1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:04,680 Speaker 1: From UFOs to psychic powers and government conspiracies. History is 2 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:09,080 Speaker 1: riddled with unexplained events. You can turn back now or 3 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:12,079 Speaker 1: learn the stuff they don't want you to know. A 4 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: production of My Heart Radio. Hello, welcome back to the show. 5 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 1: My name is Matt, my name is Noel. They called 6 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: me Ben. We're joined as always with our super producer 7 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:35,879 Speaker 1: Paul Mission controlled decands. Most importantly, you are you. You 8 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 1: are here, and that makes this the stuff they don't 9 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:44,879 Speaker 1: want you to know. You can find corruption and conspiracy 10 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:48,839 Speaker 1: in the oddest places. Longtime listeners, you're well aware of this. Uh. 11 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:52,839 Speaker 1: And today we are traveling up to the land of 12 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 1: our lovely northern neighbors. We're traveling to Canada through the 13 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:01,880 Speaker 1: power the mind, right, the theater of imagination. And in 14 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:08,640 Speaker 1: this episode we're exploring a bizarre international well, you could 15 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 1: call it a conspiracy, you could call it an industry. 16 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:16,760 Speaker 1: Some people, rightly or wrongly, are convinced it is a 17 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:22,240 Speaker 1: scam or even racketeering. UH. And this is his story 18 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:25,960 Speaker 1: that may well travel all the way up to your 19 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 1: own breakfast table. No kidding. Before we do the big 20 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:33,440 Speaker 1: reveal and get into this, I have one very important 21 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:35,959 Speaker 1: question for you. Knowl and for you, Matt, and for 22 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:40,560 Speaker 1: everyone listening along at home, waffles or pancakes if you 23 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:43,200 Speaker 1: had to choose one. Oh, you know, I like a 24 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,280 Speaker 1: waffle because of the little divits just hold the syrups 25 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: so nicely. They're like little syrup cups. You know. I 26 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 1: would have said waffle. But the other day I had 27 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:56,320 Speaker 1: pecan pancakes or pecan pancakes if you're nasty, and they 28 00:01:56,360 --> 00:02:05,080 Speaker 1: were incredible. And I used this very bottle allegedly maple syrup, 29 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:08,519 Speaker 1: and it was delicious. You wish on the side, Matt, 30 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,240 Speaker 1: I didn't you see the front. I didn't want to 31 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:19,639 Speaker 1: show you the actual company. Yeah, okay, well it checks out. 32 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: You can see you can see the name here the Yeah, 33 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:25,959 Speaker 1: I myself am a waffle person because of the surface 34 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 1: area conundrum that you mentioned earlier, or it's a feature 35 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:34,639 Speaker 1: not a bug, also because of the ingredients. But the 36 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: crux of today's story, fellow conspiracy realist, is maple syrup. Yes, 37 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:42,560 Speaker 1: you are listening to a show about critical thinking applied 38 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:46,600 Speaker 1: to conspiracy theories, and yes, this episode is about maple syrup. 39 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: Trust us worth it problems. So here are the facts. 40 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:56,000 Speaker 1: If you're like most people, You've heard of maple syrup, right, 41 00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: you've heard of it. It's not it's not new to 42 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:03,160 Speaker 1: your human experience. It's made from this substance called xylem 43 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 1: sap and it comes primarily from three types of trees 44 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:11,800 Speaker 1: that are all maples. Uh. The big the big dog 45 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: in the game is sugar maple. But you will also 46 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:20,360 Speaker 1: see people uh ultimately creating maple syrup from red and 47 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:24,600 Speaker 1: black maple trees. It's not a new idea. Like a 48 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 1: lot of things on this continent. Indigenous people had learned 49 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:32,919 Speaker 1: the trick of of this thousands and thousands of years ago. 50 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: They already knew how to take this slightly sweet sap 51 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 1: and turn it into syrup. And the process that these 52 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 1: earlier people discovered or created continues today. It's a really 53 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:49,880 Speaker 1: neat marriage of art and science, and it's something that 54 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 1: I think a lot of people don't think about. Like 55 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:56,360 Speaker 1: when if you live in many parts of the US, uh, 56 00:03:56,560 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 1: you may not even find real maple syrup. Often you 57 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: may go for the much more affordable table syrup, which 58 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: is not not the legit maple syrup. But if you're 59 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 1: you're in certain regions of this continent, particularly the eastern 60 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:17,039 Speaker 1: northeastern seaboard right Canada, UH and New England. Then it 61 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:23,800 Speaker 1: would be tremendously insulting to serve table syrup to your 62 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 1: loved ones, your friends. They would think, oh, okay, Mr 63 00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:31,600 Speaker 1: cheap stuff over here has decided that we are acquaintances 64 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 1: and not yeah, and and like it can seriously be 65 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:40,240 Speaker 1: seen as an insult. And that's because they are very 66 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:43,159 Speaker 1: different things. The I think to set this up, we 67 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:47,360 Speaker 1: need to talk a little bit about the process of 68 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:51,400 Speaker 1: creating this stuff, because so much work goes into it. 69 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:54,520 Speaker 1: And when you understand how much work goes into it, 70 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 1: you can understand a little bit of why maple syrup 71 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:02,440 Speaker 1: is such a big deal to some people. Okay, so 72 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 1: let's talk about sap. That's what we're gonna talk about, uh, 73 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:07,799 Speaker 1: because you need a lot of it to make maple syrup. 74 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 1: The sap is almost like water in terms of the 75 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 1: makeup of the product. It is an incredibly thin um 76 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:21,600 Speaker 1: substance that contains about two sucross, so it makes it sweet, 77 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:25,119 Speaker 1: and about thirty gallons of sap is what it takes 78 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:28,919 Speaker 1: to make it just a single gallon of maple syrup um. 79 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:32,120 Speaker 1: And while of course the sap is the key ingredient 80 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:36,039 Speaker 1: in the process. UM. It also requires another key ingredient, 81 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:38,960 Speaker 1: which is time. UM. You have to have. You know, 82 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:41,839 Speaker 1: you can't grow a tree overnight. A tree needs to 83 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: be healthy and it needs to be at least around 84 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:48,640 Speaker 1: ten inches in diameter before it can be tapped UM, 85 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:50,640 Speaker 1: which is exactly what it sounds like. You you know, 86 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:53,719 Speaker 1: stick a device into the tree that then sucks out 87 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 1: the sap or at least allows you to drain the 88 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:58,560 Speaker 1: tree of that soup. UM. And it typically takes a 89 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 1: tree around forty years to reach that kind of size. Yeah, 90 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 1: and it's pretty amazing. The process really is amazing. If 91 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:10,680 Speaker 1: you watch some videos online about it and seeing especially 92 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:12,919 Speaker 1: if it's a larger operation with a lot of maple 93 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 1: trees that have been tapped, and just watch looking at 94 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:20,560 Speaker 1: the lines of of sap that just you know, slowly 95 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 1: drained from the tree into a collection area. It's it's 96 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:29,000 Speaker 1: pretty cool. It's fascinating because you could tap a younger 97 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:33,240 Speaker 1: or smaller tree, but it would have it would have 98 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:37,240 Speaker 1: tough effects on the health of the tree, which is 99 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:40,039 Speaker 1: super important. That's why we say it takes about forty 100 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 1: years because you're waiting for it to reach that size, 101 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:44,640 Speaker 1: and for a large tree, if it's large enough, you 102 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:49,000 Speaker 1: could have multiple taps on the tree. There's a lot 103 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:52,920 Speaker 1: of really cool terminology here that I've just sort of 104 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:56,560 Speaker 1: unapologetically peppered through because it's it's a lot to take 105 00:06:56,600 --> 00:06:58,560 Speaker 1: it all at once, but think of it this way. 106 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:01,839 Speaker 1: So the people who tap the trees, they are called 107 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:06,400 Speaker 1: sugar makers, which I think is tremendously sweet on several levels. 108 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 1: And they they're part of where the art and the 109 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:14,480 Speaker 1: science really meet. To do this successfully, they need to 110 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: have a very deep understanding of each tree, like they 111 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:21,040 Speaker 1: tend to know its history. They know if they had 112 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:24,680 Speaker 1: any like problems with bugs or some kind of you know, 113 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:30,360 Speaker 1: um rot got to it, and they take immense, immense 114 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 1: pains not to do any lasting harm because if everything 115 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:38,480 Speaker 1: goes well, these trees can be tapped again and again 116 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 1: multiple times over a long period of time, like a 117 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:47,080 Speaker 1: century or more. And and Matt, I'd love to hear 118 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:52,880 Speaker 1: a little more about that sap collection process because it 119 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 1: changed over time, right oh yeah, before the invention of 120 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:03,680 Speaker 1: I guess modern plastic and uh, you know, just some innovation. 121 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:07,280 Speaker 1: The way you would tap an old maple back in 122 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 1: the day is you would have you would do the 123 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:12,200 Speaker 1: thing you have to get a hole into the tree itself. 124 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:15,280 Speaker 1: But before it was just this kind of wooden like 125 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:17,880 Speaker 1: a wooden tube let's say that would come out like 126 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:21,160 Speaker 1: a spout almost or uh that just kind of goes 127 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:23,080 Speaker 1: down and his angle down, and then you'd hang a 128 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 1: bucket onto that wooden piece, or at least you'd get 129 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: a bucket very close to where that wooden pieces it's 130 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:31,360 Speaker 1: actually tapping the tree. That bucket would fill up, and 131 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:33,640 Speaker 1: then you take the bucket over dump it into wherever 132 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:38,760 Speaker 1: you collect and then sometimes like a big pan, yeah, exactly, 133 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:42,280 Speaker 1: you would boil. You you boil the sap down and 134 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:47,040 Speaker 1: you're reducing it to something something thicker, but plastic change 135 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:50,120 Speaker 1: this operation made much more efficient. It's funny. It almost 136 00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:53,200 Speaker 1: reminds me of those old uh I believe Tropicana orange 137 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:56,199 Speaker 1: juice ads where it was just like a straw shoved 138 00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:58,880 Speaker 1: into the orange. The implication being that it's like it 139 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:01,280 Speaker 1: comes you know, it's the freshness you can get without 140 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:03,720 Speaker 1: sucking it straight from the orange. But it's about that 141 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:06,360 Speaker 1: low tech even in the modern day. I mean, you're 142 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:09,480 Speaker 1: literally shoving a thing into the tree that is then 143 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:13,400 Speaker 1: pulling the draining the sap out into some receptacle. But yeah, 144 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:16,199 Speaker 1: and Ben made a really really great point just before 145 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:19,600 Speaker 1: we got into the tubing and everything, just that if 146 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:22,560 Speaker 1: you mess up and you tapped the tree, you're wrong 147 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:25,120 Speaker 1: or in the wrong place or too many times and 148 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:29,840 Speaker 1: you lose that. Imagine you're losing forty years minimum of 149 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:32,720 Speaker 1: effort to get that tree to where it needs to 150 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 1: be to even be tappable. Uh So that's why, like, 151 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 1: that's why it is such there's so much of an 152 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:40,920 Speaker 1: art to it, um and a and and a science 153 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:44,160 Speaker 1: to making it work. That Sweetie song is actually about 154 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 1: tapping in I was gonna ask Ben, is it because 155 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:51,720 Speaker 1: it replenishes itself over time, like you have to give 156 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:54,360 Speaker 1: like leave a period, you know of kind of rest 157 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:57,200 Speaker 1: in between tapping so that the tap can be replenished 158 00:09:57,440 --> 00:09:59,400 Speaker 1: or is it a finite amount I would imagine it's 159 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:02,880 Speaker 1: the former. Yeah, yeah, you're correct, it's the it's the former. 160 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:04,959 Speaker 1: There's a finite amount of set. But to be clear, 161 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:11,880 Speaker 1: no sugar maker is parasitic or vampiric here. They're not 162 00:10:12,559 --> 00:10:17,720 Speaker 1: draining these trees dry. It's almost like, for very crude analogy, 163 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:20,760 Speaker 1: it's almost like they're giving blood. Like the process of 164 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:24,920 Speaker 1: donating blood is meant to leave the donor healthy, so 165 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:28,480 Speaker 1: like a really responsible vampire, like a very like an 166 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:31,440 Speaker 1: ethical like the kind of vampire that shops at the 167 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:35,400 Speaker 1: vampire equivalent of a co opera whole foods. Uh co 168 00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:38,679 Speaker 1: op whole Foods is no longer the best example. But 169 00:10:38,679 --> 00:10:41,840 Speaker 1: but part of the way they do this and keep 170 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:48,200 Speaker 1: these healthy is also by limiting the the amount of 171 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:52,160 Speaker 1: time per year when this when this tapping occurs, it 172 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:55,719 Speaker 1: only takes place for about four to six weeks, so 173 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:59,520 Speaker 1: think roughly a month and change during something that is 174 00:10:59,559 --> 00:11:04,320 Speaker 1: called adorably the sugar season, which I think is also 175 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:06,800 Speaker 1: a good name for maybe not a band, but an album. 176 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:11,040 Speaker 1: And this is still like we'll see, there's a lot 177 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:15,200 Speaker 1: of limitation here, and the limitations placed on this process. 178 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:18,320 Speaker 1: People argue for the good of the tree, but they're 179 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:20,959 Speaker 1: also at the limb of the weather. It's there, there's 180 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:26,319 Speaker 1: a ideal time to uh tap this tree, tap into 181 00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:31,880 Speaker 1: this tree, and most of these tapholes only give you 182 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:37,320 Speaker 1: about ten gallons of sap throughout that period. So four 183 00:11:37,520 --> 00:11:40,920 Speaker 1: So thinking back to um, you know the attrition that 184 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:44,240 Speaker 1: you have described, No, that means that we're talking four 185 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:49,480 Speaker 1: tapholes over a period of rob four to six weeks, 186 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:55,560 Speaker 1: making forty gallons of sap, making one gallon of maple syrup. 187 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:58,920 Speaker 1: A ton of bo goes into this. Yeah, a ton 188 00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:03,360 Speaker 1: of work and not that much yield, right, And and 189 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:09,800 Speaker 1: they're in lies this entire episode. Yeah, it's a fascinating process. 190 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:13,480 Speaker 1: And we could spend some time, you know, especially um 191 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:16,440 Speaker 1: for those of you all familiar with our old school 192 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:22,720 Speaker 1: origins how stuff works. We would totally spend an hour 193 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:26,480 Speaker 1: talking just exploring how cool this process is. But for 194 00:12:26,559 --> 00:12:30,280 Speaker 1: our purposes today, fellow conspiracy realists, it's just important to 195 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:33,280 Speaker 1: know how much work goes into each one of those 196 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:38,760 Speaker 1: little bottles. The industry today is surprisingly big. There's a 197 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:40,680 Speaker 1: lot of there's a lot of money in maple. It 198 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:44,400 Speaker 1: turns out by three this is gonna be worth the 199 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:47,280 Speaker 1: maple syrup industry alone. It's gonna be worth one point 200 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:51,000 Speaker 1: seven billion dollars. This story may be familiar to some 201 00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:55,240 Speaker 1: of us listening today because there was a Netflix documentary 202 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:57,640 Speaker 1: that came out not too long ago, a great series 203 00:12:57,679 --> 00:13:00,839 Speaker 1: called Dirty Money, and one episode in season one of 204 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:05,640 Speaker 1: Dirty Money, they discuss maple syrup in a way that's 205 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:10,200 Speaker 1: related to this, it turns out officially because of all 206 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:14,280 Speaker 1: the time dedicated to creating this, Uh, there is a 207 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:17,400 Speaker 1: premium in price, but it's also only part of the 208 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:20,360 Speaker 1: reason there's a premium of price anyway. Right now, when 209 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:23,360 Speaker 1: the statistics you'll hear thrown around is accurate, but it 210 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:26,880 Speaker 1: changes a little bit a year over year, a single 211 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:32,080 Speaker 1: barrel of maple syrup would be worth around one hundred 212 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:36,400 Speaker 1: dollars eight hundred dollars, which makes it currently more than 213 00:13:36,559 --> 00:13:39,480 Speaker 1: twenty times the price of a barrel of oil, which 214 00:13:39,559 --> 00:13:42,040 Speaker 1: is right now as we record about seventy three to 215 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:47,640 Speaker 1: seventy four bucks. And that'll that'll change, but there maple 216 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:50,280 Speaker 1: syrup has been more expensive than oil for a long 217 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:54,640 Speaker 1: long time. Yeah, And it's a really great comparison because 218 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:57,839 Speaker 1: Ben isn't joking or talking around it when he's saying 219 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:01,920 Speaker 1: a barrel of this substance, the a barrel of oil 220 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 1: is the same as they're like the same barrels basically, 221 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:09,960 Speaker 1: Um that that you can find maple in and and 222 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:15,320 Speaker 1: oil in, and that also is very important to this story. Yeah, Yeah, 223 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:19,240 Speaker 1: forty two gallons, that's how much a forty two US gallons, 224 00:14:19,320 --> 00:14:22,680 Speaker 1: that's that's the size of both of these kinds of barrels. 225 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:29,320 Speaker 1: So this industry also gets further specialized because it's very localized. 226 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:33,560 Speaker 1: Maples don't grow everywhere, maple syrups not made everywhere. In fact, 227 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:38,320 Speaker 1: it's it's pretty much exclusively created in North America. The 228 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:45,760 Speaker 1: biggest US manufacturer is Vermont. That stereotype is true. Vermont 229 00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:50,080 Speaker 1: is is is a very big maple syrup industry, at 230 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:56,359 Speaker 1: least in the US, but that US behemoth is absolutely 231 00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 1: dwarfed by Canada. That's where the real maple action go 232 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:04,640 Speaker 1: is down. The province of Quebec specifically makes in excess 233 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:08,960 Speaker 1: of seventy percent of the world's entire supply of maple syrup. 234 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:14,080 Speaker 1: And this is why outfits like the Economists were investigative 235 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:17,440 Speaker 1: reporters like Carol and Jarvis, who appears in Dirty Money, 236 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:23,680 Speaker 1: have called Canada the Saudi Arabia of maple syrup. It's 237 00:15:23,720 --> 00:15:27,360 Speaker 1: not just the clever title, it's pretty accurate. It's all 238 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:31,960 Speaker 1: intermesh with the oil industry. I love it. Yeah, And 239 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:35,800 Speaker 1: most people outside of these very specific regions um that 240 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:40,520 Speaker 1: specialized in producing this stuff UM or outside specific industries 241 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:44,680 Speaker 1: that are associated don't really think about maple syrup. Um 242 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:47,880 Speaker 1: until back in that is, when there was a story 243 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:50,560 Speaker 1: that hit the press um where it had been discovered 244 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:55,480 Speaker 1: that someone had pulled a heist. Been you refer to 245 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:58,800 Speaker 1: it as an ocean's eleven level heist with your bag 246 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:01,760 Speaker 1: man and your in sideman and all your other men. 247 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:03,720 Speaker 1: Doesn't have to be a man, but you know, in 248 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:07,640 Speaker 1: the parlance of heists, and this crew, um, if you will, 249 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:14,000 Speaker 1: were involved in stealing thousands of tons um of the 250 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:17,960 Speaker 1: stuff and making off with around eighteen points seven million 251 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:22,280 Speaker 1: dollars Canadian which is around fifteen million US d um 252 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:27,280 Speaker 1: worth of maple syrup. And if you were talking about 253 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:29,920 Speaker 1: this around the water cooler, uh, it might have at 254 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:32,800 Speaker 1: the time, like it did for most people. I imagine 255 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:36,920 Speaker 1: strike you as a little bit funny. Um immediately when 256 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:39,840 Speaker 1: you hear somebody stole maple syrup, that's right, because what 257 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:42,680 Speaker 1: do you do with all of it? That's what you like. 258 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:47,040 Speaker 1: Back in two thousand twelve, that was the immediate question. 259 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:51,800 Speaker 1: It's like one of those highs where you know, uh, 260 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:53,840 Speaker 1: I try not to say it's too often an air, 261 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:57,440 Speaker 1: but I have a weird thing with dirigibles, and I 262 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:01,120 Speaker 1: always joked about stealing a blim for an airship, and 263 00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:04,640 Speaker 1: the big the reason that's so humorous is because the 264 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:07,920 Speaker 1: hell do you do with it? Yeah? Where you're gonna 265 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:10,280 Speaker 1: put all that maple syrup? How do you how do 266 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:14,119 Speaker 1: you explain that? How do you add you launder maple syrup? 267 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:17,600 Speaker 1: How do you offense maple syrup? That's a good question, benum. 268 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:19,800 Speaker 1: But at the end of the day, how is it 269 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:24,560 Speaker 1: any different than any other valuable commodity? You know? Because 270 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:28,359 Speaker 1: valuable it absolutely is. As you mentioned earlier. Uh, it 271 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:32,160 Speaker 1: costs upwards of a little under two grand a barrel, 272 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:36,080 Speaker 1: whereas oil, I think is only around seventy five seventy 273 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:41,040 Speaker 1: six bucks. So I mean absolutely sticky brown gold is 274 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:44,320 Speaker 1: what the stuff is. But um, you know chuckles aside, 275 00:17:44,359 --> 00:17:47,760 Speaker 1: when the story came through, there really is absolutely a dark, 276 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:52,119 Speaker 1: uh presumably somewhat sticky underbelly to the world of maple syrup. 277 00:17:52,520 --> 00:17:56,600 Speaker 1: Because the story didn't just end up exposing these criminals 278 00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:00,320 Speaker 1: who did get caught and convicted, ultimately exposed something ounce, 279 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:06,040 Speaker 1: something much deeper and arguably more sinister. Um, a multi 280 00:18:06,119 --> 00:18:12,080 Speaker 1: generational cartel like operation that spanned decades. Yeah, you see, 281 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:17,000 Speaker 1: the economist and Jarvis didn't just say that Canada was 282 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:20,040 Speaker 1: the Saudi Arabia maple syrup. They went a little further 283 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:27,800 Speaker 1: and they said, this situation also has an opeque. Yeah, 284 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:31,200 Speaker 1: there's a conspiracy of foot in the land of pancakes, 285 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:35,080 Speaker 1: of waffles, folks, just like the stories of diamonds or 286 00:18:35,119 --> 00:18:38,560 Speaker 1: the early days of light bulbs. Turns out maple syrup 287 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:41,879 Speaker 1: is run by a cartel. What are we talking about. 288 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:52,199 Speaker 1: We'll tell you afterward from our sponsor. Here's where it 289 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:58,320 Speaker 1: gets crazy. So let's let's talk just a second about opeq. 290 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:04,200 Speaker 1: Uh Yeah, alright. OPEC is the organization of the petroleum 291 00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:09,920 Speaker 1: exporting countries you have. If you've, depending on the kind 292 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:12,360 Speaker 1: of news you've read over the years or decades, you've 293 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:17,320 Speaker 1: probably heard OPEC being brought up various times in the West. 294 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:21,320 Speaker 1: And that's because OPEC can It makes for a very 295 00:19:21,359 --> 00:19:26,400 Speaker 1: convenient boogeyman, especially when when you get to oil wars 296 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:30,840 Speaker 1: and fossil fuel prices. Because OPEC is what is known 297 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:35,360 Speaker 1: as a cartel. Usually when we hear the word cartel, 298 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:39,720 Speaker 1: we associate it with drugs, cocaina, you know what I mean, 299 00:19:39,800 --> 00:19:43,320 Speaker 1: Like this is uh, this is because we often hear 300 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:48,680 Speaker 1: the terms together we don't hear things like banking cartel. Right, 301 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:52,040 Speaker 1: and and even though the diamond cartel is very much real, 302 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:54,640 Speaker 1: you like nine times out of ten when you hear 303 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:57,600 Speaker 1: the word cartel described in the news, it's going to 304 00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:00,760 Speaker 1: be referring to drugs. But what it acts lead defines 305 00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:06,640 Speaker 1: is just this. Let's say that Matt Noel, Mission Control 306 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:10,640 Speaker 1: and I all make I don't know, what's something fun 307 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:16,800 Speaker 1: that we make some specific it's specific for kids. Okay, 308 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:19,679 Speaker 1: we make so we make like that kind kind of 309 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:21,879 Speaker 1: let's say it's like a branded kind of it's a 310 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:26,199 Speaker 1: very specific kind of slime, like with gack. There we go, 311 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:30,600 Speaker 1: So we make ghack. We make ghack. And what we 312 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:37,080 Speaker 1: are the four largest manufacturers of ghack? And were your 313 00:20:37,119 --> 00:20:40,080 Speaker 1: company is called Ghakuta. Uh, it's not called Matt Ghack. 314 00:20:40,359 --> 00:20:43,720 Speaker 1: Well anyway, I we got we got lots of room 315 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:47,520 Speaker 1: to play with this. So we are the four largest 316 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:52,919 Speaker 1: manufacturers of ghack. And we say, hey, why are we 317 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:54,760 Speaker 1: Why are we fighting with each other? You know what 318 00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:57,600 Speaker 1: I mean? Why? Why why are we all like living 319 00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:02,919 Speaker 1: living like dogs and popers? For a measly of a 320 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:06,400 Speaker 1: small piece of pie, we could get together. We could 321 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:10,280 Speaker 1: make the pie bigger and we could all profit off 322 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:12,640 Speaker 1: of it. And what we would do then is well 323 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:15,359 Speaker 1: be a group of suppliers or manufacturers and we would 324 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:18,760 Speaker 1: conspire with each other. Literally would say, Okay, the price 325 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:23,040 Speaker 1: of ghack no matter what, is always going to be 326 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:27,639 Speaker 1: um arrested development reference is always going to be like 327 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:30,360 Speaker 1: what what could it cost ten dollars? You know that's 328 00:21:30,359 --> 00:21:32,359 Speaker 1: what That's what we'll do. We'll do it the way 329 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:37,280 Speaker 1: they did bananas. And then we would say, in addition 330 00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:40,440 Speaker 1: to that, the four of us are also going to cooperate, 331 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:47,000 Speaker 1: whether through transparent legal means or through unethical illegal means, 332 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:50,720 Speaker 1: to keep all those other dirty competitors out of the game. 333 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:53,600 Speaker 1: You know, there's there's a there are a bunch of 334 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:59,000 Speaker 1: independent producers of ghack, and we are going to destroy them. 335 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:03,400 Speaker 1: So free market a cartel is not Yodo would say, 336 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:05,679 Speaker 1: you know, a really great example of this isn't a 337 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:09,439 Speaker 1: show that I've I've been rewatching recently, The wire Um 338 00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:13,000 Speaker 1: where there is a group of rival drug dealers who 339 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:16,359 Speaker 1: are constantly at each other's throats and whoring and dropping 340 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:20,040 Speaker 1: bodies in the streets, and then um, they they eventually 341 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:25,480 Speaker 1: get together, pull their resources, use their influence to get 342 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:29,560 Speaker 1: the best product and then share real estate. Um. And 343 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:32,400 Speaker 1: then they also use that to vanquish any other competition 344 00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:35,920 Speaker 1: or if there is competition that's worth bringing into this 345 00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:39,159 Speaker 1: collusion or cartel type situation, they do that and just 346 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:42,560 Speaker 1: absorb them. But it ultimately is about limiting competition and 347 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:45,240 Speaker 1: about kind of the rising tide carrying all vessels, but 348 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:50,000 Speaker 1: also not having any outsiders. Yeah, and in price fixing. 349 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:53,560 Speaker 1: And I think just one minor thing we're missing with 350 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:56,840 Speaker 1: the gack version that we're talking about here is that 351 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:02,320 Speaker 1: with most cartels there's either natural resource or a resource 352 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:06,560 Speaker 1: that is limited, there's limited access to Right. Our gag 353 00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:14,080 Speaker 1: is all organic exactly from the GA you're making. But yeah, 354 00:23:14,119 --> 00:23:15,720 Speaker 1: in the in the gag example, you would just it 355 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:19,240 Speaker 1: would be more about the things needed to create the gag. Right. 356 00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:24,160 Speaker 1: So in this in Maples, the reason why it's important 357 00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:27,679 Speaker 1: or like almost like I would say, almost needed to 358 00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:30,159 Speaker 1: have a cartel like this, And I know that's a 359 00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:33,000 Speaker 1: little controversial, we'll get into it, but it's because there 360 00:23:33,119 --> 00:23:36,800 Speaker 1: is a limited amount of the stuff in circulation at 361 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:42,400 Speaker 1: any given time, um, and controlling that the supply becomes 362 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:47,840 Speaker 1: vital to the industry, Right, right, it becomes monopolistic, you know, 363 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:51,600 Speaker 1: and the world of done about. Frank Herbert has an 364 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:54,520 Speaker 1: excellent example of this with the spice. This is not 365 00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:59,200 Speaker 1: based on some sort of made up thing. The cartel 366 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:04,400 Speaker 1: in question is called the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers. 367 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:07,119 Speaker 1: But you know, the real name is in French because 368 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:11,480 Speaker 1: it's kepaqua, it's usually referred to by the acronym f 369 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:15,840 Speaker 1: p a q uh. The story of the organization is 370 00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:18,880 Speaker 1: interesting and dates all the way back to the nineteen fifties. 371 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:21,440 Speaker 1: These guys have been active for a while. So over 372 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:25,400 Speaker 1: in southern Quebec a group of remember the name sugar makers. 373 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:29,720 Speaker 1: We're having a hard time because this is this is 374 00:24:29,800 --> 00:24:33,120 Speaker 1: hard work, just like farming. Uh. These folks are often 375 00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:35,359 Speaker 1: at the whims of the weather. They don't know what 376 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:38,960 Speaker 1: may or may not affect the trees, and and sometimes 377 00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:42,840 Speaker 1: it's like active god level disasters. So they said, look, 378 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:47,360 Speaker 1: we can no longer be at the whims of a market. 379 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:49,920 Speaker 1: We have to be able to guarantee our survival, the 380 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:53,040 Speaker 1: survival of our kids and our businesses. So we're gonna 381 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:57,480 Speaker 1: get together and we're gonna vultron up will collectively market 382 00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:00,400 Speaker 1: our mapel syrup. This starts the nineteen fIF the eight 383 00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:04,479 Speaker 1: the idea catches on. It leads to the formation of 384 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:09,600 Speaker 1: a larger group ultimately across the entirety of Quebec. And 385 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:15,560 Speaker 1: since all they're they're typically called producers. All the sugar 386 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:21,280 Speaker 1: makers in this fp a Q have worked together as 387 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:24,919 Speaker 1: a cartel. They've set prices and they've also done something else, 388 00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:29,320 Speaker 1: they've set production quotas. That's the big problem that the 389 00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:33,000 Speaker 1: US historically had with OPEC. They would get mad at 390 00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:36,840 Speaker 1: OPEQ and UM. I had an old professor years ago 391 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:41,640 Speaker 1: who said, that's a very nice person, but they said, uh, 392 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:44,920 Speaker 1: opaque exists to stop the flow of oil and make 393 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:49,960 Speaker 1: it expensive. And that was a little hot take because 394 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:52,760 Speaker 1: it didn't seem like a good idea as a business model. 395 00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:54,600 Speaker 1: But it turns out it's a great idea as a 396 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:57,560 Speaker 1: business model in some cases, especially if you want to 397 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:02,320 Speaker 1: enrich um a all number of families that own all 398 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:06,439 Speaker 1: the oil in the Middle East anyway, Yeah, or or 399 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:12,040 Speaker 1: or dack tycoons like us. Hey, so so this is 400 00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:15,760 Speaker 1: this is again it's it's similar to OPEC. It's similar 401 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:19,359 Speaker 1: to two Beers, which is the infamous diamond cartel, or 402 00:26:19,359 --> 00:26:23,119 Speaker 1: it's similar to the Phoebus cartel, which is the group 403 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:29,880 Speaker 1: that back in the day purposefully made lightbulbs crappier. Yeah, 404 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:32,240 Speaker 1: and also just hey, don't sleep on the diamond, the 405 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:34,720 Speaker 1: Beers diamond thing that we I think we just put 406 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:38,199 Speaker 1: out the classic episode on diamonds. Don't sleep on that. 407 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:44,159 Speaker 1: Check Lauren and question, I didn't know the answer, but 408 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:47,800 Speaker 1: just hypothetically speaking, a cartel isn't inherently illegal. I mean, 409 00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:51,200 Speaker 1: there certainly are illegal cartels the traffic and illegal goods. 410 00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:54,600 Speaker 1: But to me, the whole purpose of a cartel is 411 00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:58,119 Speaker 1: to limit competition and essentially create a monopoly. So is 412 00:26:58,119 --> 00:27:01,280 Speaker 1: it just kind of like a loophole that allows for 413 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:03,800 Speaker 1: a legal monopoly of some sort? And why aren't these 414 00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:07,640 Speaker 1: challenged more often by you know, regulators? One A great question. Yes, 415 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:13,240 Speaker 1: the answer, as we'll find, verges on the philosophical points, 416 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:17,000 Speaker 1: but without sounding two cynical, what I would say, and 417 00:27:17,359 --> 00:27:19,639 Speaker 1: I welcome disagreements with this, what I would say is 418 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:24,760 Speaker 1: that the issue of legality ultimately becomes just an issue 419 00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:28,400 Speaker 1: of who controls the mechanisms of the state. That's why 420 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:32,520 Speaker 1: different countries have different laws. So like, if you so 421 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:37,200 Speaker 1: so like, somebody may consider the activities of a cartel 422 00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:43,520 Speaker 1: domestically or internationally illegal, but if that cartel is powerful enough, 423 00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:46,600 Speaker 1: if they have enough access enough what you would call 424 00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:50,920 Speaker 1: juice in the wire or suction in the wire, suction 425 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:55,040 Speaker 1: industry makes a lot of money, right, or if their 426 00:27:55,240 --> 00:28:01,160 Speaker 1: industry has already been purchased through perhaps unethical means by 427 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:04,640 Speaker 1: the rulers of a country, then they get to decide 428 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:08,320 Speaker 1: what they think is legal or illegal. So that's why 429 00:28:08,359 --> 00:28:12,320 Speaker 1: we have these legal cartels. And then you know, there's 430 00:28:12,359 --> 00:28:16,040 Speaker 1: a greater good argument that comes out, and sometimes it's 431 00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:19,040 Speaker 1: a good faith argument, but the the idea here is 432 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:23,240 Speaker 1: the idea of what these guys are doing. This group 433 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:28,520 Speaker 1: is legal. The government of Canada has sanctioned this, but 434 00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:33,040 Speaker 1: not everybody agrees because there's very much of who watches 435 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:36,720 Speaker 1: the watchman kind of situation anytime you talk about a cartel, 436 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:43,520 Speaker 1: because you could ask people throughout mining operations run by 437 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:50,560 Speaker 1: de beers what they think of the cartel's activities, and um, yes, 438 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:57,360 Speaker 1: sometimes being ethical and being legal are not always the 439 00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:01,080 Speaker 1: same thing, you know. Unfortunately. Yeah, And again, like we 440 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:03,520 Speaker 1: were making these comparisons because it is the best, These 441 00:29:03,560 --> 00:29:06,160 Speaker 1: are the best ways to actually make these connections and 442 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:10,280 Speaker 1: talk about these things. But you know, the mining operations 443 00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:12,800 Speaker 1: and some of the horrors, they are very different from 444 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:16,680 Speaker 1: you know, sugar makers tapping trees. Right, But and and 445 00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:19,400 Speaker 1: there's also I mean they're there. That's the thing. We 446 00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:22,600 Speaker 1: we love the complexity of a topic like this because 447 00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:26,880 Speaker 1: it's it's not apples to apples or maples to maples 448 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:31,480 Speaker 1: in every one of these um and I I'm only 449 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:36,280 Speaker 1: saying this to point out that a lot of sugar makers, 450 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:39,680 Speaker 1: and from what I've seen in the stats and some 451 00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:42,280 Speaker 1: of the stuff that was shown in that Dirty Money episode, 452 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:48,360 Speaker 1: the producers and the sugar makers, the vast majority of 453 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:54,560 Speaker 1: them are down with this cartel because it helps them, individually, uh, 454 00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:57,960 Speaker 1: make sure that they're able to sell their product at 455 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:01,800 Speaker 1: a good enough price, to to get loans right, and 456 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:05,120 Speaker 1: to be able to make enough enough profit off of 457 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:08,840 Speaker 1: something that could be not profitable. Yeah, it's not like 458 00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:12,680 Speaker 1: these it's not like these folks who are in this, 459 00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:16,600 Speaker 1: in this industry, whether they are opposed to the cartel 460 00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:19,720 Speaker 1: or whether they support it, it's not like they're billionaires, 461 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:22,840 Speaker 1: you know what I mean. They're they're like anybody else 462 00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:26,480 Speaker 1: with a job, trying to get by and in, you know, 463 00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:30,840 Speaker 1: in the opaque example. It's interesting is if you were 464 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:36,240 Speaker 1: a member of OPEC, you would see clear advantages, especially 465 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:40,800 Speaker 1: when you were cognizant of the way that colonial powers 466 00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:46,160 Speaker 1: absolutely exploited any place with oil for as long as 467 00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:48,760 Speaker 1: they could, you know what I mean. So it is 468 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:53,480 Speaker 1: seen as um a protective, defensive move, which is why 469 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:58,280 Speaker 1: it is called protection is m So this like like 470 00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:02,880 Speaker 1: to that point right now, this organization is legal. It's 471 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:06,080 Speaker 1: a fantastic question. We'll get into the philosophy of the 472 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:10,760 Speaker 1: of the problem later. But from the perspective of the folks, 473 00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:15,240 Speaker 1: the many members and supporters of what is sometimes just 474 00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:19,520 Speaker 1: called the Federation for shorthand uh, this group is taking 475 00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:25,360 Speaker 1: necessary actions to ensure that all important price stability, because otherwise, 476 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:30,280 Speaker 1: if you're just out there independently, what if what if 477 00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:34,200 Speaker 1: the weather doesn't work out? What if something terrible happens 478 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:38,280 Speaker 1: to the trees in your sugar brush, which is what 479 00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:42,000 Speaker 1: the collection and copes of trees being tapped is called 480 00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:45,520 Speaker 1: see because they're all like words with sugar in them, 481 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:47,680 Speaker 1: so we can't just list them all. I don't know, 482 00:31:48,560 --> 00:31:50,800 Speaker 1: well and ben and also what if what if you 483 00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:54,320 Speaker 1: produced too much. Right, What if you've got too much 484 00:31:54,320 --> 00:31:56,560 Speaker 1: stuff and you don't have a buyer for all of 485 00:31:56,600 --> 00:32:00,760 Speaker 1: this syrup you've produced, right, Yeah, syrup sir plus could 486 00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:04,959 Speaker 1: be as bad as a syrup shortage. This this leads 487 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:09,440 Speaker 1: to that that quota system, because the Federation doesn't just 488 00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:13,960 Speaker 1: dictate the price at which syrup has to be sold 489 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:18,880 Speaker 1: in Quebec. They also dictate how much you, as a 490 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:23,200 Speaker 1: sugar maker can make each sugaring season. So like if 491 00:32:23,240 --> 00:32:26,720 Speaker 1: we did that with our Gack cartel, then we would 492 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:30,360 Speaker 1: be telling, you know, like, let's say we all agreed 493 00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:35,360 Speaker 1: that we were gonna sell we were all only gonna 494 00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:41,000 Speaker 1: sell ten million tons of gag units. There we go, 495 00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:45,240 Speaker 1: that's a little better. Yeah, ten million units each of ghack. 496 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:49,720 Speaker 1: And then let's say Mission control has a bumper year, 497 00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:53,120 Speaker 1: his gag trees are doing awesome, and he's like, I've 498 00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:58,840 Speaker 1: made twenty million units at ghack and then we say, well, sorry, bro, 499 00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:02,880 Speaker 1: that's over your quote to uh so you cannot sell it. 500 00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:05,320 Speaker 1: As a matter of fact, you have to give it 501 00:33:05,360 --> 00:33:08,800 Speaker 1: to us. That's what happens in the maple syrup situation. 502 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:11,760 Speaker 1: If you have a great year, no matter who you are, 503 00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:14,480 Speaker 1: if you have a great year and you harvest more 504 00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:18,000 Speaker 1: than the allowed quota, you cannot sell that excess syrup 505 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:20,680 Speaker 1: the way you would want to, because it might end 506 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:24,200 Speaker 1: up driving down that price and creating a surplus. Instead, 507 00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:28,320 Speaker 1: you have to ship it to you not something called 508 00:33:28,400 --> 00:33:32,200 Speaker 1: the global strategic reserve of maple syrup. Yet again, the 509 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:35,120 Speaker 1: oil comparison holds. You know what I mean, the US 510 00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:39,040 Speaker 1: has a global reserve of oil or strategic reserve. Yeah. Now, 511 00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:43,400 Speaker 1: forgive me if I'm incorrect here. My understanding is that 512 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:47,560 Speaker 1: it's not them just handing it over like for free. 513 00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:52,120 Speaker 1: They would they would get payment for not it's not 514 00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:58,280 Speaker 1: donating but essentially giving their syrup to the preserve. Yes, yeah, 515 00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:01,760 Speaker 1: And the key issue there is the timing. So let's 516 00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:03,640 Speaker 1: look at the other case. So if there's a low 517 00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:08,760 Speaker 1: production year, the Federation taps get it uh that reserve 518 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:12,920 Speaker 1: and they release a controlled amount of syrup into like 519 00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:18,920 Speaker 1: out into the world. And the circulation, yes, they circulate 520 00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:21,760 Speaker 1: the syrup. And some people love this setup because again, 521 00:34:21,840 --> 00:34:24,440 Speaker 1: like like Matt was saying earlier, this makes it much 522 00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:28,440 Speaker 1: much easier to predict how future years will play out, 523 00:34:28,480 --> 00:34:32,600 Speaker 1: which is huge, hugely important. But other people had a 524 00:34:32,680 --> 00:34:36,560 Speaker 1: problem with this other maple syrup producers. Uh not, just 525 00:34:36,640 --> 00:34:41,800 Speaker 1: like outside observers with some economic policy acts to grind. 526 00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:44,600 Speaker 1: There are people who saying, I've been making maple syrup 527 00:34:44,640 --> 00:34:48,359 Speaker 1: my whole life. This maple syrup operation has been our 528 00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:53,319 Speaker 1: family for generations. We want to take a cue from 529 00:34:53,520 --> 00:34:58,920 Speaker 1: Sleetwood Mac and go our own way. The Federation wasn't 530 00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:02,600 Speaker 1: really cool with this in two thousand. In the early 531 00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:05,279 Speaker 1: two thousandsol here it called two thousand or two thousand four. 532 00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:07,279 Speaker 1: But in the early two thousands they did this thing 533 00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:13,160 Speaker 1: where they created an exclusive selling agency, meaning that no 534 00:35:13,200 --> 00:35:16,040 Speaker 1: matter who you were, if you were in Quebec and 535 00:35:16,080 --> 00:35:20,000 Speaker 1: you're you're in the syrup game, you you can't sell 536 00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:22,680 Speaker 1: like directly to a supermarket, you know what I mean. 537 00:35:22,719 --> 00:35:25,280 Speaker 1: You can't make a deal with like a restaurant chain 538 00:35:25,680 --> 00:35:29,200 Speaker 1: to just carry your your syrup. You have to sell 539 00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:32,279 Speaker 1: it to the Federation at that agreed upon price and 540 00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:36,440 Speaker 1: then they will basically run the rest of the sales 541 00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:39,320 Speaker 1: from there. So if you didn't like this and you 542 00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:42,480 Speaker 1: wanted to sell things yourself, you ended up putting syrup 543 00:35:42,640 --> 00:35:47,000 Speaker 1: on an actual black market. Wow. So this is to 544 00:35:47,080 --> 00:35:51,359 Speaker 1: say that any syrup in the syrup pile at your 545 00:35:51,360 --> 00:35:54,640 Speaker 1: local you know, grocery store chain, whether it's the like 546 00:35:54,760 --> 00:36:00,840 Speaker 1: twelve nine bottle seemingly small batch family operation on a situation, 547 00:36:01,239 --> 00:36:04,680 Speaker 1: or whether it's your you know, whatever they like. I 548 00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:08,399 Speaker 1: don't even know what the most mainstream syrup d jur 549 00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:13,160 Speaker 1: is today. They're all going through this system. Otherwise, No, 550 00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:19,040 Speaker 1: seven seventy right now, if you if you're walking in 551 00:36:19,239 --> 00:36:23,360 Speaker 1: a grocery store where any store selling maple syrup almost 552 00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:26,239 Speaker 1: anywhere in the world, in excess of seventy of it 553 00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:30,120 Speaker 1: is coming not just from Canada but from this place, 554 00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:34,560 Speaker 1: which means unless you're in like uh syrup black market 555 00:36:35,200 --> 00:36:40,320 Speaker 1: or unless there's like a black market supermarket, some syrup 556 00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:42,759 Speaker 1: comes from the United States, obviously, I mean like that's 557 00:36:42,760 --> 00:36:45,879 Speaker 1: so that's that's the issue here. Well, And a lot 558 00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:48,600 Speaker 1: of syrup you will find for sale wherever you live 559 00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:51,600 Speaker 1: is going to be corn syrup that's got some color 560 00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:55,440 Speaker 1: in it and may have some maple flavoring and or 561 00:36:55,520 --> 00:36:59,319 Speaker 1: maple syrup involved, but it's mostly corn. But it can't 562 00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:02,279 Speaker 1: say pure no, no, I can't say here, and there 563 00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:05,799 Speaker 1: is a premium on organic maple syrup, but largely like 564 00:37:05,880 --> 00:37:12,480 Speaker 1: these this organization has the heft to swing around and 565 00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:17,360 Speaker 1: to get its way. This is where stuff started clamping down. 566 00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:20,680 Speaker 1: And for people who are big free market proponents, this 567 00:37:20,760 --> 00:37:22,720 Speaker 1: is where it becomes a little bit of a horror 568 00:37:22,719 --> 00:37:26,840 Speaker 1: story because all producers in the area, all sugar makers 569 00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:31,760 Speaker 1: in the area, are required to sell their product directly 570 00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:36,000 Speaker 1: to this organization, whether or not they want to. So 571 00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:39,000 Speaker 1: it's not it's not quite the same thing as like 572 00:37:39,640 --> 00:37:44,160 Speaker 1: a union. You can't opt in, right, there is there 573 00:37:44,239 --> 00:37:48,080 Speaker 1: is one exception, which is you can sell small amounts 574 00:37:49,160 --> 00:37:52,720 Speaker 1: of your syrup directly from your farm, which are called 575 00:37:53,080 --> 00:37:58,600 Speaker 1: I love this sugar checks que two B fifty twos. Uh. 576 00:37:58,760 --> 00:38:01,799 Speaker 1: You can, so you can all your own stuff two 577 00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:05,960 Speaker 1: people who like happened by right, And you can also 578 00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:09,800 Speaker 1: if you want, you can sell the supermarkets as long 579 00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:13,400 Speaker 1: as you give the federation they're cut, which is twelve 580 00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:17,320 Speaker 1: off the top. It's not as big of a cut 581 00:38:17,360 --> 00:38:21,160 Speaker 1: as say Google takes off YouTube, but still twelve cent 582 00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:23,960 Speaker 1: makes a big difference in people's lives. As a matter 583 00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:26,040 Speaker 1: of fact, you know, let's let's talk a little bit 584 00:38:26,440 --> 00:38:30,120 Speaker 1: more about the money in this relationship, because that's where 585 00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:33,839 Speaker 1: that's where the problems with cartel's usually come into play, 586 00:38:33,880 --> 00:38:36,920 Speaker 1: and that's usually where you see like the if not 587 00:38:37,040 --> 00:38:40,719 Speaker 1: conspiracy inruption, that's where you're going to see the conflict. 588 00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:47,000 Speaker 1: Es estimates right now, our best estimate is that the Federation, 589 00:38:47,239 --> 00:38:50,680 Speaker 1: the cartel takes the equivalent of eleven cents US off 590 00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:55,920 Speaker 1: of every pound of produced. So let's just do the 591 00:38:55,960 --> 00:38:59,840 Speaker 1: math here. One gallon of syrup contains eleven pounds, so 592 00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:04,880 Speaker 1: a dollar twenty one US per gallon of syrup. Basically, uh. 593 00:39:04,920 --> 00:39:10,640 Speaker 1: And interestingly, and I guess kind of rationally, that money 594 00:39:10,760 --> 00:39:14,880 Speaker 1: that the Federation takes off, according to them, goes to 595 00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:18,600 Speaker 1: the promotion of maple maple syrup as a thing. It 596 00:39:18,760 --> 00:39:22,640 Speaker 1: is like, right, we're promoting the industry itself by having 597 00:39:22,680 --> 00:39:26,319 Speaker 1: this this group over like deployed on top of it. 598 00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:30,160 Speaker 1: And also in research, how can we tap these trees better? 599 00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:33,480 Speaker 1: And how can we store this maple for longer? And 600 00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:40,439 Speaker 1: what scientifically proven advantages does maple syrup have over say 601 00:39:40,560 --> 00:39:44,879 Speaker 1: something something others, some other sweet substance that people might 602 00:39:44,920 --> 00:39:47,800 Speaker 1: buy in a store like honey. So this makes sense, 603 00:39:47,840 --> 00:39:50,680 Speaker 1: and if you are a sugar maker, you also pay 604 00:39:50,880 --> 00:39:55,240 Speaker 1: an administrative fee to this organization. But again, the people 605 00:39:55,719 --> 00:39:58,799 Speaker 1: who are running this organization, staffing at working for it. 606 00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:02,560 Speaker 1: There they're going to say, look, we're making ends meet, 607 00:40:03,040 --> 00:40:08,279 Speaker 1: but please stop calling us, stop calling us like tycoons 608 00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:10,879 Speaker 1: and stuff, because we're just we're trying to do what's 609 00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:14,759 Speaker 1: best for everybody. The thing is again for their involvement, 610 00:40:15,920 --> 00:40:23,520 Speaker 1: whether consensual or non consensual. These producers are paid in installments. 611 00:40:23,560 --> 00:40:26,520 Speaker 1: So like going back to our surplus, your example, you 612 00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:30,000 Speaker 1: send in, you've exceeded your quota. How dare you be 613 00:40:30,200 --> 00:40:33,800 Speaker 1: good at what you do? Right? How dare you be uh, 614 00:40:33,880 --> 00:40:38,000 Speaker 1: you know, extraordinary what you're doing? Then you will be 615 00:40:38,120 --> 00:40:40,480 Speaker 1: paid for the syrup that has to be shipped off 616 00:40:40,480 --> 00:40:44,319 Speaker 1: to the strategic reserve. But you're paid on kind of 617 00:40:44,320 --> 00:40:48,720 Speaker 1: a layaway plan. And this has led some unhappy syrup 618 00:40:48,800 --> 00:40:52,880 Speaker 1: makers to say that they've they've said they're waiting like 619 00:40:53,040 --> 00:40:57,080 Speaker 1: months or in some cases years for these payments to 620 00:40:57,160 --> 00:41:00,400 Speaker 1: come in. And if you are paying other bill or 621 00:41:00,520 --> 00:41:05,439 Speaker 1: costs associated with keeping the lights on, etcetera, etcetera, then 622 00:41:05,760 --> 00:41:09,840 Speaker 1: you can't really go to your utility company and say 623 00:41:09,880 --> 00:41:12,719 Speaker 1: I'm waiting on the syrup money. I'll get to you 624 00:41:15,160 --> 00:41:18,440 Speaker 1: next year. Fingers crossed knock on maplewood so yeah, and 625 00:41:18,440 --> 00:41:20,920 Speaker 1: you can totally see why the black market feels like 626 00:41:20,960 --> 00:41:24,399 Speaker 1: it may be a viable option for that individual, like 627 00:41:24,440 --> 00:41:26,920 Speaker 1: you said, who needs to make payments to other people 628 00:41:26,960 --> 00:41:29,280 Speaker 1: while they're waiting on the other one. But there certainly 629 00:41:29,280 --> 00:41:33,040 Speaker 1: are you know, critics of this system from the on 630 00:41:33,080 --> 00:41:36,560 Speaker 1: the producer side, And one particularly vocal producer who was 631 00:41:36,640 --> 00:41:41,000 Speaker 1: fighting against f pack f p a q UM is 632 00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:45,680 Speaker 1: Angel grenier Um, who was kind of tired of the 633 00:41:45,680 --> 00:41:48,760 Speaker 1: whole set up. She was sick of the cartel pushing 634 00:41:48,760 --> 00:41:52,320 Speaker 1: her around and decided to take on a direct sales 635 00:41:52,360 --> 00:41:56,000 Speaker 1: model where she sold her syrup right to a distributor 636 00:41:56,320 --> 00:42:00,760 Speaker 1: bypassing the f p Q entirely. And the he's got involved. 637 00:42:01,200 --> 00:42:04,680 Speaker 1: All of her stock that she had warehouse was seized 638 00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:09,680 Speaker 1: and she was slapped with a crippling five hundred thousand 639 00:42:09,719 --> 00:42:13,359 Speaker 1: dollar fine. Um very much seems like they were trying 640 00:42:13,360 --> 00:42:16,640 Speaker 1: to make an example of her. So this is where 641 00:42:16,680 --> 00:42:20,200 Speaker 1: we start to really see problems brewing. And Ben I 642 00:42:20,200 --> 00:42:22,480 Speaker 1: believe this is one of the primary interviewees on that 643 00:42:22,560 --> 00:42:26,840 Speaker 1: Dirty Money episode. Yeah, this this person who's very outspoken 644 00:42:26,840 --> 00:42:31,120 Speaker 1: and kind of leading a fight against the cartel. It's 645 00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:33,880 Speaker 1: it's a fascinating story. Recommend you check out that episode 646 00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:36,239 Speaker 1: if you can, just to to get the background on it. 647 00:42:36,640 --> 00:42:39,799 Speaker 1: But we're gonna we're gonna continue on here because that 648 00:42:39,880 --> 00:42:45,560 Speaker 1: was just the beginning of the issues at hand. Here, Yes, 649 00:42:45,840 --> 00:42:49,839 Speaker 1: trouble was on the horizon. Well, pause for word from 650 00:42:49,840 --> 00:42:54,880 Speaker 1: our sponsor. We'll return with more, unless, of course, Big 651 00:42:54,920 --> 00:43:07,120 Speaker 1: Maple gets us. We've returned yet. So Grenier is often 652 00:43:07,239 --> 00:43:12,120 Speaker 1: quoted she's you'll you'll find her mention and her story 653 00:43:12,160 --> 00:43:19,440 Speaker 1: mentioned multiple local, regional, and international articles about this situation. 654 00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:23,920 Speaker 1: She has been her case when all the way to 655 00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:26,560 Speaker 1: the Canadian Supreme Court. By the way, just give you 656 00:43:26,600 --> 00:43:30,360 Speaker 1: a sense of how how important this was, and all 657 00:43:30,400 --> 00:43:38,680 Speaker 1: of this, this uh, this boiling, massive cultural sap. This 658 00:43:38,760 --> 00:43:42,799 Speaker 1: is the context in which the maple syrup heist occurs, 659 00:43:42,920 --> 00:43:48,640 Speaker 1: and from a cinematic perspective, it's pretty impressive. So the 660 00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:52,920 Speaker 1: reserve calling a singular thing might be a little misleading 661 00:43:52,920 --> 00:43:55,480 Speaker 1: to people because it's located in a series of three 662 00:43:55,520 --> 00:43:59,880 Speaker 1: warehouses in rural Quebec, and over the course of twenty 663 00:44:00,000 --> 00:44:05,520 Speaker 1: eleven and this group of conspirators stole thousands and thousands 664 00:44:05,520 --> 00:44:08,360 Speaker 1: of tons of maple syrup and it was a slow 665 00:44:08,480 --> 00:44:15,000 Speaker 1: motion operation. You know, they Federation themselves only found out 666 00:44:15,000 --> 00:44:18,879 Speaker 1: about this when they had that. It's another moment from 667 00:44:18,880 --> 00:44:21,799 Speaker 1: the heist review, like the High Story, which is just 668 00:44:21,880 --> 00:44:26,200 Speaker 1: a neat montage of tropes. Basically, uh, the there's always 669 00:44:26,200 --> 00:44:28,400 Speaker 1: the moment in the heist where there's the big reveal. 670 00:44:28,680 --> 00:44:31,440 Speaker 1: You know, someone opens the safe and it's gone. It 671 00:44:31,440 --> 00:44:34,880 Speaker 1: turns out that the cops were also working with the robbers. 672 00:44:35,360 --> 00:44:37,600 Speaker 1: And then you know the main like the bad guy 673 00:44:38,280 --> 00:44:42,880 Speaker 1: whomever in this case, Um, the Federation doesn't see themselves 674 00:44:42,880 --> 00:44:45,200 Speaker 1: to the bad guy, but you know, like the heist 675 00:44:45,200 --> 00:44:47,839 Speaker 1: crew probably saw them as the bad guy. There's this 676 00:44:47,960 --> 00:44:51,480 Speaker 1: moment if you could picture Oceans levin Quebec, where someone 677 00:44:51,520 --> 00:44:55,520 Speaker 1: from the Federation opens one of these syrup barrels and says, 678 00:44:55,600 --> 00:45:00,279 Speaker 1: holy oh no, that's that's water, that's not syrup. How 679 00:45:00,360 --> 00:45:02,680 Speaker 1: much did they get us for? And they found out 680 00:45:02,760 --> 00:45:06,880 Speaker 1: that this was easily like a quarter of the Syrup 681 00:45:07,360 --> 00:45:11,120 Speaker 1: Strategic Reserve, which means it's easily quarter of the world 682 00:45:11,239 --> 00:45:17,319 Speaker 1: saved up supply. And yeah, the police were involved, this 683 00:45:17,480 --> 00:45:21,560 Speaker 1: was a huge crime. In just a few days in 684 00:45:21,640 --> 00:45:28,320 Speaker 1: December of Canadian police ended up arresting like seventeen different 685 00:45:28,360 --> 00:45:31,640 Speaker 1: people who had some connection with the plot, and that 686 00:45:31,800 --> 00:45:36,880 Speaker 1: was on the orders of this cartel which continues today. 687 00:45:37,360 --> 00:45:40,160 Speaker 1: And again we can't emphasize this enough. We're not we're 688 00:45:40,200 --> 00:45:43,719 Speaker 1: not calling them villains. It does have ardent supporters and 689 00:45:43,760 --> 00:45:46,840 Speaker 1: it does have die hard opponents, and we have to remember, 690 00:45:47,320 --> 00:45:50,600 Speaker 1: as silly as a headline might sound, these are real people. 691 00:45:51,320 --> 00:45:54,759 Speaker 1: This maple syrup stuff is not their hobby. They get 692 00:45:54,840 --> 00:45:57,680 Speaker 1: up every day and think about it because it's their livelihood. 693 00:45:58,400 --> 00:46:01,160 Speaker 1: And Grenier is a famous example, but there are other 694 00:46:01,400 --> 00:46:05,560 Speaker 1: sugar makers who have been slapped with fines, huge fines. 695 00:46:05,960 --> 00:46:10,560 Speaker 1: They've also had their syrup, the stuff they made, seized 696 00:46:10,600 --> 00:46:14,400 Speaker 1: by this organization for going outside of its its rules. 697 00:46:14,480 --> 00:46:17,680 Speaker 1: And that's why you'll hear people like Grene say the 698 00:46:17,719 --> 00:46:22,160 Speaker 1: federation says they own my trees they make. They treat 699 00:46:22,160 --> 00:46:26,719 Speaker 1: it like it's their property. Uh. Really interesting article by 700 00:46:26,719 --> 00:46:31,040 Speaker 1: a reporter named Ross Merrowitz who said that the cartel 701 00:46:31,200 --> 00:46:35,600 Speaker 1: may accidentally, to a degree, be working against its own 702 00:46:35,640 --> 00:46:41,879 Speaker 1: interest because their rules may be strengthening competition from other 703 00:46:42,040 --> 00:46:46,320 Speaker 1: provinces in Canada and non Canadian competition in the US. 704 00:46:46,680 --> 00:46:49,360 Speaker 1: And I think Ross actually has a you know, a 705 00:46:49,360 --> 00:46:52,959 Speaker 1: pretty compelling case there, because if you can get look 706 00:46:52,960 --> 00:46:57,120 Speaker 1: if the reason why I bought this particular maple syrup 707 00:46:57,640 --> 00:47:00,160 Speaker 1: was because it was like five or six dollar is 708 00:47:00,280 --> 00:47:03,720 Speaker 1: less than the other ones, not the not the fully 709 00:47:03,800 --> 00:47:06,080 Speaker 1: like single barreled ones you were mentioning their and all, 710 00:47:06,440 --> 00:47:09,560 Speaker 1: but you know the maple syrups that existed where I 711 00:47:09,560 --> 00:47:13,680 Speaker 1: went to buy syrup, and it's still on maple syrup, 712 00:47:13,760 --> 00:47:18,080 Speaker 1: but it's significantly less expensive. And if you if you've 713 00:47:18,120 --> 00:47:20,440 Speaker 1: got competitors out there that are that are able to 714 00:47:20,480 --> 00:47:22,880 Speaker 1: have stuff on the market that is not at the 715 00:47:22,920 --> 00:47:25,880 Speaker 1: prices you're fixing that that are lower than those prices, 716 00:47:26,160 --> 00:47:28,920 Speaker 1: then you could be in very big trouble, especially if 717 00:47:28,960 --> 00:47:31,960 Speaker 1: you get them to big you know, distributors like um, 718 00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:33,840 Speaker 1: I don't know here in Atlanta, like a Kroger or 719 00:47:33,920 --> 00:47:38,160 Speaker 1: a Walmart or a Whole Foods or something like that. Yeah, 720 00:47:38,200 --> 00:47:41,720 Speaker 1: the Canadians apply in the cartel itself could be in trouble. 721 00:47:41,840 --> 00:47:43,600 Speaker 1: I gotta imagine too, Like I mean, there's this thing 722 00:47:43,680 --> 00:47:49,239 Speaker 1: called oh gosh, it's not the not AOC, what's that's 723 00:47:49,680 --> 00:47:53,440 Speaker 1: the lawmaker. But there's an organization in France that regulates 724 00:47:53,480 --> 00:47:58,000 Speaker 1: like what products can be given what names like for example, 725 00:47:58,280 --> 00:48:01,239 Speaker 1: true French champagne can only be called Champagne if it 726 00:48:01,239 --> 00:48:04,600 Speaker 1: comes from the Champagne region of France. UM does this 727 00:48:04,680 --> 00:48:11,040 Speaker 1: Cartel also UM govern kind of purity claims, like if 728 00:48:11,040 --> 00:48:14,520 Speaker 1: you're calling something pure maple syrup or even just pure 729 00:48:14,560 --> 00:48:17,960 Speaker 1: maple syrup, like in terms of how to use the 730 00:48:18,040 --> 00:48:20,799 Speaker 1: wire terms how much it can be stepped on, you know, 731 00:48:20,800 --> 00:48:25,400 Speaker 1: because I imagine that some maple syrup is diluted in 732 00:48:25,480 --> 00:48:28,800 Speaker 1: some way so that you can make your yield go further. 733 00:48:29,280 --> 00:48:32,600 Speaker 1: I don't have specifics on that. Uh. I would just 734 00:48:32,680 --> 00:48:36,600 Speaker 1: say that in something like this product that I have here, 735 00:48:36,880 --> 00:48:41,120 Speaker 1: the only ingredient is maple syrup. So I've seen others 736 00:48:41,160 --> 00:48:45,760 Speaker 1: that are like pure maple syrup and then extra stuff 737 00:48:45,880 --> 00:48:49,200 Speaker 1: or something like that. Um, but I don't know the 738 00:48:49,280 --> 00:48:52,520 Speaker 1: naming conventions and how they're applied. Yeah, because it may 739 00:48:52,560 --> 00:48:55,840 Speaker 1: be sold not directly to the end consumer, but it 740 00:48:55,920 --> 00:48:58,840 Speaker 1: might be sold to a company that then makes something 741 00:48:59,000 --> 00:49:05,919 Speaker 1: that's a lends somehow of the syrups. So it's it's 742 00:49:05,960 --> 00:49:11,239 Speaker 1: interesting because they're trying to they're trying It's phrased in 743 00:49:11,239 --> 00:49:13,440 Speaker 1: a very optimistic way by the Federation They're like, we 744 00:49:13,480 --> 00:49:15,680 Speaker 1: want to take place, we want to participate in this 745 00:49:15,800 --> 00:49:21,400 Speaker 1: expanding market. But it's, um, it's not inaccurate, because the 746 00:49:21,520 --> 00:49:26,040 Speaker 1: production in Quebec has increased, you know, year over year 747 00:49:26,280 --> 00:49:30,440 Speaker 1: for a decade. It increased from two thousand seven and 748 00:49:30,480 --> 00:49:36,000 Speaker 1: twenty sev. But it's also understandable how if you're making 749 00:49:36,040 --> 00:49:40,000 Speaker 1: maple syrup in Quebec you might feel these rules, however 750 00:49:40,080 --> 00:49:43,680 Speaker 1: well intentioned, hurt you more than they help you. Because 751 00:49:43,800 --> 00:49:49,240 Speaker 1: imagine you're seeing some you know, uh, some guy who's 752 00:49:49,280 --> 00:49:55,200 Speaker 1: like a weird equivalent of reverse carpet bagging out from Vermont, 753 00:49:55,560 --> 00:49:59,080 Speaker 1: crosses over the border and the same rules don't apply 754 00:49:59,200 --> 00:50:02,360 Speaker 1: to them. They can sell the Vermont Sarah all the 755 00:50:02,400 --> 00:50:08,240 Speaker 1: livelong day. And so these other, these Kabbaqua sugar makers, 756 00:50:08,280 --> 00:50:13,839 Speaker 1: the ones who are opposed to the federation, which again, um, 757 00:50:13,880 --> 00:50:17,279 Speaker 1: the research that we saw seems to indicate there in 758 00:50:17,320 --> 00:50:21,640 Speaker 1: the minority. But these folks feel that they may have 759 00:50:21,719 --> 00:50:25,359 Speaker 1: traded one disadvantage for another. You know, they're saying, look, 760 00:50:25,480 --> 00:50:29,040 Speaker 1: is hedging against unpredictable weather. Is it worth knowing that 761 00:50:29,080 --> 00:50:32,320 Speaker 1: I have to wait for months or years to get paid? 762 00:50:32,960 --> 00:50:35,719 Speaker 1: Is it worth knowing that I can't do what I 763 00:50:35,760 --> 00:50:39,759 Speaker 1: want with the trees that I or my family have 764 00:50:39,880 --> 00:50:45,960 Speaker 1: spent forty years minimum growing. Uh. Supporters of the end, 765 00:50:46,040 --> 00:50:49,879 Speaker 1: the staff of the Federation, people like Simon Trepanner, the 766 00:50:50,000 --> 00:50:54,920 Speaker 1: executive director, they disagree with being characterized in some shady behemith. 767 00:50:55,239 --> 00:50:59,399 Speaker 1: You know. Again, they're they're not. They wouldn't say they're 768 00:50:59,440 --> 00:51:05,800 Speaker 1: like Tycoon, certainly not oil country level wealthy. They claim 769 00:51:05,880 --> 00:51:08,920 Speaker 1: that their first and foremost concern is to represent people 770 00:51:08,960 --> 00:51:12,360 Speaker 1: who actually make maple syrup. But here we get to 771 00:51:12,400 --> 00:51:15,960 Speaker 1: the end because if you are outside of the industry 772 00:51:17,239 --> 00:51:20,279 Speaker 1: and you are thinking about this, it may represent a 773 00:51:20,400 --> 00:51:27,239 Speaker 1: much older conundrum, which is the philosophical conflict between a 774 00:51:27,360 --> 00:51:30,960 Speaker 1: controlled market and a free market. And this is a 775 00:51:31,080 --> 00:51:36,760 Speaker 1: very This conversation is cyclical. In the mainstream. It comes 776 00:51:36,840 --> 00:51:42,560 Speaker 1: up pretty often, you know, and sometimes it's phrased in 777 00:51:42,719 --> 00:51:47,520 Speaker 1: very very simplistic terms like someone's quoting Iron Rand at 778 00:51:47,560 --> 00:51:53,360 Speaker 1: you or whatever. But the real question here is what 779 00:51:53,360 --> 00:51:58,520 Speaker 1: what would be the benefit if there's a syrup free market, 780 00:51:58,600 --> 00:52:01,520 Speaker 1: if there's an unfettered sea free for all, which is 781 00:52:01,600 --> 00:52:04,759 Speaker 1: weird image out of context, would that would that be 782 00:52:04,760 --> 00:52:08,239 Speaker 1: better for these individuals or would it instead lead back 783 00:52:08,280 --> 00:52:11,920 Speaker 1: to like crazy fluctuations and results in you know, the 784 00:52:11,960 --> 00:52:14,920 Speaker 1: surplus as you describe mad or people having to find 785 00:52:15,080 --> 00:52:19,760 Speaker 1: like close down their family sugar shacks. What would happen? 786 00:52:20,239 --> 00:52:22,960 Speaker 1: Who knows? And there's uncertainty in there, right, And that's 787 00:52:23,040 --> 00:52:25,400 Speaker 1: kind of maybe the whole point. I really want to 788 00:52:25,400 --> 00:52:28,080 Speaker 1: look at who does this benefit the most by following 789 00:52:28,120 --> 00:52:31,319 Speaker 1: the money? So the federation itself we talked about, they 790 00:52:31,360 --> 00:52:35,640 Speaker 1: get eleven cents per pound of maple syrup produced, so 791 00:52:35,680 --> 00:52:40,600 Speaker 1: the federation gets that benefit. UM. They also get benefit 792 00:52:40,680 --> 00:52:44,239 Speaker 1: when they expand, so if they add more producers they 793 00:52:44,280 --> 00:52:47,600 Speaker 1: can they continue to make that eleven cents per pound. Right. 794 00:52:47,960 --> 00:52:51,960 Speaker 1: So in the Federation made a move they said they're 795 00:52:52,000 --> 00:52:55,280 Speaker 1: gonna add five million new taps. So that's like taps 796 00:52:55,600 --> 00:52:59,520 Speaker 1: not necessarily an individual tree, but individual taps in trees 797 00:52:59,800 --> 00:53:03,399 Speaker 1: to it's existing forty three million taps. And the goal 798 00:53:03,480 --> 00:53:08,040 Speaker 1: there is too really just more fully participate in that 799 00:53:08,280 --> 00:53:12,359 Speaker 1: larger market that we talked about UM, And what they 800 00:53:12,440 --> 00:53:16,440 Speaker 1: really want to see is an increased production overall by 801 00:53:16,520 --> 00:53:21,200 Speaker 1: thirty percent of so for you know, until or whatever 802 00:53:21,239 --> 00:53:24,719 Speaker 1: if they can, they want to do that, right, And 803 00:53:25,200 --> 00:53:28,839 Speaker 1: what I'm what my understanding is controlling these prices guaranteeing 804 00:53:28,960 --> 00:53:31,640 Speaker 1: that a sugar maker is going to make this money. 805 00:53:31,680 --> 00:53:35,920 Speaker 1: The biggest benefit is that the bank knows that if 806 00:53:35,960 --> 00:53:40,399 Speaker 1: you're producing maple, they will back you up with with 807 00:53:40,840 --> 00:53:45,360 Speaker 1: money for loans to either continue your business or expand 808 00:53:45,440 --> 00:53:48,440 Speaker 1: your business, because they are guaranteed to get paid back 809 00:53:49,160 --> 00:53:51,960 Speaker 1: at least some amount, because you are guaranteed to be 810 00:53:52,000 --> 00:53:57,160 Speaker 1: making money by this cartel. And and if if the banks, 811 00:53:57,920 --> 00:53:59,879 Speaker 1: if the banks in the cartel are like, yeah, we're 812 00:53:59,880 --> 00:54:02,959 Speaker 1: all good here, we can expand we'll give you money 813 00:54:03,040 --> 00:54:05,800 Speaker 1: to expand, the cartel's making money on the top of 814 00:54:05,840 --> 00:54:08,319 Speaker 1: the bank is lending out tons of money, that's making 815 00:54:08,360 --> 00:54:13,919 Speaker 1: tons of interest on all these loans. Everybody's like doing great, 816 00:54:14,040 --> 00:54:16,680 Speaker 1: and the sugar makers are making you know, whatever the 817 00:54:16,840 --> 00:54:21,200 Speaker 1: prices are that the cartel says they're going to be. Uh, 818 00:54:21,239 --> 00:54:24,040 Speaker 1: I don't know. I mean, it feels like the banks 819 00:54:24,040 --> 00:54:27,200 Speaker 1: are actually winning. And I mean the banks are usually 820 00:54:27,239 --> 00:54:31,120 Speaker 1: waiting and a lot of a lot of things unfortunately, 821 00:54:31,320 --> 00:54:35,080 Speaker 1: but but they're designed to write. So that's that's a 822 00:54:35,200 --> 00:54:38,160 Speaker 1: very great point about controlled market. You know, it does 823 00:54:38,840 --> 00:54:43,600 Speaker 1: does this collective action you could call it, to control 824 00:54:43,960 --> 00:54:49,279 Speaker 1: the quebecs spice. Does it ultimately make it easier for 825 00:54:49,320 --> 00:54:53,160 Speaker 1: people to succeed? Or is it really hurting more people 826 00:54:53,160 --> 00:54:55,319 Speaker 1: than it helps? Or who is it really helping? To 827 00:54:55,360 --> 00:54:58,319 Speaker 1: your to your question, that's that's something again that we're 828 00:54:58,360 --> 00:55:01,520 Speaker 1: not making a call on, but a lot of bowl are, 829 00:55:01,560 --> 00:55:04,360 Speaker 1: a lot of people are trying to answer that question, 830 00:55:04,760 --> 00:55:08,759 Speaker 1: and for others and for me as well. You know, 831 00:55:08,880 --> 00:55:12,400 Speaker 1: one thing that really stuck out was the concept of consent. 832 00:55:13,280 --> 00:55:18,719 Speaker 1: Consent informed consent is is a huge, hugely important thing 833 00:55:18,800 --> 00:55:21,840 Speaker 1: in every aspect of your life, professional and personal, and 834 00:55:21,880 --> 00:55:25,480 Speaker 1: it's a key factor. So would the federation, I would ask, 835 00:55:25,480 --> 00:55:29,400 Speaker 1: would they get less criticism if they didn't mandate or 836 00:55:29,480 --> 00:55:34,440 Speaker 1: force people to participate? So again, while these questions, the 837 00:55:34,800 --> 00:55:37,320 Speaker 1: tricky thing with these questions is that they all verge 838 00:55:37,400 --> 00:55:43,520 Speaker 1: into prognostication and philosophy. You can't really predict the future 839 00:55:43,680 --> 00:55:47,799 Speaker 1: unless you're unless dark is a little further ahead than 840 00:55:47,840 --> 00:55:51,600 Speaker 1: I think. And as a result, right now these questions 841 00:55:51,600 --> 00:55:54,719 Speaker 1: are not easy to answer. It does go to show that, 842 00:55:54,840 --> 00:55:57,880 Speaker 1: just like in the case of the Great Cheese Spiracy, 843 00:55:57,920 --> 00:56:02,160 Speaker 1: though even the most in knock with seeming things can 844 00:56:02,280 --> 00:56:05,160 Speaker 1: have a conspiracy behind them, and so with this, we 845 00:56:05,200 --> 00:56:09,200 Speaker 1: want to ask you folks, First off, waffles or pancakes. 846 00:56:09,920 --> 00:56:12,919 Speaker 1: When I'm not letting it go, I I gotta tell 847 00:56:12,920 --> 00:56:16,360 Speaker 1: you I respect your decision. If you're a pancake person, 848 00:56:16,680 --> 00:56:19,279 Speaker 1: more pancakes for you. But while you're thinking about that, 849 00:56:19,400 --> 00:56:24,560 Speaker 1: ask yourself. Should maple producers be required to join this federation? 850 00:56:24,760 --> 00:56:27,880 Speaker 1: Is it helping or hurting them? Overall? With this heist 851 00:56:27,960 --> 00:56:31,120 Speaker 1: still have occurred if the federation didn't exist. I mean, 852 00:56:31,200 --> 00:56:32,640 Speaker 1: let us know, and let us know if you'd like 853 00:56:32,680 --> 00:56:36,960 Speaker 1: to hear more stories about food conspiracies. Though, be warned, friends, 854 00:56:37,719 --> 00:56:40,839 Speaker 1: some of these stories are much much darker than this one. 855 00:56:41,000 --> 00:56:45,360 Speaker 1: Cough cough, palm oil cough cough, chocolate cough cough. Is 856 00:56:45,400 --> 00:56:51,000 Speaker 1: that a subtle enough hint? You guys don't even don't 857 00:56:51,000 --> 00:56:54,640 Speaker 1: even look into the gack industry that Oh god, it's bad. 858 00:56:56,239 --> 00:57:00,439 Speaker 1: Oh no, we can't. We've since it's hired. Hi, we've 859 00:57:00,440 --> 00:57:03,120 Speaker 1: been doing a podcast for fun, but we're really we're 860 00:57:03,160 --> 00:57:09,480 Speaker 1: ghackman at the end of the gackmananaman? How how can 861 00:57:09,800 --> 00:57:11,640 Speaker 1: how can people find us? How can they tell us 862 00:57:11,719 --> 00:57:14,359 Speaker 1: these things? They just shout out into the void into 863 00:57:14,440 --> 00:57:18,400 Speaker 1: the sky. Yeah, so Yeah, what is your what cartel 864 00:57:18,480 --> 00:57:21,600 Speaker 1: are you associated with? Tell us about it? Blow the 865 00:57:21,640 --> 00:57:25,120 Speaker 1: old whistle. You can find us on Twitter and Facebook 866 00:57:25,120 --> 00:57:29,600 Speaker 1: and YouTube where we are conspiracy stuff. On Instagram we 867 00:57:29,640 --> 00:57:33,919 Speaker 1: are conspiracy stuff show. Oh and I forgot to point 868 00:57:33,920 --> 00:57:39,160 Speaker 1: out the trees do not get paid. But if you're 869 00:57:39,280 --> 00:57:42,880 Speaker 1: if there's something, uh, if there's something you do want 870 00:57:42,920 --> 00:57:45,760 Speaker 1: to take away from this with the idea of tree rights. 871 00:57:46,160 --> 00:57:50,040 Speaker 1: Here in nearby Athens, Georgia, there is a tree that 872 00:57:50,080 --> 00:57:54,240 Speaker 1: owns itself. Wow, that's it. That's a that's you can 873 00:57:54,240 --> 00:57:57,720 Speaker 1: find that online too. You know what, the tree these 874 00:57:57,760 --> 00:58:01,000 Speaker 1: maples get paid in love because as we said, the 875 00:58:01,200 --> 00:58:04,720 Speaker 1: sugar those the sugar makers, they gotta take care of them. 876 00:58:04,720 --> 00:58:08,240 Speaker 1: Trees worth it? I don't know is love worth it? 877 00:58:08,360 --> 00:58:11,000 Speaker 1: I don't know, God, what's love got to do with it? 878 00:58:11,360 --> 00:58:15,880 Speaker 1: Love always friends away and you can find you can 879 00:58:15,960 --> 00:58:18,720 Speaker 1: find a way to contact us that doesn't depend on 880 00:58:18,800 --> 00:58:21,040 Speaker 1: the internet. Should you like to give us a call, 881 00:58:21,240 --> 00:58:23,760 Speaker 1: We have a phone number just for you and our 882 00:58:23,960 --> 00:58:27,640 Speaker 1: fellow conspiracy realist. It is one eight three three st 883 00:58:27,880 --> 00:58:31,320 Speaker 1: d w y t K. You'll hear a message. You'll 884 00:58:31,360 --> 00:58:33,920 Speaker 1: have three minutes. They belong to you. Let us know 885 00:58:34,000 --> 00:58:37,120 Speaker 1: what's on your mind, give yourself a sick nickname, bonus 886 00:58:37,200 --> 00:58:41,480 Speaker 1: arbitrary points for the nickname in fact, and most importantly, 887 00:58:41,520 --> 00:58:43,560 Speaker 1: let us know if we can use your voice and 888 00:58:43,800 --> 00:58:48,280 Speaker 1: or message on air. Equally, most importantly, don't feel like 889 00:58:48,320 --> 00:58:51,320 Speaker 1: you need to edit yourself. If your story needs more 890 00:58:51,360 --> 00:58:54,040 Speaker 1: than three minutes, If you have links you want to send, 891 00:58:54,200 --> 00:58:58,120 Speaker 1: if you have additional information, go ahead and write to 892 00:58:58,240 --> 00:59:02,120 Speaker 1: us directly. We read every single email we get. All 893 00:59:02,160 --> 00:59:04,320 Speaker 1: you have to do is shoot us a lied online 894 00:59:04,360 --> 00:59:06,680 Speaker 1: where we are. Look, I know, I know. This is 895 00:59:06,720 --> 00:59:08,640 Speaker 1: the part where we're going to tell you the email address. 896 00:59:08,720 --> 00:59:10,920 Speaker 1: We always do it every every episode. We're gonna tell 897 00:59:10,920 --> 00:59:15,640 Speaker 1: you the email address. But before that, we're recording this 898 00:59:15,720 --> 00:59:21,560 Speaker 1: on September two one and the Matrix Resurrections trailer just 899 00:59:21,640 --> 00:59:25,280 Speaker 1: came out, and I know you're excited. I'm excited. You 900 00:59:25,320 --> 00:59:27,600 Speaker 1: said you weren't going to watch it. Oh no, I'm 901 00:59:27,600 --> 00:59:31,120 Speaker 1: gonna watch every bit of it seven times in the theater. 902 00:59:31,440 --> 00:59:33,680 Speaker 1: I don't care if I've got to wear a full 903 00:59:34,080 --> 00:59:37,320 Speaker 1: Bubba Boy outfit. I'm watching the end of theater the trailer. 904 00:59:37,680 --> 00:59:41,080 Speaker 1: You're gonna watch the trailer that many times? The movie 905 00:59:41,240 --> 00:59:44,439 Speaker 1: the movie itself. It's happening. By the way, our email 906 00:59:44,480 --> 01:00:06,320 Speaker 1: addresses conspiracy and I hire radio dot com. Yeah, stuff 907 01:00:06,360 --> 01:00:08,240 Speaker 1: they don't want you to know. Is a production of 908 01:00:08,320 --> 01:00:11,280 Speaker 1: I heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, 909 01:00:11,440 --> 01:00:14,240 Speaker 1: visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 910 01:00:14,360 --> 01:00:15,640 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.