EMQs: The art of political sacking

Political Currency

Persephonica

Business, Economy, George Osborne, Westminster, Politics, News, Money, Ed Balls

4 • 855 Ratings

🗓️ 9 June 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Two Members of Parliament (and a former too!) are seeking Ed Balls’ and George Osborne’s counsel this week. The pair consider the impact of AI, courtesy of a question from Alan Mak, the MP for Havant and the Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology - who has rung in to ask how emerging technologies can help governments run better. Meanwhile, Jake Richards, a newly elected Labour member, wants their views on immigration policy.

And Ed and George are live, unscripted, and face-to-face for the first time - answering questions at the SXSW festival. The pair consider how best to handle a political sacking - would a couple of sherries help? Or should one invest in a coffee machine so you never have to leave the house? They also mull the value of a Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) degree. Plus, they share their favourite political jokes, and the role of humor and satire in the current environment …

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Producer: Miriam Hall

Senior Producer: Silvia Maresca

Video Editor: Danny Pape

Executive Producer: Ellie Clifford

Political Currency is a Persephonica Production and is part of the Acast Creator Network.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's Adam Grant from Worklife, a podcast from TED.
0:05.3	This episode is brought to you by FreshWorks.
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0:27.9	And with FreshWorks AI-assisted service software, you'll work smarter, not harder.
0:33.1	FreshWorks uncomplicates.
0:35.2	Learn more at freshworks.com.
0:40.2	The world is complex, but understanding it doesn't have to be. The economist connects the dots
0:44.5	across politics, business, science and culture, keeping you informed and prepared for what's to
0:49.3	come. Look, when decisions in Beijing shift markets in New York or a populist wave
0:53.3	ripples to your doorstep,
0:54.9	the economist explains the what and the why before your morning coffees even brewed.
0:59.9	And with a global team of reporters, they make complicated issues clear so you can navigate with confidence.
1:05.4	Search the economist and make sense of the world around you.
1:08.9	The Chancellor of the Exchequer.
1:11.0	Getting a lesson from the Shadow Chancellor and how to Chancellor of the Exchequer. Getting a lesson from the Shadow Chancellor
1:12.8	and how to balance the books,
1:14.0	it's like getting a lesson from Dracula
1:15.3	and how to look after a blood back.
	...

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