EMQs: Is politics like snooker?
Political Currency
Persephonica
4.1 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 11 May 2026
⏱️ 51 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Fresh off his trip to the Crucible to see the snooker, Ed Balls brings a question for him and George Osborne to answer on just how similar politics and snooker are. Is it all about the long game? Or do you take the risky shot when the opportunity arises? Are the two even similar? And do Ed and George know enough about the sport to say for certain?
Sunday Times columnist Charlotte Ivers then asks whether politicians are just copying TV shows like The Thick of It and The West Wing in their communications. George explains the truth in this, while Ed argues The West Wing displays an idealised version of politics and that the script writers often draw from the real life drama in politics.
Former Tory Chairman Andrew Feldman and one of our listeners then ask a pair of questions related to the public acceptance of AI, with our own guru George explaining how companies can sell the public on the benefits of AI and bust some of the myths around job losses caused by AI.
Finally, Ed and George answer the biggest question of all: do podcasts like this one influence voters? They explain how it’s been seen to happen already in the US, what things might look like in the next general election, and even manage to discuss Celebrity Traitors…
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Credits:
Research: Sam Burton
Production: Caillin McDaid & Nasreen Arain
Video Editor: Carla Mercer & Ryan Finnigan
Executive Producer: Ellie Clifford & Henrietta Harrison
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello podcast listener. |
| 0:01.6 | Hello you. |
| 0:02.4 | It's me, Greg James. |
| 0:03.8 | And me, Alice Levine. |
| 0:05.3 | Now, look, I know that you're very much enjoying this podcast that you're listening to. |
| 0:10.1 | And we're sorry to interrupt. We really are. |
| 0:12.4 | And it genuinely might not be our place to say, but is it time to try something new? |
| 0:17.9 | We would like to steal you for our new podcast. It's called Bad Chat. And it sounds a bit |
| 0:22.4 | like this. This one goes out to the walkers and the talkers and the late night. Stalkers. |
| 0:27.1 | Maybe not that one. Alice is my best friend. I am not Alice's best friend. Do you know that |
| 0:32.4 | horses' legs are their fingers? That is a bit of bad chat. From me, Greg James. |
| 0:38.6 | And me, famously, Alice Levine. |
| 0:40.6 | Listen, wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:48.2 | The Chancellor of the Exchequer. |
| 0:50.5 | Getting a lesson from the Shadow Chancellor |
| 0:52.4 | and how to balance the books, |
| 0:53.6 | it's like getting a lesson from Dracula and how to look after a blood back. |
| 0:57.3 | Ed Balls. |
| 0:58.5 | As steady as she goes, budget. |
| 1:01.5 | What kind of ship does he think he's on, the Titanic? |
| 1:04.3 | They're married to Celeste. |
| 1:05.7 | Welcome to EMQs from Political Currency. |
... |
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