meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
From Our Own Correspondent

US: the Covid Campaign

From Our Own Correspondent

BBC

News, News Commentary

4.41.3K Ratings

🗓️ 10 October 2020

⏱️ 28 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

For President Trump to have had Covid-19 so close to the election presents political dilemmas. Play it down, and you offend the relatives of the dead. Play it up, you highlight the seriousness of the disease that killed so many on your watch. And then there are the pitfalls for the Democrats. Anthony Zurcher navigates the minefield in Washington. A state of emergency has been declared in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan, and troops have been ordered onto the streets of the capital Bishkek to quell the unrest that erupted after a disputed parliamentary election last weekend. Protesters are angry at alleged vote buying and intimidation. They clashed violently with police and seized government buildings. A new revolution, asks Caroline Eden? Despite certain advances, Nigeria still has a way to go to true gender equality. Take renting a home for example. It’s much harder to convince a landlord of your merits as a tenant, if you’re a woman, especially if you’re single, as Olivia Ndubuisi has been finding out. Despite the hot climate, cycling has become popular in the United Arab Emirates, and Team UAE's Tadej Pogacar, a Slovenian, won this year's Tour de France. Young women, too, have taken up the sport enthusiastically, all while wearing modest clothing. Georgia Tolley reports from Dubai. Paris correspondent Hugh Schofield has had to take a driving test - his old Irish licence had run out, and couldn't be renewed in France. But unlike the first time, this time he had to get his head round a counterintuitive but crucial rule: to give priority to any car coming from the right. How did he get on? Presenter: Kate Adie Producer: Arlene Gregorius

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

BBC Sounds, music, radio podcasts.

0:05.0

Good morning.

0:06.3

Today, rumblings from Central Asia,

0:09.2

as a state of emergency is declared in Kyrgyzstan. Young, female and single, and you need a place to rent,

0:17.0

difficult for many here, but apparently near impossible in Nigeria.

0:22.0

Cyclings become more popular, we're told during lockdown,

0:26.0

though in Dubai you have to try not to get knocked off the bike

0:30.0

by a passing white antelope.

0:32.0

And when it comes to driving tests, spare a thought for our

0:35.6

correspondent in Paris. After years of driving, he's been trying to learn the rules again,

0:41.3

including giving priority to anyone coming from the right.

0:46.8

First to the United States and the at times surreal theatre that passes for political daily

0:52.4

life in Washington.

0:54.0

Deadly serious though, with a raging pandemic and a looming election,

0:59.0

it's a race like no other, tricky, unpredictable, with a country deeply divided and in

1:05.6

zerka has been a close observer of the most recent events. Just over a week ago I

1:11.8

was getting my gear ready to accompany Donald Trump as a reporter on a campaign trip to Florida.

1:17.0

He was planning to hold a rally that evening at an airport near Orlando.

1:21.0

A few hours later, the president tweeted that he and his wife

1:24.9

had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Seventeen hours after that,

1:29.2

instead of flying on Air Force One to Florida, I was in a television studio watching the drama unfold

1:35.3

and the president was being helicopter to Walter Reed Hospital. As we later learned,

...

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.