Guyana: Little Country, Big Oil

Modern Context with Yasmin Aliya Khan

What happens when a valuable natural resource is discovered in a small, foreign nation? If history is to be believed, things don’t always work out so well for the small, foreign nation – but is there a chance that they could?

Guyana sits on the Atlantic coast of South America, the only English-speaking nation on the continent, populated primarily with displaced diasporas from its time as a British colony. Despite being a neighbor to Venezuela and Brazil, Guyana enjoyed a relatively obscure existence (Jim Jones notwithstanding) – until now. Oil has been discovered in Guyana, and large multinational oil companies are chomping at the bit.

In this episode, we’ll explore Guyana’s history with foreign intervention (specifically from the US), we’ll look forward to the impact this small, foreign nation may soon have on the planet, and we’ll explore what it could all mean for the Guyanese people.