. He talks to Ryan Heath about the work of his foundations, the next EU budget and the Oxfam scandal.And we talk to Politico health reporter Carmen Paun about how Gates has s
36 min
566
Episode 40, presented by Edelman and PAC: Brexi...
With a year to go until Brexit, we take stock of where things stand and what lies ahead.The European Parliament's Brexit Coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, talks to EU Confidential's executive producer, Andrew Gray, about the biggest Brexit challenges and ho
37 min
567
Episode 39: Lithuania's Linas Linkevičius — Art...
Russia, artificial intelligence and MEPs who are famous for the wrong reasons all feature in this week’s episode.Host Ryan Heath talks to the foreign minister of Lithuania, Linas Linkevičius, about how the EU should handle Moscow, following Vladimir Put
30 min
568
Episode 38: President Margvelashvili of Georgia...
On this episode Ryan talks to Giorgi Margvelashvili, the president of Georgia who is a doctor of philosophy and was in town for the German Marshall Fund’s Brussels Forum. Following that Michael O’Leary, the gruff CEO and founder of Ryanair, who's discover
39 min
569
Episode 37, presented by DowDupont: Marianne Th...
Ryan Heath talks to Marianne Thyssen, the European Commissioner for employment, about how she wants to overhaul EU policies on jobs, education and training to face up to globalization. She also talks about the surprise in the College of Commissioners when
48 min
570
Ep. 36 : Tony Blair interview — Food bank furor...
Tony Blair came to Brussels this week with a clear message, delivered in this week's interview: I’m trying to stop Brexit, and there’s only one shot left — European immigration controls. If that idea or a second British Brexit referendum fails, Europe wil
37 min
571
Episode 35, presented by Raytheon: Ben Hodges —...
This week's episode features a review of the Munich Security Conference and an interview with Ben Hodges, who recently retired as commanding general of the U.S. Army in Europe. Also on the podcast: our panelists give their verdict on the big new job for
37 min
572
Episode 34: Alexander Stubb — Spitzenkandidat —...
This week's special guest is Alexander Stubb, the former Finnish prime minister and ex-MEP who is now vice president of the European Investment Bank (EIB). Stubb talks about how the bank will handle Brexit and how it will play an increasing role as the EU
35 min
573
Episode 33: Nick Clegg — Western Balkans tough ...
EU politics this week was all about shrinkage and enlargement.The shrinkage of course is Brexit, with the U.K. government again failing to set out its negotiating position and Michel Barnier sweeping through London to explain the EU's red lines. EU Conf
32 min
574
Episode 32: Czech politics — Slovenian PM Cerar...
It's a bumper episode this week. We hear from POLITICO's man in Prague, Siegfried Mortkowitz, about the good cop-bad cop Euroskeptic routine coming out of the Czech capital, and we catch up with a prime minister, a bank chief and an MEP that Ryan Heath sp
37 min
575
Episode 31: Direct from Davos — Dutch PM Mark R...
We've got the lowdown from Davos in another special edition from the World Economic Forum. The podcast features interviews with two prime ministers — the Netherlands' Mark Rutte and Poland's Mateusz Morawiecki — as well as U.S. investor Bill McGlashan, a
37 min