The secret meeting that launched OPEC
Planet Money
NPR
4.6 • 30.5K Ratings
🗓️ 13 May 2026
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
“It would be so awesome if you guys could do an episode explaining OPEC to us,” she emailed us. She wanted to know: why does OPEC exist? Why does it limit the supply of oil? And now that the United Arab Emirates has dropped out, what will happen to gas prices?
We love when our listeners write in (and send us voice notes!). The simplest questions can reveal how the complicated web of the economy works.
On our latest: we answer our listener’s questions… and the questions behind those questions!
Related episodes:
• Chevron, Venezuela and the Paradox of Plenty
Book info. / Subscribe to Planet Money+
Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.
Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.
This episode of Planet Money was produced by James Sneed with help from Willa Rubin. It was edited by Marianne McCune, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is Planet Money from NPR. |
| 0:06.0 | We here at Planet Money are firm believers in the saying, there's no such thing as a dumb question. |
| 0:14.7 | Because even the most simple questions can lead to incredibly intricate answers that reveal how the economy works. |
| 0:21.9 | So we get especially excited when y'all come to us with questions that you feel like you should |
| 0:28.0 | already know the answers to. |
| 0:30.0 | Like the other day, we got a question from a listener named Valerie Burecki, who at first didn't even |
| 0:34.9 | want us mentioning her name. |
| 0:36.5 | Ah, I have a lot of friends that listen to NPR, specifically Planet Money, and I think |
| 0:44.6 | it's embarrassing when you don't know the answer to what should be a basic question every |
| 0:48.6 | American debt should know, in my opinion. |
| 0:51.2 | That is not true at all. |
| 0:54.4 | That's like my whole job is to not know the answers to questions and then figure them out. |
| 1:01.8 | I don't know. |
| 1:03.1 | Luckily, Valerie got over it. |
| 1:05.1 | She told us she thought of her question while prepping for a camping trip. |
| 1:08.7 | She has a diesel-guzzling camper van |
| 1:11.0 | and had a question related to how much it cost to fill up at the pump. |
| 1:15.2 | So she whipped out her phone and started talking into it. |
| 1:18.3 | Voiced a text. |
| 1:19.5 | Pressed send. |
| 1:20.6 | And when her email landed in our inbox, it read, |
| 1:24.1 | I, planet, honey. |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 6 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.