What Next

What Banning Russian Oil Really Means

The U.S. ban of Russian oil wasn’t supposed to happen. So what led us here?

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Episode Notes

While the U.S. ban on Russian oil correlates with rising prices in the U.S., it’s still subject to a global market that was on the upswing anyway. In the long run, could the rising prices, whether the result of the ban or not, actually help accelerate decarbonization efforts and move the U.S. to more sustainable forms of energy?

Guest: Robinson Meyer, staff writer at The Atlantic. He is the author of the newsletter The Weekly Planet, and a co-founder of the COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic.

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Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Elena Schwartz, Carmel Delshad, Anna Rubanova and Laura Spencer.

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About the Show

The problem with the news right now? It’s everywhere. And each day, it can feel like we’re all just mindlessly scrolling. It’s why we created What Next. This short daily show is here to help you make sense of things. When the news feels overwhelming, we’re here to help you answer: What next? Look for new episodes every weekday morning.

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  • Mary Harris is the host and managing editor of What Next, Slate's new daily news podcast. She has reported throughout the public radio system, for NPR, Marketplace, and WNYC.