Episode 30: The Oil Crisis Special

I want to thank you for researching all this, Victoria. I have one of those really expensive, yet worthless pieces of parchment that proclaims me to be a “Historian,” but sadly, I’m not as well read on the Middle East as I should be. Your Cliffs Notes distillation of the current situation helps put things into perspective.

Let's play "Who Said It, Werner Herzog or Tran Girlismo?" First entry: "Being dead is a form of exile."

Huge agree on The Jakarta Method - I read it this summer and it was fantastic big recommd!

Listening to this on 9/30/26 where the East-west pipeline has been hit again, this time by the Houthis, as well as another Aramco refinery.

I'm a cishet guy (not a chaser, but spiritually a comrade) from northeastern Ohio. I work in a factory, 2nd shift, and I live in what is essentially a studio apartment. I don't have enough room to allow either a T girl or boy to crash here. Is there a way to donate monthly to this Traction thing? I already pay my dues to the Community on Patreon (Nova gets $40 a month easily from her podcast empire) but I do want to contribute to the collective Cause in a more direct fashion. I can't afford too much more, but is there a monthly donation option for Traction? I also don't have a car, so the only thing I can do is to donate. I'll sleep better at night knowing that some (more) of my money is going to someone who needs that cash more than I do. - a cishet Asperger's-riddled boi from Ohio with a heart of gold

Vicky I'm so happy for you and your '92 XJ but why does it get better mileage than my '08 Grand Cherokee??

Is Victoria reading bury my heart at wounded knee? I am halfway through it right now and it is crushing

It's 1am, I probably shouldn't listen to the episode that opens by informing me of 10 dollar diesel *right* now...

the thought of Blanchard in an IRGC Outfit is absolutely sending me

Rabobank genoemd!!!!

jordan going "müg n bün"

I always knew Smoliv was a secret Bush Republican, this is retaliation against Yemeni coffee

I got kind of giddy seeing a two and a half hour episode, I'm going to enjoy this

These last few months have made me feel like I'm going crazy. I work in logistics, at a big manufacturer, and nobody that I talk to about the fuel crisis seems to notice or care. Stuff just keeps moving around, and the bill goes to corporate. Costs go up, so we write down the new costs and do nothing with that information. It feels cathartic to listen to Victoria break all this down, even if it's extremely bad news. To feel like I haven't just wound myself up over nothing. Better to engage with the world as it is than be blinded by commodity fetishism. Anyway thanks, and great episode as always. I'm gonna go donate to Traction now <3

Blue Owl is also our shadow banking friend from the whole First Brands situation.

in retrospect you could see Trump 1 as kind of a miraculously well executed exercise in accidental power consolidation, and then Trump 2 as using all of this weirdly, carefully installed pyramid of legal power to just blow up the economy for zero reason

I also remember watching my parents watch the invasion of Iraq and asking why. My based woke mom said “George Bush just wants oil.”

What a great thumbnail

"If you bought 0w-20 like 3 months ago because of this podcast, we saved you like $40". Boom. Headshot. Called me out directly. I bought 15 quarts of 0w-20 back in May(?) specifically because of your gay-girl-john-oliver reporting on the war disruptions. I've been debating whether or not to write to you two about that, lol. I paid $60 and the same purchase today would cost almost double. My little Spark is covered for the next 4 oil changes.

As a fellow vaulted child who stopped receiving unconditional affection from their mother, I just want Victoria to know I'm wishing her the best. The "vault" as shorthand for being kept seriously socially and culturally isolated as a kid has helped me explain my odd upbringing and missing cultural references IRL. Thank you

I would like to extend an invitation to Victoria and Jordan to check out the Cole Land Transportation Museum in Bangor, ME. There is a virtual tour you can take on the website, lots of 360 views.

Story time, I spent my early 20s working as a carnie in New England. Occasional, instead of going to a random parking lot of fairground we would get companies or rich rides for events. One such event was a Nascar race in New Hampshire. Since nobody goes to a race to ride the carnival rides, we mostly spent the weekend getting drunk and taking turn watching the race from the top of the ferris wheel.

I'm only three minutes in and I'm so ready for this. I get the feeling that my decision to get an ebike is gonna get reaffirmed

I need to find someone in IMSA to let me spot for them. I love ARCA but sportscar racing is so much more fun. Also I crashed my Civic SI into the back of a truck that decided to go and then stop for no reason at a yield and did the stopping when I looked over my shoulder to double check traffic for the yield. Feels bad

What im learning is that freedom fuels is the prestige limousine of gas stations

We're gonna get that good late soviet building scuz as the country's janitors can't afford to refill the pressure washer gas tanks

Big words Jordan from the city that has roads that randomly eat busses a couple times a year

BAD TIME LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOO

I AM READY TO BE TRAUMATIZED BY CODEPENDENCIES OF STAPLE GOODS TO DIESEL PRICES.

Look upon Victoria's reference list, and despair.

Time for my regular dose of void-staring

I literally just heard about this from the WTYP episode and lo and behold it just got uploaded.

I'm already in a bad mood, fuck it let's bury the Bad Times needle.

I paused WTYP to listen to this