Dana Taylor

Today is Friday, March 20th, 2026.

According to a statement issued by the International Energy Agency, or IEA, the war in the Middle East is creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.

Amy Jaffe is the Director of Energy, Climate Justice and Sustainability and a research professor at New York University.

She's a leading expert on the topics of global energy policy and geopolitical risk and has written several books on energy and sustainability.

Thank you so much for joining me, Amy.

To begin, how are limited oil supplies affecting U.S.

consumers?

We're going to dig into this more in a moment.

But if we look beyond the vast quantities of oil available in the Middle East to how those barrels of oil are moved, how important is the Strait of Hormuz?

Tell me about that waterway.

Much of the oil flowing through the strait comes from which countries?

And does Iran stand alone in the region in wanting to squeeze access here?

Amy, the best case scenario, and this is, of course, true for all wars, is a quick end.

At that point, what will it take and how long might it take to get oil in the region processed and moving again?

Amy, what does America need to do to secure its energy future?

What should we be thinking about and debating in this fraught moment?

Amy, thank you so much for being on the excerpt.

While Americans deal with fluctuations in gas prices here at home, the U.S.

and Israel's war in Iran has triggered fears over another important resource, water.

Today, I'm joined by USA Today producer and host Zuleika Nathoo, who's breaking down for us why water could be even more important than oil these days and why that matters to people not just in the Middle East, but here in the U.S.