Nobody’s fuel: Britain’s shortages
Economist Podcasts
The Economist
4.3 • 5K Ratings
🗓️ 30 September 2021
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
From chicken to petrol, Britons are facing long queues and bare shelves. We ask about the multifarious reasons behind the shortfalls, and how long they will last. Tunisia’s democracy has been looking shaky for months; we examine what may change with yesterday’s appointment of its first-ever female prime minister. And India’s beleaguered unmarried couples at last are getting some privacy.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist. |
| 0:07.4 | I'm your host, Jason Palmer. |
| 0:09.3 | Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. |
| 0:18.1 | Tunisia's 10-year-old democracy has seemed threatened since July, when its president assumed |
| 0:23.6 | almost dictatorial powers. We ask what to make of the fact that yesterday he made a surprise |
| 0:29.6 | appointment, the country's first female prime minister. And spare a thought for India's |
| 0:36.6 | unmarried couples. |
| 0:38.8 | Widespread conservative notions mean they get far more than just stairs. |
| 0:43.3 | Sometimes police even round them up. |
| 0:45.8 | We take a look at how a certain entrepreneurial spirit might reflect changing values. |
| 0:55.5 | But first... |
| 0:56.4 | In Britain, things are running out. |
| 1:03.1 | Milkshakes from McDonald's, chicken from a chain called Nando's, which kind of only sells |
| 1:08.2 | chicken. |
| 1:09.2 | And this week, petrol. |
| 1:13.6 | I work 30 odd miles away from here. I've got 40 miles left in the tank. |
| 1:15.6 | I'm not going to have enough fuel to actually get on. |
| 1:18.6 | Britons have wasted untold hours queuing up at the station. |
| 1:22.6 | People are going a bit nuts because 6 a.m. in the morning people are queering up for petrol. |
| 1:26.6 | And inside, people are getting crazy, man, I swear. |
| 1:30.3 | Just typical, isn't it? This always happens if it's not toilet rolls now, it's petrol. |
| 1:34.7 | This is a circus. |
... |
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