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Global Impact Of Economic Shocks | 1973 - Oil and the 20th Century | 3

Legacy

Original Legacy Productions

History, News, Society & Culture, News Commentary

3.91.1K Ratings

🗓️ 2 April 2026

⏱️ 48 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

From the geology of the Gulf to the CIA-backed coup that toppled Iran's elected prime minister, Peter and Afua trace how oil became the defining force of the 20th century — and why the West's century-long obsession with Iranian oil still shapes the crisis unfolding in 2026.


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Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com

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Stay connected with Legacy:

Instagram: @originallegacypodcast

TikTok: @legacy_productions


Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com


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Transcript

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0:00.0

So, I guess when we think about the 20th century, we tend to think about Europe.

0:04.3

We've talked about that a lot, and the rise of the West. But there is a part of the world that has

0:08.3

been constantly significant from a point of view of economics, geopolitics, war, you name it,

0:14.7

and that is the Middle East. And in some ways, the 20th century, one of the themes that's run through

0:20.5

it is not just the story of Iran, but the story of oil.

0:24.6

And that's to do with the fluke of geology and of innovation, geopolitics, revolution, power, greed, and a lot more.

0:32.1

So we thought it would be a good idea to really give the crisis of 1973 a bit of airtime because of what's going on at the moment

0:39.8

in 2026 in Iran and particularly with Hormuz too. But I don't think we think too much about

0:45.7

the central role that Iran has played in the course of the 20th century. I think you're right,

0:51.2

Peter. I think there's a way we still think about the 20th century, which centers around two World Wars and the Cold War. And everything, all of the turmoil and conflict is seen through the prism of those three big conflicts. And actually, I think the inaccuracy of that is one of the reasons that at the moment people are scrambling a bit

1:11.8

to reconcile how uncertain everything feels. Because actually, if you look at the 20th century more

1:18.4

through these politics, these economic shocks, these long simmering fault lines, then I think

1:25.2

it actually better equipped you to make sense of what we're experiencing

1:27.9

right now. I mean, as we're recording in 2026, people are really struggling to make sense of how

1:33.1

uncertain everything feels and how extremely vulnerable we are to massive changes in the price

1:41.1

of oil, to broader conflict erupting in the Middle East. And,

1:44.7

you know, for most people in America, I mean, I've seen some interviews with Americans who

1:47.8

really struggle to point to Iran on a map and yet are waking up to the reality that what happens

1:53.0

there is going to have a direct impact on their daily life. So I think it's really important

1:57.5

to correct that very narrow lens and broaden our thinking to the history

2:02.9

that's got us here more through this lens of these economic experiences, these maybe more subtle

2:09.3

conflicts, but that have very, very real economic consequences. We talked about it a bit on our

...

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