WEBVTT - The Pandemic Census

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Prognosis. I'm Laura Carlson. It's day one ninety

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<v Speaker 1>four since coronavirus was declared a global pandemic. Today's main story,

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<v Speaker 1>the once a decade US Census has been complicated by

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<v Speaker 1>the outbreak. Virus fears have kept census takers from signing

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<v Speaker 1>up and people from letting field workers into their homes.

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<v Speaker 1>And the count already had plenty of problems pre pandemic.

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<v Speaker 1>But first, here's what happened in virus news today. Former

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<v Speaker 1>f d A Commissioner Scott Gottley, who has advised the

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<v Speaker 1>White House on its COVID response, said he expects the

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<v Speaker 1>US to experience at least one more cycle of the

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<v Speaker 1>virus in the fall and winter. He pointed to rising

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<v Speaker 1>cases in the South and Midwest parts of the country.

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<v Speaker 1>Gottlieb also said he doesn't believe there will be a

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<v Speaker 1>vaccine available for general inoculation until the end of the

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<v Speaker 1>second or third quarter, in that contradicts President Donald Trump's

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<v Speaker 1>earlier comment that all Americans could be vaccinated by April.

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<v Speaker 1>In an interview on CBS on Sunday morning, Gottlieb said

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<v Speaker 1>he hoped the virus would start to dissipate next summer.

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<v Speaker 1>Me and mar locked down most of Yangon Province, which

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<v Speaker 1>is home to its largest city. It locked it down

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<v Speaker 1>for two weeks to contain a record surge in coronavirus

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<v Speaker 1>infections ahead of the general elections scheduled for November. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>strict stay at home order bars more than one member

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<v Speaker 1>of a family to venture out for shopping and curbs

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<v Speaker 1>travel to other cities except for essential work. Finally, an

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<v Speaker 1>eighteen billion dollar initiative to deploy a COVID nineteen vaccine

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<v Speaker 1>around the world is moving into the next phase, with

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<v Speaker 1>a hundred and fifty six countries and regions joining the program.

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<v Speaker 1>The initial goal of the campaign, called KOVACS, is to

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<v Speaker 1>have two billion vaccine doses available by the end of

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<v Speaker 1>one While China wasn't among the countries having made a

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<v Speaker 1>commitment in a statement released Monday, more agreements will be

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<v Speaker 1>announced later. The program is led by the World Health

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<v Speaker 1>Organization GAVY, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic

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<v Speaker 1>Preparedness and Innovasions. The US has said it won't participate

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<v Speaker 1>in the program, and now, for today's main story, US

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<v Speaker 1>census is about to draw to a close. Bureau field

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<v Speaker 1>workers have until September to avoid an undercount. They have

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<v Speaker 1>been going door to door to confirm the number of

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<v Speaker 1>people living in cities across the country, but pandemic scarred residents,

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<v Speaker 1>fraudsters posing as census workers, and a lack of PPE

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<v Speaker 1>are standing in their way. Bloomberg's Jordan's gas Poure has more.

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<v Speaker 1>The Trump administration will in the US Census count a

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<v Speaker 1>month earlier than expected. Last week, the US Census Bureau

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<v Speaker 1>announced that only nine three percent of households across the

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<v Speaker 1>country have been counted so far. That's a problem. Anything

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<v Speaker 1>less than a final response rate of may lead to

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<v Speaker 1>a flawed head count. As of Wednesday, the bureaus as

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<v Speaker 1>it's reached households in only two states, Idaho and West Virginia.

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<v Speaker 1>After first extending the deadline because of the coronavirus pandemic,

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<v Speaker 1>the US Census Bureau will now stop collecting data on

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<v Speaker 1>septemb The Bureau says it moved up the date to

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<v Speaker 1>meet its December thirty first deadline to provide figures to Congress,

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<v Speaker 1>But the Associate Director of the Census, Albert E. Fontineau, Jr.

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<v Speaker 1>Said in a July webinar that it'll be impossible to

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<v Speaker 1>meet the December thirty one deadline. Since this, experts say

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<v Speaker 1>this decision could lead to undercounts among renters, low income people, immigrants,

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<v Speaker 1>communities of color, and rural areas, and may cost them

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<v Speaker 1>billions of federal tax dollars for public services over the

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<v Speaker 1>next decade. The coronavirus pandemic is comple cating sensus outreach

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<v Speaker 1>efforts throughout the country, but in Arizona, where there's large

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<v Speaker 1>rural and tribal populations, getting an accurate count has never

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<v Speaker 1>been easy. Alec Stebon Thompson with Arizona Governor Doug Doocey's

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<v Speaker 1>office told me in July that the coronavirus has complicated

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<v Speaker 1>since its outreach efforts in the state where many of

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<v Speaker 1>its rural communities don't have reliable electricity and internet access.

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<v Speaker 1>We had all of these grand ideas as part of

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<v Speaker 1>this original plan for you know, different events that we

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<v Speaker 1>were going to do and community based tactics, but obviously,

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<v Speaker 1>in the world that we're living in currently, those are

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<v Speaker 1>not options for census workers here. Physically ensuring every household

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<v Speaker 1>gets a census form sometimes means traveling long distances and

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<v Speaker 1>to locations that may not even appear on a map.

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<v Speaker 1>In Census, an estimated four point eight eight percent of

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<v Speaker 1>Native Americans living on reservations weren't counted. Someone like me

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<v Speaker 1>who lived, you know, in downtown Phoenix with a physical address,

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<v Speaker 1>I got a letter asking me to respond, followed by

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<v Speaker 1>a few other mailings, and then eventually a paper form,

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<v Speaker 1>whereas in you know, Navajo Navajo Nation, they don't have

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<v Speaker 1>physical addresses, so those forms are physically carried to someone's

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<v Speaker 1>house and left at the door. So the next big

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<v Speaker 1>operation that would take place is non response follow up.

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<v Speaker 1>That's when a census employee will show up to a household.

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<v Speaker 1>The Census Bureau strives to hire census takers to work

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<v Speaker 1>in their own communities, because, after all, they know the

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<v Speaker 1>area best. Door knockers began going to homes on July

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<v Speaker 1>six in various parts of the country. Last month, five

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<v Speaker 1>hundred thousand census takers nationwide were in the field for

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<v Speaker 1>the first time, knocking on the doors of households who

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<v Speaker 1>haven't responded to the Census. Bureau. Officials acknowledged that they're

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<v Speaker 1>losing door knockers because they're afraid of contracting the coronavirus.

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<v Speaker 1>I contacted a number of Sensus store knockers to talk

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<v Speaker 1>to them about their experiences. Three got back with me,

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<v Speaker 1>but declined an interview because they were afraid of losing

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<v Speaker 1>their job. Last month, the CDC said in a joint

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<v Speaker 1>statement with the Census Bureau that taking part in an

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<v Speaker 1>in person interview with the bureau employee quote should present

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<v Speaker 1>a low risk of transmission of COVID nineteen. The Census

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<v Speaker 1>Bureau says door knockers received online training and will attempt

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<v Speaker 1>to conduct socially distanced interviews with every household that hasn't

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<v Speaker 1>responded to the Census. The lasso wear masks, sometimes gloves,

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<v Speaker 1>and have hand sanitizer. After knocking, Census employees will communicate

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<v Speaker 1>with residents outside and at least six ft apart. The

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<v Speaker 1>bureau says it's protocols have been reviewed by both the

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<v Speaker 1>Department of Health and Human Services and the c d C.

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<v Speaker 1>The Census Bureau says it will need to visit about

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<v Speaker 1>fifty six million homes to collect responses in person after

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<v Speaker 1>COVID nineteen complicated SINCEUS efforts, the Bureau has been scrambling

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<v Speaker 1>to find employees. Last month, the Commerce Department Inspector General

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<v Speaker 1>said the Census still needs to employ eighty thousand field workers.

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<v Speaker 1>Census officials anticipated needing three hundred thousand field workers by

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<v Speaker 1>the end of last month, but at that time had

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<v Speaker 1>only trained and deployed two. Carmen Taylor Jones, Census director

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<v Speaker 1>at the Los Angeles based Black Women for Wellness advocacy group,

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<v Speaker 1>says the Bureau has rushed putting field workers on the ground.

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<v Speaker 1>They're scrambling, and I hope that the scramble does not

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<v Speaker 1>lend itself to any compromising of the operation, because this

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<v Speaker 1>thing is so important to our future on so many

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<v Speaker 1>different levels that you cannot compromise in. Carmen trained field

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<v Speaker 1>workers as the former Southern California Area regional manager for

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<v Speaker 1>the US Census Bureau. I told people all the time,

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<v Speaker 1>bring your a game. This is a short project. I's

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<v Speaker 1>not gonna last forever. Bring the best that you have.

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<v Speaker 1>And if you do that, and you open up your

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<v Speaker 1>soul to this work, you will walk out of here

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<v Speaker 1>a much better person. Carmen is quick to point out

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<v Speaker 1>that this decade since this has been fraught with many issues,

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<v Speaker 1>everything from a last minute timeline cut two, partisan politics

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<v Speaker 1>over a citizenship question and then the Cope nineteen pandemic.

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<v Speaker 1>She recognizes that it hasn't been easy for the bureaus

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<v Speaker 1>field workers who now face the final month to confirm

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<v Speaker 1>the number of people living in their city. I have

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<v Speaker 1>so much respect for this operation simply because it is

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<v Speaker 1>one something that is for everybody, you know. I tell people,

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<v Speaker 1>only people we don't count are those babies that are

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<v Speaker 1>still inside of their mother's wounds. Other than that, if

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<v Speaker 1>you're on life support, we count. You. Don't let anybody

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<v Speaker 1>rob you of the opportunity to document your existence. To

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<v Speaker 1>throw another wrench into census plans, the Bureau and now

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<v Speaker 1>that in person counting now ended as early as last

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<v Speaker 1>Friday in some parts of the country. This is nearly

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<v Speaker 1>two weeks before the count officially ends nationwide. The Bureau

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<v Speaker 1>said in a statement that the last minute change is

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<v Speaker 1>quote based on the rates of completion, self response rates,

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<v Speaker 1>and the number of hours are available workforce can work.

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<v Speaker 1>That was Jordan Gaspoure, and that's it for our show today.

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<v Speaker 1>For coverage of the outbreak from one D and twenty

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<v Speaker 1>bureaus around the world, visit Bloomberg dot com slash coronavirus

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<v Speaker 1>and if you like the show. Please leave us a

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<v Speaker 1>review and a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It's

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<v Speaker 1>the best way to help more listeners find our global reporting.

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<v Speaker 1>The Prognosis Daily Edition is produced by Tophah foreheads Jordan Gaspore,

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<v Speaker 1>Magnus Hendrickson, and me Laura Carlson. Today's main story was

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<v Speaker 1>reported by Jordan Gospore. Original music by Leo Sidrin. Our

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<v Speaker 1>editors are Francesco Levi and Rick Shine. Francesca Levi is

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg's head of podcasts. Thanks for listening.