Today we return to the oil market, a market that is in flux, both from a traditional supply and demand picture, but that is now also embroiled in geopolitics, an uncertain global trade environment and a potential recession. Is oil going lower for longer? And what about volatility? The last month or so has seen a dramatic return of volatility and associated results for traders, positive and negative. Is that set to continue? Our guest is Matt Smith, lead energy analyst for the US at the data and analytics company Kepler.

Since 2017, the West’s awareness of its strategic vulnerabilities in critical minerals has been growing – yet in reality little progress has been made. How have various policies progressed or hindered the development of a domestic supply chain in the US and the West more broadly? What is the new Trump administration's approach to critical minerals? How is that impacting former efforts like the Inflation Reduction Act? And what does it mean for China and its response? Just how close are we to experiencing an outright scarcity on these critical minerals in the US and the West? And what would that mean for our economies? Our guest is mining entrepreneur and former Deputy Director for Batteries and Critical Materials at the US Department of Energy, Ashley Zumwalt-Forbes.

Today we're releasing an episode outside of our normal schedule on tariffs and those on metals in particular. What tariffs are in place on metals and critical minerals? What has been the response particularly from China? What is the legal underpinning of those tariffs and how does that create uncertainty? What are the administration’s goals? And what does it mean for contracts? What does it mean for M&A? And what does it mean for markets? Our guest is Guy Winter, partner at Fasken, the global law firm, in their Global Mining Group. Guy is also on the advisory board of the Critical Minerals Association in the UK and on the UK's Department of Business and Trade Critical Minerals Expert Committee. He is also an author of fiction books - his latest two were The Billionaire Suicide Club and The Billionaire Suicide Club 2; Red queen Rising.

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