Pakistan flooding, UK power prices and Boris’s broadband claim
More or Less
BBC
4.6 • 3.7K Ratings
🗓️ 7 September 2022
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Devastating floods have wreaked havoc across Pakistan after the heaviest monsoon rains in at least a decade. But is a third of the country really under water, as has been claimed? Also why do electricity prices in the UK rise in line with gas prices when we get so much of our power from other sources like nuclear, wind and solar? As criminal barristers go on strike in England and Wales, we ask if those starting in the profession really earn £12,200 a year. And as Boris Johnson waves goodbye to Downing Street, we investigate his claim that 70% of the UK now has access to gigabit broadband.
Presenter: Tim Harford Series producer: Jon Bithrey Reporters: Nathan Gower, Charlotte McDonald Production Coordinator: Jacqui Johnson Editor: Richard Vadon
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Why do some big successful brands go bust? |
| 0:05.0 | Toast is back for a new series, taking a look at the decisions that often left investors burnt. |
| 0:11.0 | I'm Sean Farrington, a BBC business journalist. I'll be hearing about the hype. |
| 0:15.0 | They're going to do the deal that makes them the most money at that point of time. |
| 0:19.0 | And I'm picking what went wrong, talking to owners and employees to ask, what can we learn? |
| 0:25.4 | It was being undercut by similar rivals. It just couldn't survive. |
| 0:30.3 | Toast. Listen first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:34.9 | BBC Sounds, music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:39.2 | Hello and welcome to more or less, the programme that tries to make sense of the numbers in the news and in life. |
| 0:45.4 | And with a maths geek in number 10, I'm sure those numbers will be coming at us thick and fast. |
| 0:50.9 | This week, we returned to the price of energy. |
| 0:54.1 | Last week, we explained that the underlying problem is returned to the price of energy. Last week, we explained that the underlying |
| 0:56.1 | problem is the high wholesale price of gas. Loyal listeners want us to explain why the gas |
| 1:01.6 | tail is wagging the electricity dog. If that makes sense, amidst Boris Johnson's proud valedictory |
| 1:08.7 | boasts, he was keen to applaud his record on rolling out |
| 1:12.2 | faster internet connections, but we don't think those numbers mean what he thinks they mean. |
| 1:17.9 | Criminal barristers are going on strike, with claims that those early in their career |
| 1:22.7 | earn well below the minimum wage. We will consider both sides of the case. But first, some questions |
| 1:30.3 | about a major tragedy that's been making the headlines this week. Pakistan says a third of the |
| 1:36.2 | country is underwater after catastrophic floods. Pakistan's climate minister has said that an estimated |
| 1:42.1 | one third of the country is now underwater, |
| 1:45.2 | with the flooding impacting 33 million people. |
... |
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