January 29, 2026· 52 min

What It's Like to Do Big Ag Business in Venezuela and Ukraine

Jeff Kazin Mike Rohlfsen

Orality

Model

79%

Speaker Breakdown

HostTracy Alloway(1,061 words)

M:56%

HostJoe Weisenthal(1,958 words)

M:56%

GuestJeff Kazin(4,180 words)

M:56%

GuestMike Rohlfsen(2,047 words)

M:55%

Oral Indicators

Agonistic36%

literally, completely, massive

Engagement79%

you, our, your

Memory Aids100%

listen, now, like

Repetition100%

know (138x), like (75x), they (65x)

Parallelism76%

And I'm Joe Weisenthal...., But when it comes to the recen..., But the action in Venezuela, o...

Sound Patterns71%

77 question(s), alliteration: "markets move", alliteration: "barclays brief"

Formulaic Phrases4%

i mean, to be honest

Literate Indicators

Hedging8%

may, perhaps, probably

Passive Voice6%

been degraded, be required, was impaired

Abstract Nouns21%

investment, recommendation, community

Subordination6%

although, because, while

Sentence Length35%

Avg: 13.8 words/sentence

Word Complexity48%

investment, analyze, anticipate

Academic Markers0%

Impersonal Style21%

848 personal pronouns found

Descriptive Style86%

literally, completely, apply

Description

The Trump administration says it wants to kick start private investment in Venezuela now that it's captured Maduro. And Ukraine is eventually going to need a massive rebuild. But what is it like for a big multinational to actually operate in these types of places? In this episode, we speak with Jeff Kazin and Mike Rohlfsen, the cofounders of agricultural consultancy AgrisAcademy and former long-time Cargill employees. Jeff previously ran Cargill's Venezuelan business and Mike was the company's first employee in another geopolitical hotspot: Ukraine. We talk about the challenges they faced in these two locations, including dollar shortages, corruption, and security threats, and their sometimes creative solutions to them. Read more: Venezuela Leader Pressed From All Sides Over Oil Industry Plans Ukraine Says It Attacked Small Oil Refinery in Southern Russia Subscribe to the Odd Lots Newsletter Join the conversation: discord.gg/oddlots See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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