Checks and Balance: Oil be back
Economist Podcasts
The Economist
4.4 • 4.9K Ratings
🗓️ 17 April 2020
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
President Trump scored a big diplomatic win by pushing the main oil producing countries to agree to cut output. A price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, combined with the slump in demand caused by the coronavirus, had halved oil prices. Trump said the deal would save thousands of American energy jobs. But pushing for higher oil prices in an election year is a ploy more common in Caracas or Moscow than Washington DC. Has Donald Trump made America an energy superpower? How reliable is his bet on oil as an electoral strategy?
In this episode we assess Trump’s deal, trace the origins of America’s obsession with energy independence, and debate whether fossil fuels or climate consciousness will win more votes.
John Prideaux, The Economist’s US editor, hosts with Charlotte Howard, New York bureau chief, and Washington correspondent Jon Fasman.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | News of the global climate crisis can leave us feeling helpless. |
| 0:04.8 | Too much negativity can trigger our eco-anxiety, leaving us paralyzed when we need to act. |
| 0:10.8 | This is why EONNEXT is in search of better news to power up for change. |
| 0:15.8 | Did you know global efforts to repair the ozone layer are on cost to succeed according |
| 0:20.4 | to the UN? |
| 0:21.6 | Facing out ozone-depleting chemicals will ensure protection from harmful rays across |
| 0:26.6 | much of the world by 2040. |
| 0:29.2 | If you're feeling impacted by eco-anxiety, EONNEXT have created a range of resources |
| 0:34.5 | such as guided meditations. |
| 0:36.6 | Just search power up for change in your podcasting app. |
| 0:42.7 | On the way back from the Yalta conference in 1945, Franklin Roosevelt made an unexpected |
| 0:48.2 | stop. |
| 0:49.7 | He met Ibn Saud, the first Saudi monarch, on board the USS Quincy, Morden Egypt's great |
| 0:55.8 | bitter lake. |
| 0:57.7 | In the memory of the lack of privacy on a Navy vessel, the king had left his wives behind, |
| 1:02.6 | but his entourage did include an astrologer and a herd of goats. |
| 1:07.0 | To seal the new pact, one of the animals was slaughtered on the deck of the warship. |
| 1:12.0 | The Saudi kingdom became one of America's oldest continuous allies and a regular bit |
| 1:16.9 | part in the drama of presidential politics. |
| 1:20.9 | With 199 days to go, this is Chex and Balance. |
| 1:28.7 | I'm John Prado, the economist's US editor, and this is a podcast about the 2020 elections. |
| 1:34.8 | Each week we take one big theme, shaping American politics and explore it in depth. |
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