P.M. Edition for Jan. 5. President Trump’s “Donroe Doctrine” represents a big turn in U.S. geopolitical strategy. We talk with Geoff Ramsey, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and an expert on Latin America, about how other countries in the region could be feeling pressure from the U.S. Plus, Venezuela’s ousted leader Nicolás Maduro remained defiant during his first appearance in U.S. federal court. And why automakers are expecting a tough year ahead. Alex Ossola hosts.
Venezuelan expert Quico Toro explains why the removal of Nicolás Maduro feels historic—and yet leaves Venezuela largely unchanged, with the regime's machinery fully intact. Toro warns that Washington's belief in Rodríguez as a workable "moderate" badly misreads her ideological lineage and incentives. Plus: a spiel on Trump's lies and bombast—why presidential exaggeration is a poor proxy for judging whether high-risk foreign operations actually succeed. And the thickness of Venezuelan oil, Trump blood, and maybe Trump himself.
Produced by Corey Wara | Coordinated by Lya Yanne | Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig
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Oil and defense stocks also rallied on the news. Plus: Bed Bath & Beyond shares rose after the company announced a new chief executive. Katherine Sullivan hosts.
An artificial-intelligence tool assisted in the making of this episode by creating summaries that were based on Wall Street Journal reporting and reviewed and adapted by an editor.
The first full trading week of 2026 got off to a caffeinated start. Today on Motley Fool Money, Rick Munarriz, with analysts Nick Sciple and Jon Quast, dive into the investing implications behind the capturing of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend. There’s also a look at the bounce-back potential of Duolingo and Lululemon in 2026, as well as predictions for Disney in the coming year.
They unpack:
- What the shake-up in Venezuela means for investors.
- Reasons why Duolingo and Lululemon can bounce back after plummeting 46% each in 2025.
- How likely are Rick’s four predictions for Disney in 2026 to pan out.
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Zohran Mamdani held his mayoral swearing in ceremony at the now-abandoned City Hall Station that was a feature of the first New York Subway built in 1904. Unfortunately, city officials deliberately drove the subway company into insolvency and then took over.
After seizing the Venezuelan president and his wife, President Donald Trump says the United States plans to "run" the country for an unspecified amount of time, zeroing in on advancing American oil interests there.
Illinois leaders are raising major concerns and questions about the U.S. strike, and calling for a push to “take back” the power of Congress.
We check in with U.S. congress members from Illinois, Robin Kelly and Mike Quigley. Plus, we get insight from national security expert Robert Pape from UChicago on what comes next in Venezuela and how this could affect Chicago.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
Plus: China’s electric-vehicle market may see demand cool further this year. And AT&T plans to move its global headquarters from downtown Dallas to a nearby suburb. Julie Chang hosts.
Among the many rationalizations that the Trump administration is using to initiate massive force and violence against the Venezuelan people is that the Venezuelan government nationalized American oil interests many years ago.
Plus: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz drops his re-election bid amid a welfare fraud scandal in the state. And Toyota reports strong sales for the final months of 2025. Alex Ossola hosts.
An artificial-intelligence tool assisted in the making of this episode by creating summaries that were based on Wall Street Journal reporting and reviewed and adapted by an editor.
