Lawless Planet
Lawless Planet
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The People vs. Big Oil, Part 1: 'Amazon Chernobyl'
47 minutes Posted Mar 16, 2026 at 7:00 am.
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Show notes
After Texaco (now Chevron) discovered oil in Ecuador, they left behind an ecological and public health disaster so severe that experts have dubbed it the "Amazon Chernobyl.” The local population then sued the company sparking an epic courtroom drama spanning multiple decades and costing billions of dollars. Leading that fight are two outspoken attorneys: an American outsider not afraid to make enemies, and an Ecuadorian lawyer who risked his life to stand up for his people.
Featured in this episode:
Pablo Fajardo
Steven Donziger
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
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