Trinidad and Tobago – Oil, Music, and Power

This episode examines the modern history of Trinidad and Tobago through the collision of oil wealth, cultural power, and political control. From the rise of the oil industry under colonial rule to independence and beyond, the story traces how extraction shaped the economy while music and Carnival shaped identity. It follows labor unrest, cultural resistance, state authority, and the long struggle to turn natural and cultural wealth into shared national benefit. The episode centers contradiction as the defining condition of the nation. Prosperity alongside inequality. Celebration alongside pressure. Voice alongside limited power.