Aug 31, 2026 · 27 min
Refinery shutdowns put fall diesel supplies under pressure
Oil markets brace for maintenance season
The episode connects monetary policy, strained household finances, fuel-market risks and climate adaptation to the economic pressures shaping the fall.
- 1Persistent inflation and political pressure complicate the Federal Reserve’s debate over whether to raise interest rates.
- 2Resilient consumer spending masks weaker jobs, stagnant real wages and declining savings, especially among lower-income households.
- 3Refinery maintenance could tighten diesel supplies just as harvest, heating and shipping demand intensify price pressures.
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David Pogue’s recovered family album transforms a dealer network and a century of photographs into a new understanding of his grandmother’s younger life.
The brief
The episode opens with debate over Kevin Warsh’s Federal Reserve speech, weighing persistent inflation and political independence against mortgage costs and the pressure higher rates put on consumers.
Mitchell Hartman examines why consumers keep spending despite a weakening labor market, stagnant real wages and declining savings, while the program surveys markets, oil prices and Apple’s leadership transition.
David Pogue follows a century-old family photo album through the dealers who research, trade and resell vintage photographs, showing how an object can reshape a family’s understanding of its past.
A failed home inspection reveals leaks, asbestos concerns, siding problems and bees before Ashley Pinsoni finds a second house with personal meaning, turning a market problem into an intimate one.
The central economic risk arrives with refinery maintenance: reduced diesel production could collide with harvest, winter heating, shipping and agriculture, pushing prices higher and reviving inflation fears.
Ski resorts store snow beneath insulating materials to protect early-season revenue, while an employer’s AI incentives point to a broader lesson: human judgment remains economically valuable.
Mitchell Hartman
David Pogue
Kevin Maxwell Warsh
Donald John TrumpListen to the full episode and explore every guest, topic, and moment on PodLume.