Brussels Playbook summer episode: Verhofstadt on populism and book picks
The Brussels Playbook podcast has released a summer episode featuring book recommendations and a discussion of Guy Verhofstadt's new book 'Defeating Trumpism'.
With August marking the traditional summer slowdown in Brussels, the Brussels Playbook podcast has released a holiday-themed episode that combines summer reading recommendations with a closer look at contemporary political challenges. The episode features book suggestions gathered from the Politico newsroom and from listeners, covering a range of genres from true-crime thrillers to in-depth political works.
Beyond the book recommendations, the episode turns to the topic of populism and the difficulties facing liberal democracies around the world. This discussion is tied to the new book “Defeating Trumpism” by Guy Verhofstadt, the former Belgian prime minister and former member of the European Parliament. According to the show, the book serves as a self-diagnosis by one of Europe’s most committed centrists, reflecting on what he considers the failures of the centrist political movement. Verhofstadt’s proposed solution is a new political paradigm he calls “Citizenism.”
The episode arrives as the podcast prepares for a short hiatus. The team will take a two-week break, and the daily Brussels Playbook Podcast will return to listeners’ feeds on August 24. The Week Ender podcast will follow on August 28. The show also invites listeners to send questions or comments through WhatsApp, using the number +32 491 05 06 29. Whether listeners are spending August by the sea or staying in town, the episode is designed to provide reading material and food for thought during the summer weeks.
