January 12, 2026
SHARE
CANADALAND
#1294 Oil For Dummies
“ What price do you put on Canadian sovereignty? What price do you put on the ability to have an economy that isn't wholly beholden to the United States?” -Adam Pankratz
Jesse Brown
Host & Publisher
Bruce Thorson
Senior Producer
Tristan Capacchione
Audio Editor & Technical Producer
max collins
Director of Audio

The U.S. attack on Venezuela roiled Canadian oil markets. Pipelines and crude are suddenly spawning countless headlines. But do you know the difference between your sweet crude and a hole in the ground? And is that hole in the ground spurting sour bitumen? Of course that’s a trick question as everyone knows sour bitumen won’t spurt without dilbit. Right? 

What do you really know about oil? Given that it seems to be driving so much of our geopolitics and fuelling a large part of our economy, what do you need to know about it?

Today we’re going oil school, getting back to basics, to try and understand what’s behind all the crude news.

 

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher)

Featured Guest: Adam Pankratz

 

Fact checking by Julian Abraham

Additional music by Audio Network

 

More information:

 

Sponsors: 

Squarespace: Check out https://squarespace.com/canadaland for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch use code canadaland to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

MUBI: To stream great cinema at home, you can try MUBI free for 30 days at https://mubi.com/canadaland

Fizz: Visit https://fizz.ca and activate a first plan using the referral code CAN25 to get 25$ off and 10GB of free data.

 

Can’t get enough Canadaland? Follow @Canadaland_Podcasts on Instagram for clips, announcements, explainers and more.

If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.

More from this series
“ That is not what we were promised. That's not what our patients expected.” -Dr. Alier Marrero
February 9, 2026
We wanted to know all of your local gossip. How toxic is your subreddit? How angry are your community Facebook groups? And boy, did you deliver.
February 5, 2026
This is a tale of revenge. It’s also a David and Goliath story, about one man going up against giant corporations and winning.
February 2, 2026
“ They said that Waleed Khan transferred property and funds to ISIS and also was doing the bidding of ISIS and was ready to counsel to commit murders and terrorism.” -Ellin Bessner
January 26, 2026
“The world is now in a state of not even organized chaos. It's genuinely chaotic.” -Bob Rae, Canadian Ambassador to the UN 2020-2025
January 19, 2026
“ What price do you put on Canadian sovereignty? What price do you put on the ability to have an economy that isn't wholly beholden to the United States?” -Adam Pankratz
January 12, 2026
2025 was a year of change, tumult, and chaos. What are you hoping for in 2026?
January 8, 2026
I am so deeply bored of the little brother, little cousin, whatever vibe I find it so unuseful. -Matina Stevis-Gridneff
January 5, 2026
all podcasts arrow All Podcasts
CANADALAND