A murder exploited: Britain’s George Floyd moment that wasn’t
Economist Podcasts
The Economist
4.3 • 5K Ratings
🗓️ 4 June 2026
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Nigel Farage, leader of the populist-right Reform UK party, wants Britons to be enraged by a killing in the street. We ask why his tone has changed from “colour-blind” to race-baiting. NATO must now take seriously the idea that America is pulling back; we ask how it is adjusting. And why skipping title sequences is forgoing some of television’s magic.
Guests and host:
- Hugo Gye, British political correspondent
- Jonathan Rosenthal, international correspondent
- Andrew Miller, “Back Story” columnist
- Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Topics covered:
- British politics, race relations
- NATO, American foreign policy
- television, media
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Economist. |
| 0:09.8 | Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist. I'm Jason Palmer. |
| 0:19.1 | Today on the show, how NATO is preparing for life without America, |
| 0:23.5 | and what is lost when everyone skips TV show intros. |
| 0:33.5 | But first... |
| 0:41.3 | ... But first......aunt Alright, let's get you out of there, shall we? |
| 0:45.3 | A content warning here, you're about to hear some of the last words of Henry Novak, an 18-year-old student. |
| 0:50.3 | A police officer is speaking to him shortly after he was stabbed in the English city of Southampton. |
| 0:57.0 | All right, mate. |
| 0:58.0 | You've been stabbed, whereabouts? |
| 1:01.0 | I don't think you have, mate. |
| 1:05.0 | The police handcuff Henry and initially ignore his pleas. |
| 1:09.0 | Hand? What can't breathe. |
| 1:12.6 | Put the hand in the cuff, mate. |
| 1:15.6 | The last thing you can hear him say on the recording is, |
| 1:18.6 | please, brother, I can't breathe. |
| 1:20.6 | For many people, those words will spark a grim memory from six years ago. |
| 1:29.7 | In Britain, one party, one man, wants to use Mr Novak's death to make more of that echo. |
| 1:36.3 | By the moment you are under arrest, that's for assault, so you do not have to say anything in Mayhemma defense. |
| 1:39.9 | If you do not make your mind questions. |
| 1:41.2 | Henry died on the 3rd of December last year, but the police body cam |
| 1:44.4 | footage of his final moments has only just been released after the conclusion of his murderer's |
... |
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