logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2019
1h 3m

Ep. 47 | Venezuela's Utterly Avoidable C...

ANDREW HEATON
About this episode

Venezuela's economy hit rock bottom, then just kept digging straight to the septic tank. Now there are rival presidents vying for power over a starving populace. Magician and deputized foreign policy expert Brian Brushwood joins Heaton to assess the once-wealthy nation's plunge into full-blown socialism and economic collapse. 

Up next
Yesterday
The Map That Explains Everything About America: Colin Woodard
Colin Woodard posits that America is not really a country, it's a dozen or so distinct nations with their own cultures and ideologies which are constantly battling for supremacy. His new book "Nations Apart: How Clashing Regional Cultures Shattered America." In it he argues that ... Show More
1h 21m
Feb 3
America is Eleven Different Countries (Rebroadcast)
Rudyard William Lynch is the host of WhatifAlHist, a popular history channel on YouTube. He joins to discuss how the origins and circumstances of America's regions permanently imprinted on its cultures and political outlooks. Colin Woodard's Map: https://www.businessinsider.com/t ... Show More
2h 12m
Jan 28
I Time Traveled to Talk to Medieval Yokels about Economics
What did people in the Dark Ages think about economics? Why did poverty exist, and how do you alleviate it? To find out, I took my time machine to 1282 and 1314, to speak to barflies and a priest. Fr. Richard Kirby is a fourteenth century prior of Whitby Abbey and formerly the sa ... Show More
55m 57s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2021
BONUS: Venezuela's Rise and Fall
Venezuela is facing an economic and humanitarian crisis as extreme poverty and violence have forced many to flee the country in recent years. How did a country once wealthy with oil resources fall into such turmoil? Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adc ... Show More
55m 6s
Sep 2013
Venezuela - Out of Stock
Despite its massive natural oil wealth, Venezuela is a country sliding into recession, and has one of the highest inflation rates in the world. With prices of some products rising as much as 50% or more annually, the crisis presents a simple human predicament - how to lay your ha ... Show More
28m 8s
Apr 2020
Wishful thinking: America’s offer to Venezuela
The Trump administration makes Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro an offer he seems sure to refuse: an end to sanctions in return for power-sharing and elections. The coronavirus pandemic has crushed oil prices at the same time a price war is raging: the industry has never seen anything ... Show More
22m 52s
Jul 2023
María Corina Machado: The existential fight for Venezuela
Stephen Sackur speaks to Venezuelan opposition politician Maria Corina Machado, currently seen as the most likely challenger to socialist authoritarian president Nicolas Maduro in elections due next year. Maduro has survived the collapse of his economy and international sanctions ... Show More
23m 28s
Aug 2022
War in Ukraine: Venezuela's oil opportunity?
Russian aggression in Ukraine and the world's quest to end the dependence on Russian oil and gas has created an opportunity for Venezuela to negotiate an easing of the US-imposed oil sanctions. But, as Ivana Davidovic discovers, there are also many pitfalls on that journey.Venezu ... Show More
18m 4s
Dec 2023
Dispute over Essequibo: What impact will it have on Venezuela's economy?
As diplomats scramble to try to cool tensions between Venezuela and Guyana over disputed land, how much is all this down to the perilous state of the Venezuelan economy? The strike of Tesla's mechanics in Sweden has spread to other countries across Scandinavia. We get the latest ... Show More
27m 26s
Jan 2023
Leopoldo Lopez: Has Venezuela’s opposition been outmanoeuvred?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Leopoldo Lopez, a key leader of Venezuela’s opposition. Once a political prisoner, now in exile in Spain, his efforts to topple the socialist regime led by Nicolas Maduro have been thwarted. Has Venezuela’s pro-democracy movement been outmanoeuvred? 
23m 46s
Dec 2023
Is Venezuela about to invade its neighbour?
Tensions between South American neighbours Venezuela and Guyana have ratcheted up a notch in recent weeks over the disputed oil rich region of Essequibo. The territory, which is roughly the size of Florida, currently makes up around two thirds of Guyana and vast oil reserves were ... Show More
23m 49s