Oil is fundamental to our understanding of the climate crisis. But despite its starring role, the dominance of oil in the global energy system is a relatively recent phenomenon, with the industry only really taking off after the Second World War. So how, in just a few decades, did oil become so integral to American power and to our understanding of global capitalism?

In this episode of the Break Down, Adrienne and Adam Hanieh break down the history and geopolitics of oil and imperialism, and explore how the petrochemicals and plastics that now permeate our lives, from the foods we eat to the clothes we wear and everything in between, are making it increasingly difficult to challenge the power of the fossil fuel industry.