Podcast Summary: Economist Podcasts — "Emissions possible: EU petrol ban quashed"

Date: December 17, 2025
Host: The Economist (Rosie Blore, Jason Palmer)
Featured Guests: Tom Lee Devlin (Business Editor), Henry Kerr (Economics Editor), Lane Green (Language Columnist)

Overview

This episode explores three major topics:

1. The EU’s reversal on its 2035 petrol and diesel car ban, examining the consequences for electrification, carmakers, and climate ambitions.
2. The looming decision on the next US Federal Reserve chair, focusing on political pressures and risks to Fed independence under Donald Trump.
3. The Economist’s annual "Word of the Year" award, highlighting linguistic trends shaped by culture and technology.

Tone: Analytical, insightful, with occasional dry wit—consistent with The Economist’s house style.

Segment 1 — The EU’s Petrol Ban U-Turn: What Happened and What’s Next?

Timestamps: 02:01–07:55
Host: Rosie Blore
Guest: Tom Lee Devlin (Business Editor)

Key Points and Insights

• Policy Reversal:
  The EU has canceled its planned 2035 ban on new diesel and petrol vehicle sales, replacing it with a requirement for carmakers to cut tailpipe emissions by 90% from 2021 levels by 2035. Interim targets and commercial vehicle electrification goals have been watered down.

  • “Instead of an outright ban, car makers will now have to cut their tailpipe emissions by 90% by 2035, compared with the 2021 levels.” — Tom Lee Devlin [03:27]

• Why the Shift?

  • Optimistic Projections vs. Reality:
    Initial expectations for rapid European adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) were overly optimistic, inspired by Tesla’s early success.

    • “A lot of that was based on enviously looking at Tesla, which had just soared to a $1 trillion market value at the time. But in reality, the road to electrification in Europe has been much slower and much bumpier than people expected.” — Tom Lee Devlin [04:01]
    • By 2035, projections suggested only about three-quarters of cars sold in the EU would be EVs, not all.

  • Consumer Hesitation:

    • Higher upfront costs and fewer small, affordable EVs deter buyers.
    • Patchy charging infrastructure and fluctuating government subsidies add to uncertainty.
      • “Smaller car models are very popular in Europe, and there are fewer of those in EVs to choose from. There are also lingering concerns about the availability of charging infrastructure.” — Tom Lee Devlin [05:01]

  • Policy Instability:

    • Government subsidies for EV purchases have been inconsistent, especially in Germany, where sales collapsed when incentives were withdrawn.

  • US Parallel:

    • The US has seen even slower EV uptake. Under Trump, incentives were rolled back in favor of traditional cars.

• Global Auto Industry Implications:

  • Short-term Relief, Long-term Risks:
    European carmakers lobbied for the reversal but now face increased competition from Chinese manufacturers.
    • Chinese firms, especially hybrid makers (exempt from new tariffs), are rapidly gaining EU market share despite tariffs.
      • “Their share of the Western European car market as a whole in the first 10 months of the year was 10.7%... Despite these hefty new tariffs.” — Tom Lee Devlin [06:34]

• Climate Ambitions:

  • Setback for emissions targets; cars are a big contributor. Still, the long-term path is toward EVs as costs fall and Chinese innovation leads the way.
    • “I do think we’re still heading towards a future of significantly lower emissions from cars.” — Tom Lee Devlin [07:49]

Segment 2 — America’s Fed Chair: Independence on the Line?

Timestamps: 08:48–15:07
Host: Rosie Blore
Guest: Henry Kerr (Economics Editor)

Key Points and Insights

• What’s Happening?

  • Donald Trump will soon pick the next Federal Reserve chair. The appointment is surrounded by speculation and concern about the Fed’s independence.

    • “Even before that appointment, Trump has started to make demands on the Fed.” — Rosie Blore [08:48]

  • Trump has pressed for quicker interest rate cuts, replaced a Fed governor with an ally who quickly voted for “bumper rate cuts,” and tried to oust another.

• Leading Contenders:

  • Kevin Hassett:
    Trump’s close economic adviser, formerly seen as technocratic but now much more partisan.

    • “The question, if it is Kevin Hassett, is which Kevin Hassett do you get? Does he become a technocrat again... or does he act like an agent of Trump in the Fed?” — Henry Kerr [10:47]

  • Kevin Warsh:
    Another front-runner, seen as hawkish but now possibly adapting his stance to fit Trump’s agenda.

  • Other candidates: Chris Waller, Michele Bowman (current Fed governors, both pro–rate cut), and a BlackRock executive.

• Risks and Stakes:

  • The issue isn’t just partisanship—many past Fed chiefs had clear political ties—but the degree of direct political pressure and the threat to technocratic independence.

    • “Not in terms of having an explicit party allegiance… What is more unusual is having someone go from one minute being quite a political operator into a role where the convention at least, is that you have independent technocracy.” — Henry Kerr [11:01]

  • Trump could ultimately reshape the Fed’s board, eroding longstanding norms of central bank independence, especially around monetary policy and deficit financing.

    • “If you’re an economist and you hear someone saying [the Fed should cut rates to lower government debt service costs], it’s like a red alarm bell going off the stability of the monetary fiscal regime.” — Henry Kerr [13:31]

  • Senate confirmation is a check, but the episode highlights broader volatility in US economic governance.

Segment 3 — Word of the Year: “Slop” Takes Center Stage

Timestamps: 17:31–21:21
Host: Jason Palmer
Guest: Lane Green (Language Columnist)

Key Points and Insights

• The Shortlist:
  Lane Green reviews notable 2025 word contenders:

  1. Neizhuan (Mandarin for “involution”): hyper-competition, especially in EVs.
  2. TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out): satirical term for Trump’s pattern of escalation and retreat.
  3. 67: Youth-speak with intentionally vague or shifting meaning, cited with the rise of “brain rot.”
  4. Slop: Refers to AI-generated, often low-quality content filling online feeds (especially since OpenAI’s Sora).

• And the Winner Is:

  • “Slop” — defined as “AI-written garbage” and pervasive, low-value digital content.
    • “Slop has a staying power… You can find slop merchants clogging up the Internet with Dribbble...suddenly sodden with slop.” — Lane Green [20:04]

• Cultural Significance:

  • The term reflects anxieties about authenticity, the digital information glut, and potentially the prospects for “sloptimism”—that the rise of slop could lead to renewed trust in established news or encourage users to log off.
    • “Maybe trust in established news organizations might rebound. If your social media sites become filled up with slop... maybe users are going to have to shut them off and go outside and have a real conversation. So is this then perhaps a case for sloptimism?” — Lane Green [21:09]

Notable Quotes and Moments

• EU Ban Reversal:
  “Slamming the brakes, if you can excuse the pun, also comes with dangers.” — Tom Lee Devlin [06:03]
• Fed Chair Selection Stakes:
  “It’s not just about who Kevin Hassett is… it’s about the context in which this is happening.” — Henry Kerr [13:27]
• Word of the Year Impact:
  “Slop has a staying power, I think. You may not like it, but you are living with it and it is almost certainly here for the long haul.” — Lane Green [20:04]
• Cultural Reflection:
  “If the news ecosystem is suddenly sodden with slop, maybe trust in established news organizations might rebound... Is this perhaps a case for sloptimism?” — Lane Green [21:09]

Time-Stamped Guide to Segments

| Timestamp | Topic | |---------------|---------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:01–07:55 | EU’s 2035 petrol ban reversal and its consequences | | 08:48–15:07 | The politics behind choosing the next Fed chair | | 17:31–21:21 | Linguistic trends—Word of the Year, “slop” |

Conclusion & Takeaways

• Europe’s backtrack on its petrol ban signals a pragmatic response to consumer realities and industry pressure, but it poses questions for climate policy and global competitiveness.
• The upcoming US Fed chair appointment is unusually politicized, intensifying worries over central bank independence amidst wider policy volatility.
• "Slop" wins Word of the Year, perfectly symbolizing public debates over information quality and authenticity in an AI-saturated world—with a twist of “sloptimism” for the future.

Listeners come away with a nuanced view of how regulatory, political, and cultural shifts are shaping both policy and public discourse as 2025 draws to a close.