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As Iran has tightened its chokehold on one of the world’s most vital shipping routes and the Trump administration sent mixed signals about how long the war would last, oil prices have swing wildly.
Rebecca F. Elliot, who covers energy for The New York Times, explains just how much the world depends on that route — the Strait of Hormuz — and how quickly shutting it down can throw global energy markets into chaos.
Guest: Rebecca F. Elliott, who covers energy for The New York Times.
Background reading:
Photo: Nicolas Economou/Reuters
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In this episode, Mary Katharine Ham and Vic Matus cover a wide range of current events, including domestic coverage of a terrorist attack in New York City, as well as updates on Iran and the Strait or Hormuz. Plus, Noem is out and we need to speculate a little and is Talarico the Christian Democrat who will turn Texas blue?
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1002. Taxes don’t have to be a source of shame or a "black box" of confusion. Whether you’re a lifelong artist, a side-hustler, or a traditional employee, understanding the tax code is the ultimate power move for your bank account.
In this episode, Laura sits down with Hannah Cole, an Enrolled Agent, working artist, and founder of Sunlight Tax. Hannah specializes in bringing "tax literacy to the humans"—specifically those who feel like the "black sheep" of the business world. They dive into the mindset shifts needed to conquer financial fear and the tangible steps you can take to legally pay less to the IRS.
Find Hannah at SunlightTax.com.
VR25 - This episode is dedicated to the memory of Cricket, the 14-month-old wirehaired pointer murdered in cold blood by Kristi Noem on an unknown date in a gravel pit in South Dakota.
One week after Donald Trump took now-former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s job out to the gravel pit, Thomas, Lydia, and Matt get together for a post-mortem. After a brief amuse douche from Noem’s (ahem) closest advisor, Matt plays the one excerpt from her 2024 campaign book “Not Going Back” which should have disqualified her from a Cabinet seat. (No, not that one! But we also revisit that story too and it’s so much worse--and involves twice as many animals--than you may remember.) We then review some of the most notable lowlights of Noem’s time as DHS Secretary, from completely failing to understand the ancient legal concept which allowed federal judges to release so many of the people she was illegally detaining without bond to her disturbing enthusiasm for calling US citizens concerned about killer ICE agents “domestic terrorists.” Also: why exactly did Noem lose her job last week, and where did the $220 million of our money handed over to a shell company run by her former press secretary’s husband go?
Finally, we take a closer look at Trump’s choice to replace Noem at DHS: an Oklahoma Senator with two first names and a temper even shorter than his MMA career.
“NO GOING BACK: The Truth On What’s Wrong With Politics and How to Move America Forward,” Kristi Noem (2024)
DHS ad filmed at Mount Rushmore featuring Kristi Noem on horseback
“Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts,” Justin Elliott, Joshua Kaplan and Alex Mierjeski, ProPublica (Nov. 14, 2025)
“Markwayne Mullin is for Trump--and Indian Country,” Graham Lee Brewer, High Country News (Dec. 9, 2019)
“ICE Barbie Replacement Mark Mullin Makes a Killing From Trump’s Wars,” Harry Thompson & Tom Latchem, March 9, 2026
“Mullin’ It Over” column archives on Markwayne Mullin’s Senate website
Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!
In case you haven’t noticed, the American economy isn't doing so well right now. Oil prices have been on an absolute rollercoaster since the Iran war began — but that’s not all. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. lost nearly 100,000 jobs in February, pushing the unemployment rate up to 4.4 percent. So what exactly is going wrong with the economy, besides… everything? And what can we learn from past economic crises to hopefully avoid another one? To find out, we spoke to Rogé Karma. He’s a staff writer at The Atlantic and author of the economy-focused newsletter, Work in Progress.
And in headlines, Jane speaks to Crooked’s Washington Correspondent Matt Berg about a report that at least 20 countries are now militarily involved in the Iran war, the Democratic National Committee suing the Trump administration, and how flying cars are actually, maybe, really happening.
Show Notes:
Who is the new supreme leader of Iran, and how does he differ from his predecessor father?
Guest: Graeme Wood, staff writer at The Atlantic and a lecturer in political science at Yale.
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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.
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