Thursday Afternoon Breaking News Updates with Ben - 7/2/2026

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Strategic Petroleum Reserve Crisis and Crack Spreads Explained

At 16:10 · chapter starts 15:00

Meiselas offers a rare economics tutorial for a political podcast, walking through why Americans aren't seeing gas price relief despite crude oil nominally falling. The key concept is crack spreads — the delta between crude prices and refined fuel prices — which reflects refinery costs largely decoupled from the crude market. The strategic petroleum reserve, mostly held in Cushing, Oklahoma, has been drawn to what Meiselas calls 'functional and technical tank bottom,' the lowest level in history. ^{[1] — Ben Meiselas "US Strategic Petroleum Reserve at functional tank bottom: The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve has been drawn down to what Meiselas calls 'fu…" 13:00 Play} Even with the Strait of Hormuz slightly more open than at the war's peak, tanker volumes are still suppressed, meaning supply constraints persist. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is accused of manipulating crude prices downward to manufacture the appearance of relief, but the pump price tells a different story. The SPR drawdown also matters for fertilizer: Meiselas reveals the US quietly attempted a fertilizer emergency declaration, acknowledging the country has essentially run out of domestic supply. Farmers already know this — no matter how many times Trump tells them they're living a golden age.