A dangerous games? A muted start to the Olympics
Economist Podcasts
The Economist
4.3 • 5K Ratings
🗓️ 23 July 2021
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Tokyo is under a state of emergency; covid-19 cases are piling up. But for Japan, a super-spreader event is just one of the potential costs of this year’s games. We ask why Britain’s government has essentially given amnesty to those involved in Northern Ireland’s decades of deadly violence. And our obituaries editor reflects on the life of an Auschwitz accordionist.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist. |
| 0:06.0 | I'm your host, Jason Palmer. |
| 0:09.0 | Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. |
| 0:17.0 | During the period known as the Troubles, thousands of people were killed in a sectarian struggle for the soul of Northern Ireland. |
| 0:24.6 | For many, justice was never served. |
| 0:27.6 | We ask why Britain's government is now putting a lid on any future prosecutions. |
| 0:32.6 | And, as surreal as it sounds, as trains arrived full of human cargo bound for the Auschwitz concentration camp, |
| 0:40.8 | an orchestra played on the platform. |
| 0:43.3 | Our obituaries editor recounts the haunted life of an accordionist who cried as she played. |
| 0:57.0 | But first... Banzai! |
| 1:00.0 | Banzai! |
| 1:01.0 | Eight years ago, thousands of Japanese people celebrated as Tokyo won the right to host the Olympic |
| 1:11.8 | Games. But today, as Tokyo 2020 kicks off after a year's delay, the mood is decidedly different. |
| 1:19.8 | The city is under a state of emergency because of a surge in coronavirus cases, which hit a six-month |
| 1:25.3 | high yesterday. Just 23% of the population has been fully vaccinated. |
| 1:30.3 | To try to prevent the spread of COVID-19, |
| 1:33.3 | nearly all the events will be held without fans, foreign or domestic. |
| 1:37.3 | But even that might not be enough. |
| 1:40.3 | Moshagena, |
| 1:42.3 | as a cancer or vaccine, or other rules, Nakamura Hedemasa, or, uh, vaccine, or other rules, |
| 1:46.0 | Nakemura Hedemasa, a senior Tokyo 2020 Games official, |
| 1:50.0 | said yesterday that there is no one place that has no virus cases, |
... |
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