Episode Details

Jon Herold and Chris Paul dig deep into the aftermath of Maduro's capture, walking through the Pentagon's newly secured stake in Venezuela's oil riches and how the deal has evolved from a broker relationship into a full investment position. They cover Chevron's long, complicated history operating in Venezuela through the Chavez and Maduro years, and play a clip from a ConocoPhillips executive meeting that lines up suspiciously well with the timeline of events.

The conversation broadens into what this could mean for the region's energy future and whether the sovereign alliance framework they've discussed for years fits what's unfolding here. There's also a Tucker Carlson clip worth a listen, plus some banter about AI tools that can now auto clip and post your podcast content for you, which one host finds genuinely useful and the other finds a little unsettling.