Men On A Mission
From Our Own Correspondent
BBC
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 25 May 2017
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
White candles for a murdered Mexican journalist, purple glitter for an Iranian President and the Pope's modest blue car. Kate Adie introduces correspondents' stories. On his first full day in office, the recently elected French President Emmanuel Macron was in Berlin to “breathe new dynamism" into Franco-German relations. But what does Germany make of Macron? Damien McGuinness has been finding out. Purple was the signature colour of President Rouhani’s re-election campaign in Iran and, following his victory, Nanna Muus Steffensen finds it everywhere; purple glitter, headbands, t-shirts, even hair dye. In Mexico Juan Paullier is among the journalists protesting the murder of one of their own – the committed chronicler of the country’s drug wars, Javier Valdez. While the Pope wants a simpler, humbler Church, he’s also very willing to use the grandeur of the Vatican to his advantage, finds Christopher Lamb as President Trump meets Pope Francis for the first time. And in America, could a good walk help heal a divided country? Phoebe Smith goes for a hike along the Appalachian Trail.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is the BBC. |
| 0:02.0 | And this is the ever colourful from our own correspondent. |
| 0:06.0 | This is the edition that was broadcast on Radio 4 on May 25th, 2017. |
| 0:12.0 | Now here's Kate A.D. Hello today campaigning politicians love |
| 0:18.0 | colours on posters on the battle bus. Iranian voters upped the game purple glitter purple t-shirts and |
| 0:26.4 | purple hair dye. We watch a ribbon of black as the American presidential |
| 0:31.6 | four by four swept into the Vatican this week, |
| 0:34.4 | plus a small modest blue family car. |
| 0:37.2 | In Mexico, any correspondent takes dreadful risks |
| 0:41.6 | trying to cover the vicious drug wars, yet another has been murdered. |
| 0:46.6 | And how to unite a divided country? |
| 0:49.2 | How about a long walk in the United States. Brexit might mean many things, but it does mean keeping an |
| 0:57.3 | eye on how the powerful EU members are getting along with each other. The new French |
| 1:02.2 | president has already been to Berlin on his |
| 1:04.8 | first full day in office. Three of President Macron's minister speak fluent German, |
| 1:10.3 | and the French need to convince the Germans of their proposed reforms and promises to |
| 1:15.0 | kick-start the French economy which they hope to implement after parliamentary elections in June. |
| 1:21.3 | Damien McGinnis says the Germans are eyeing all this with some reservation. |
| 1:26.5 | If you want to get an argument going at a German dinner party, just bring up Eurobonds or shared liabilities or the latest euro zone bailout. |
| 1:37.0 | Now these might not sound like fiery conversation topics but in Germany they divide society like gun control in the US or Brexit in the UK |
| 1:47.4 | the stuff of ferocious and at times misleading headlines that's because in the tabloid vocabulary here, these financial phrases |
| 1:56.8 | are another way of saying that German taxpayers will be asked to fork out for chaotic Southern |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.