Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Five months of war in Iran have completely reshaped energy markets. This week, the Baker Institute’s Kristian Coates Ulrichsen joins Rebecca Patterson and Sebastian Mallaby to examine how conflict in the Strait of Hormuz exposed the fragility of the world's maritime chokepoints, and revealed China as the quiet winner of the crisis.
Hosts:
Sebastian Mallaby, Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
Rebecca Patterson, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
Guest:
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Fellow for the Middle East and codirector of the Middle East Energy Roundtable, Baker Institute
Mentioned on the Episode:
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen and Jim Krane, “Maritime Chokepoints and Risks to Global Shipping and Energy Security,” Baker Institute - bakerinstitute.org/sites/default/files/2026-03/20260316-Maritime%20Chokepoints.pdf
“China ‘Blockade Simulation’ Exposes $5 Trillion Global Danger,” Bloomberg - bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-05-25/bloomberg-new-economy-china-blockade-simulation-raises-5-trillion-risk
“Crossroads of Commerce: How the Taiwan Strait Propels the Global Economy,” CSIS - features.csis.org/chinapower/china-taiwan-strait-trade
Spencer Kimball, “Oil in US Strategic Petroleum Reserve Falls Below 300 Million Barrels, Lowest Since 1983,” MSN - msn.com/en-us/money/markets/oil-in-us-strategic-petroleum-reserve-falls-below-300-million-barrels-lowest-since-1983/ar-AA29MnCM?ocid=BingNewsSerp
“China Is Now the World’s Great Oil Power,” The Economist - economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/08/09/china-is-now-the-worlds-great-oil-power
“The Middle East and Global Energy Markets,” IEA - iea.org/topics/the-middle-east-and-global-energy-markets
Want to keep up with The Spillover? Sign up to receive an email alert when new episodes are released at cfr.org/newsletters/#podcasts
The Spillover is a production of the Council on Foreign Relations. The opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the hosts and guests, not of the Council, which takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.
Five months of war in Iran have completely reshaped energy markets. This week, the Baker Institute’s Kristian Coates Ulrichsen joins Rebecca Patterson and Sebastian Mallaby to examine how conflict in the Strait of Hormuz exposed the fragility of the world's maritime chokepoints, and revealed China as the quiet winner of the crisis.
Hosts:
Sebastian Mallaby, Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
Rebecca Patterson, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
Guest:
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Fellow for the Middle East and codirector of the Middle East Energy Roundtable, Baker Institute
Mentioned on the Episode:
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen and Jim Krane, “Maritime Chokepoints and Risks to Global Shipping and Energy Security,” Baker Institute - bakerinstitute.org/sites/default/files/2026-03/20260316-Maritime%20Chokepoints.pdf
“China ‘Blockade Simulation’ Exposes $5 Trillion Global Danger,” Bloomberg - bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-05-25/bloomberg-new-economy-china-blockade-simulation-raises-5-trillion-risk
“Crossroads of Commerce: How the Taiwan Strait Propels the Global Economy,” CSIS - features.csis.org/chinapower/china-taiwan-strait-trade
Spencer Kimball, “Oil in US Strategic Petroleum Reserve Falls Below 300 Million Barrels, Lowest Since 1983,” MSN - msn.com/en-us/money/markets/oil-in-us-strategic-petroleum-reserve-falls-below-300-million-barrels-lowest-since-1983/ar-AA29MnCM?ocid=BingNewsSerp
“China Is Now the World’s Great Oil Power,” The Economist - economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/08/09/china-is-now-the-worlds-great-oil-power
“The Middle East and Global Energy Markets,” IEA - iea.org/topics/the-middle-east-and-global-energy-markets
Want to keep up with The Spillover? Sign up to receive an email alert when new episodes are released at cfr.org/newsletters/#podcasts
The Spillover is a production of the Council on Foreign Relations. The opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the hosts and guests, not of the Council, which takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.
