Episode
Oil Hits $120/Barrel. Gas Hits $4.30! Hegseth Gets Lit Up.
- Published
- Apr 30, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1466
- Processing state
not_requested
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff-981737/episodes/oil-hits-120-barrel-gas-hits-4-30-hegseth-gets-lit-up/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff-981737/oil-hits-120-barrel-gas-hits-4-30-hegseth-gets-lit-up.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
The rain has cleared and we can see what the Iran war actually cost. In this solo episode, Paul Rieckhoff breaks down the brutal arithmetic: $25 billion spent. 13 American soldiers killed. Hundreds wounded. Oil at $125 a barrel and gas at $4.30 a gallon — up 27 cents in a week. The Strait of Hormuz still not secured. The Iranian regime still in power. The enriched uranium still unaccounted for. After yesterday's testimony from Secretary Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Caine, the spin is gone — and the Pentagon wants $1.5 trillion more. Paul lays out why working Americans are paying the price for a war their leaders can't honestly defend.