The People vs. Big Oil, Part 2: Chevron Strikes Back

The People vs. Big Oil, Part 2: Chevron Strikes Back

From Lawless Planet by Audible

March 23, 2026 · 40 min · Episode 37

About this episode

This episode explores the legal conflict between the people of Ecuador and Chevron, focusing on Steven Donziger's challenges after the landmark judgment against the oil company.

In 2011, the people of Ecuador shocked the world by winning a multibillion judgment against Chevron for failing to clean up its oil operations in the Amazon. But back in the U.S., Chevron responded by suing their most prominent legal adversary, Steven Donziger. And as the oil giant challenged the Ecuadorian verdict, Donziger found himself trapped in his own Kafkaesque legal nightmare, one that threatened to overshadow the plight of the people he was trying to help. Featured in this episode: Steven Donziger Pablo Fajardo Sources: William Langewiesche’s Vanity Fair profile “Jungle Law” https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/2007/5/jungle-law Patrick Radden Keefe’s New Yorker article “Reversal of Fortune” https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/01/09/reversal-of-fortune-patrick-radden-keefe Joe Berlinger’s documentary “Crude” Paul M. Barrett’s book Law of the Jungle See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

People in this episode

Guest: Steven Donziger

Topics covered

  • legal battles
  • environmental justice
  • oil industry
  • Ecuador
  • Chevron
  • human rights

Keywords

  • Chevron
  • Ecuador
  • Steven Donziger
  • oil operations
  • legal nightmare
  • environmental justice
  • Kafkaesque

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Chevron

Books & works: Jungle Law, Reversal of Fortune, Crude, Law of the Jungle

Places: Ecuador

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