Coming to you this week from our YouTube archive is a piece on Europe’s energy squeeze and a recent report which casts doubt on much of cryptocurrency’s trading volume.

The war in Ukraine drags on, causing death, destruction and misery on a shocking scale. But the effects of Putin’s madness are being felt beyond the borders of Ukraine and Russia in many different ways. For Europe, it means a potentially long, cold and dark winter, as fossil fuel exports from Russia dwindle in the face of sanctions and a proposed price cap on Russian oil. A stand-off has ensued, with Russia turning off the gas taps and refusing to budge until sanctions are lifted, while Europe tries to stand firm and not let energy shortages weaken its resolve.

In the first part of today’s episode, we look at what led to this situation and examine why it’s more precarious than many might think. We also look at some of the ways in which European countries are starting to take steps to try and limit the damage, all while winter gets closer with each passing day. 

Then, in the second part of the episode, we go through a recent report by Forbes which digs down in the trading volumes on cryptocurrency exchanges. It’s titled: ‘More Than Half Of All Bitcoin Trades Are Fake’ and is critical of much of the crypto industry. It was an interesting report to cover, containing much to disagree with, but also plenty of food for thought. Have a listen and see what you think.

We hope you enjoy the show.

Producer for iHeartMedia: Noel Brown

Editor: Semir Mutapcic

Theme music composed by: Noel Brown

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.