Christina Raffini (2:28)

Absolutely. And attacks on the world's largest natural gas complex have also sent these prices soaring. So joining us now we have Brendan Duvall whose company, the Glenfarn Group, is behind a massive proposed liquefied natural gas pipeline in Alaska. Brendan, thank you so much for joining us.

Brendan Duvall (2:41)

Thank you for having me.

Christina Raffini (2:42)

I mean, first, just tell us what this conflict with these strikes in Iran, the strikes in Qatar have done to the LNG market as a whole.

Brendan Duvall (2:49)

So we buy LNG regularly. We are the largest importer of LNG into the country of Colombia for our power plants. Before the escalation of this war, we were buying at 10, $11 an MMBTU and we just bought last week at $20. And then I saw trades print yesterday at $30. And so that is just a huge escalation in price and it's basically fear of not getting cargoes.

David Gura (3:17)

Drawing on your experience in the industry, I saw in the FT there was a headline, this is an Armageddon scenario for the gas industry. Have you seen anything like this before? I guess the closest analogy that I can grab for is what happened a couple of years ago with the launch of Russia's incursion in Ukraine. How different is this? How much more devastating is this potentially?

Brendan Duvall (3:36)

So a couple of things. One of the problems in Europe is they didn't have the import terminals and so they had to rush to build the import terminals straight through permitting really fast. The import terminals are where they need to be at the moment. Now it's access to actually cargoes on the water. Qatar's 17, 20% of global trade. The actual facility has only had a certain number of trains. We still don't have clear information, don't

David Gura (4:00)

have the details yet, but.

Christina Raffini (4:02)

And the train is what you need to make it shippable?

Brendan Duvall (4:04)

Yeah. So that the train takes the gas, takes it to a very low temperature, a liquid then puts it into the vessel. But if the vessel can't get into the strait, it can't pick it up and it's a perishable item as well. LNG runs out, it evaporates. So if it's not getting taken out on the ships after, shut it in and then shut it in at the well. So then it's going to take time to restart as well.

Christina Raffini (4:28)

What's your sense of how long it's going to take to get some of those facilities back online? And then do you have any indication, as you know, someone who's a big player in this industry of when those boats are going to start moving?

Brendan Duvall (4:39)

So, you know, I was talking to my construction company that's building my facility in Texas and nobody really knows what needs to be repaired at the moment, if you're on the outside, because it's not that. Well, no one's got people in there on the customer side doing the inspections.

Christina Raffini (4:55)

Probably don't want to telegraph necessarily, but

Brendan Duvall (4:58)

it could take three to five years because building something from scratch versus fixing something that's already built is a lot more complicated. And so if it takes three to five years, the main problem is just one or two trains isn't the end of the world. It's just getting the straight open again. So once the straits open again, that'll be the main downward pressure back on price.

David Gura (5:20)

You're at work on projects in Texas and in Alaska. So before we get in, maybe the granular details of those. What does all of this mean for the natural gas market, the industry here in the US as you sit from your vantage watching what's unfolding in the Middle East?

Brendan Duvall (5:33)

So as an industry with domestic natural gas has been a desire to get what we call more on the water to get exposure to a broader range of indices. And that's going to continue. Right. But Henry Hub is only impacted so much by exports and every cargo that can be exported is already being exported. So I don't see it driving a huge outcome on Henry Hub immediately. That'll be driven by other issues. But it does say that more LNG projects can come online which will then put upward pressure on long term.

David Gura (6:06)

Henry, how prices quickly Here again I drew this analogy to the Ukraine war. Did that have a catalytic effect here in the US and kind of changing the direction of the industry when when that conflict got underway just a few years ago?

Brendan Duvall (6:17)

Well, many projects were sitting in permitting doldrum and they couldn't attract financing through Covid. LNG prices went down to $2.50 delivered. We're talking about $25 now. So that's a 10x swing crazy coming out of COVID at prices that low. And then Ukraine war hadn't happened. There was a slow things had slowed down post that everything's come back and the US is the most secure place to buy LNG from. It's just. It just is.

Christina Raffini (6:46)

The president has said recently that the US doesn't need the straight we're energy independent, we don't need it. But that's not quite true.

Game Host / Quizmaster (6:54)

Right.

Christina Raffini (6:54)

It seems like it would be helpful if that was moving even for US companies like yourself just to bring the overall prices down.

Brendan Duvall (7:00)

Well, I think everyone wants lower energy prices. As an LNG guy, you might think I want a high LNG price, but lower prices has more demand and I'm more of an infrastructure player. I want to sell long term energy. Sure, everyone wants a little bit of volatility to make some money. So when energy prices come down I think we all benefit and that's what will happen from the Strait. But as a domestic, as a nation here, we've got all the energy we need.

David Gura (7:28)

Let me give you a minute to talk your book here. So you've got this project in Alaska and as we talk about the way that the global energy market is being affected by all of this, what would or what does that project offer to say customers or clients in Asia who are looking at the very real prospect of, because of what's happening in the Strait of Hormuz, feeling like they don't have ready or reliable access to the natural gas that they need.

Brendan Duvall (7:48)

So Alaska, a little bit of background on the project, right, It's a very large project. It's 20 million tons of per annum, which is a very significant size project. It's a two phase project. A pipeline to bring gas from the North Slope down to, let's call in the south near Anchorage and then an LNG facility to export it. So two phase project. The pipeline is at ready to build stage now and the LNG facility is about 12 months away. The whole thing is fully engineered, all permits, all rights of way. It's had a billion and a half dollar speed spent preparing it. And the customers in Asia like it because it's a seven day sale to Japan. 10 day sale to Asia has been

Christina Raffini (8:28)

hit really hard, especially by this strait.

Brendan Duvall (8:30)

In particular, India and China are heavy buyers of Qatari lng. Korea and China and India are heavy buyers of Qatari, Japan and Korea less. But it's still cargoes being taken out of the market. And so if we can take it down from Alaska, it's close, it's secure, it's a US cargo that's protected five day sailing in US waters. It's a, it's a good thing for our allies.

Christina Raffini (8:56)

Quickly before we let you go. Critics say that there are no buyers right now and the price tag is likely much higher than what you're projecting. What's your response to that?

Brendan Duvall (9:03)

Well, I know because I'm selling LNG out of the Gulf Coast, I'm selling it out of Alaska. We can offer excellent prices and I can tell the interest right now is there's upward pressure on that.

Christina Raffini (9:14)

Probably a good moment to be pitching this, needless to say.

David Gura (9:17)

Brendan Duvall, thank you very much for joining us. Brendan on his way to Sarah week in Houston, of course with so many other energy executives for this confab that we were talking about with Daniel Juergen just a few weeks ago. Really going to be the nexus of a lot of these conversations I think here over the course of the next few weeks and we'll have coverage all across our Bloomberg platforms as that event gets underway. Stay with us for more on Bloomberg this weekend, right after this.

Adobe/PayPal/Mint Mobile Announcer (9:42)

Every business has an ambition. PayPal open is the platform designed to help you grow into yours with access to business loans so you can expand and hundreds of millions of PayPal customers worldwide. Your customers can pay all the ways they want today with PayPal, Venmo, pay later and all major cards so you can focus on the future when you need a partner trusted by millions. There's one platform for all business PayPal open grow today at paypalopen.com loans subject to approval in available locations.

David Gura (10:12)

Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile with a message for everyone paying Big Wireless way Too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop with Mint. You can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course if you enjoy overpaying. No judgments. But that's weird. Okay, one judgment anyway. Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment

Christina Raffini (10:34)

of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See full terms at Mint Mo Running

Odoo Announcer (10:42)

a business is hard enough, so why make it harder With a dozen different apps that don't talk to each other, one for sales, another for inventory, a separate one for accounting. Before you know it, you are drowning in software Instead of growing your business. This is where Odoo comes in. Odoo is the only business software you'll ever need. It's an all in one fully integrated platform that handles everything CRM, accounting, inventory, E commerce, HR and more. No more app overload, no more juggling logins. Just one seamless that makes work easier. And the best part, Odoo replaces multiple expensive platforms for a fraction of the cost. It's built to grow with your business whether you are just starting out or already scaling up. Plus it's easy to use, customizable and designed to streamline every process so you can focus on what really matters running your business. Thousands of businesses have made the switch, so why not you try Odoo for free@odoo.com that's o d o o.com.

Christina Raffini (11:53)

It is week three of the war in Iran, but President Trump is now, as we just mentioned, possibly setting his sights on a new goal abroad and that's taking Cuba. Cuban President has acknowledged talks with the Trump administration are ongoing as it feels pressure from an Oil blockade and a power blackout.

David Gura (12:07)

Earlier this week, I sat down with Ernesto Sobron Guzman. He is Cuba's ambassador to the United Nations. And we talked about Havana's position toward US Talks. Take a listen. President Trump said, quote, I do believe I will be having the honor of taking Cuba. I do believe I'll be the honor

Brendan Duvall (12:22)

of having the honor of taking Cuba.

Ernesto Sobron Guzman (12:26)

That'd be good. That's a big honor. Taking Cuba.

Brendan Duvall (12:29)

Taking Cuba in some form. Yeah, taking Cuba. I mean, whether I free it, take

Ernesto Sobron Guzman (12:35)

it, I think I could do anything

David Gura (12:36)

I want with it. What is your reaction to some of the rhetoric that we've heard from the President, the United States?

Ernesto Sobron Guzman (12:41)

Well, you know, during the last three months, almost every day, President Trump or Secretary of State Marco Rubio said something like this. Free and you take cover. Take cover. We are negotiating. We are not negotiating. We are ready to bomb and destroy everything. And for us, we have been very. Our position is clear, crystal. You know, our president announced last Friday that we recently started a dialogue between official of the Cuban government, official of the US Government based on equal footing, respect of sovereignty, respect of independence, and respect of not interference in internal affairs.

David Gura (13:26)

At this moment, what is the best outcome for you, for Cuba from those talks? What do you hope comes out of it?

Ernesto Sobron Guzman (13:32)

You know, as a, as we also said, we are indeed, as part of this dialogue, we are identifying the issue, the main issues where we have difference. So once we identify those issues, we are in a position to find solutions for those difference. And at the same time, we are in a position also to identify areas where we can cooperate in benefit of mutual part. Because usually people talk that a conversation between Cuba and the US Is only beneficial for Cuba, and it is not. Is beneficial for both parts, like we prove in the past, you talked about

David Gura (14:10)

what's on the table and what isn't. So we had the Secretary of State saying Cuba has to put new people in charge. Is Cuba willing to make changes to senior leadership to appease the United States?

Ernesto Sobron Guzman (14:20)

Not at all. As I told you, this is part. The only people that has the right to elect our leadership is the Cuban people. So no one will come to tell us you have to do this or to that in this regard, you know, so it is part of. We are not asking the US that they have to change their leadership. So it's, it's an issue of independence. You know, it's. We are an independent country and no one can tell us what we can do in this regard. This is something that we have to, to, to. To get by Ourselves.

David Gura (14:50)

Your president said this earlier this week. Any external aggressor will encounter UNO resistancia inexpugnable an indomitable resistance. Your job at the UN is to explain to the world the policies of your government. What is an indomitable resistance from Cuba look like.

Ernesto Sobron Guzman (15:05)

That means that we are ready for any scenarios. You know, we, we really want to have this dialogue. It is not a new position of the Cuban government. It is a very long, long standing position of the Cuban government that we consider that the best option for both part is to different, to have a different kind of relation, you know, so we are open to talk about everything. We are not telling that we can, we can talk about everything based on what I told you, not interfering, internal affair. But if you want to talk about human rights, we are ready to talk about human rights. You have. The US Government has concern about human rights in Cuba. Okay. We have concern also about human rights in the US Something happens in Minnesota or in some other areas, so we can talk about this. If you want to talk about democracy, we are ready to talk about democracy also with the US Government. You know, but, so this is our position. But at the same time we, we, we are ready for some of the scenarios because we suffered aggression from the US government in the past. So we know about that and we have to be ready for it. So when the president said that, that means that we are ready to talk, this is our main position. But if someone try to invade Cuba or if someone tried to make an aggression to Cuba, they will find a whole people, 10 million people ready to defend our sovereignty, our independence.

David Gura (16:39)

Let's talk a bit about the oil blockade that's been in place. The last shipment that you got of oil was in January. That came from Mexico. Before that, in December, you got a shipment from Venezuela. Of course, circumstances have changed. Used to rely on 25,000 barrels a day from Venezuela. That's gone. What has the impact of that, the oil blockade imposed by the United States been on the country of Cuba over these last couple of months?

Ernesto Sobron Guzman (17:00)

It has a huge impact. The first question here is do they, the government of the US has the right to impose a blockade like this? Do they have the right to set third countries that they can sell or not oil to Cuba? I think that they have not this right and this is not. They are violating the international law, the international humanitarian law, the, the charter of the UN there, the rules of the foreign trade. So we have 96,000 people that are waiting for a surgery because we don't have electricity. Or oil to have electricity in the hospital, around 11,000 of them children. We have more than 30,000 women, pregnant women waiting for an ultrasound because also lack of electricity. But you need electricity to produce food. You need electricity to pump water. You need electricity to, for food transportation, to transport people. You need electricity for almost everything. So here, David, we are looking at collective punishment to a whole country just because another country they want to change the government of Cuba.

David Gura (18:22)

Who do you count as a close friend of Cuba at this moment when there is so much scrutiny of the island country by, by the United States?

Ernesto Sobron Guzman (18:31)

Well, as an ambassador at the UN I can tell you that we count with the support of the majority of the countries all over.

David Gura (18:38)

You're hearing that from other ambassadors and not only here.

Ernesto Sobron Guzman (18:41)

We have and a statement of the G77 and China condemning this policy. G77 and China is the largest group of member states in the UN 134 countries.

David Gura (18:54)

Are you disappointed China isn't doing more? They're sending solar equipment, for instance. But do you, do you wish that they would take a stronger stand?

Ernesto Sobron Guzman (19:01)

No, not at all. We have been receiving political support for the majority of the country, but at the same time we have received. Receiving some of the support from many countries you mentioned. China, Vietnam, Mexico, Russia, Brazil, Chile, the Caribbean countries. The UN system is also working now to try to, to, to implement this. When a country offer some kind of aid, they are trying to, to be like a bridge.

David Gura (19:32)

What is your message to the American people at this moment? As we hear again the President making bellicose statements from the White House, what would you say to American people who are watching this and hearing from the administration that things are bound to change in Cuba in the near term?

Ernesto Sobron Guzman (19:46)

Well, you know, yesterday I read a poll that said that only 28% of the American people support this kind of policy of the, of the, the of their government towards Cuba. So I will, I will say to the rest, the 72% that doesn't support this policy that please continue pushing, continues raising your voice in favor of a different kind of relation between Cuba and the US it is possible and it is beneficial for both Part.

David Gura (20:23)

Lastly, what gives you optimism that this will be resolved? How grave is this moment? And what gives you optimism that this is going to resolve itself in a way that will be peaceable?

Ernesto Sobron Guzman (20:33)

Because this is not the first time that we face a situation like this. We have been, unfortunately, we have been facing this kind of policy for many years. I lost the count of how many presidents of the US tried to change the government in Cuba and we are still here. And as I told you, we for us there is only one option. Resist and to keep and to prove that it is possible to be different. We are not better, we are not worse than the US government or than the US people. We are just different people. We just want to try to build our own future from our own perspective.

Christina Raffini (21:30)

Nice interview.

David Gura (21:31)

Thank you. Yeah, fascinating to talk to him as we hear all this rhetoric from the administration. I asked who he was talking to, who Cuba is talking to on the US side. He said he didn't know and that wasn't important.

Christina Raffini (21:43)

Stay with us for more on Bloomberg this weekend right after this

Adobe/PayPal/Mint Mobile Announcer (21:49)

Every business has an ambition. PayPal open is the platform designed to help you grow into yours with access to business loans so you can expand and hundreds of millions of PayPal customers worldwide. Your customers can pay all the ways they want today with PayPal, Venmo, pay later and all major cards so you can focus on the future when you need a partner trusted by millions. There's one platform for all business PayPal open grow today at paypalopen.com loans subject to approval in available locations Running a

Odoo Announcer (22:20)

business is hard enough, so why make it harder? With a dozen different apps that don't talk to each other. One for sales, another for inventory, a separate one for accounting. Before you know it, you are drowning in software. Instead of growing your business, this is where Odoo comes in. Odoo is the only business software you'll ever need. It's an all in one fully integrated platform that handles everything CRM, accounting, inventory, E commerce, HR and more. No more app overload, no more juggling logins. Just one seamless system that makes work easier. And the best part? Odoo replaces multiple expensive platforms for a fraction of the cost. It's built to grow with your business whether you are just starting out or already scaling up. Plus it's easy to use, customizable and designed to streamline every process so you can focus on what really matters running your business. Thousands of businesses have made the switch so why not you try Odoo for free@odoo.com that's O D O O.com this

Bethenny Frankel (23:20)

is Bethenny Frankel from Just Be with Bethenny Frankel. Most dog food is marketing, not nutrition. That is why Biggie and Smalls eat just food for dogs. Real 100% human grade food with ingredients I actually recognize. And yes, I see the difference. Better digestion, healthier skin, more energy. Dogs that feel better. My babies, if you've been on the fence about switching. Stop overthinking it. What's more important than your furry babies and their health? Go to justfood for dogs.com right now and get 50% off your first box. No code needed. Just try it.

Christina Raffini (24:06)

Do you guys know this book?

David Gura (24:07)

Yeah, I do.

Christina Raffini (24:08)

All right, so this is by the guy who wrote the Martian. This is Project Hail Mary. This movie is out this weekend. It is about a reluctant school teacher scientist who gets launched literally, into space against his will and has to go save humanity. And he ends up there, for reasons I'm not going to get into, by himself, except all of a sudden, he gets some help from something from another planet. It's a great book. I'm hopeful the movie's gonna be just as awesome. And you know who else was great was author Andy Weir, who sat down with us, talked about how he gets his ideas and also how, despite all of his success, the puppet got a better hotel room than he did on the press tour. When you were pitching this to your publishers, you said, hey, I got an idea for a guy who's kind of trapped in space by himself, and he's got to, like, science his way out of it. At any point, did they say to you, dude, you already wrote this book.

Andy Weir (24:53)

Yeah. You already wrote that? Well, I mean, I pitched it to him as, like, I've got a first contact story and interstellar travel and stuff like that. And, you know, he's not alone.

Christina Raffini (25:03)

Was there a debate about whether or not to reveal the alien in the movie trailers and things like that? Because there was. So how did that go and how do you feel about that?

Andy Weir (25:11)

They did reveal him, so there was a lot of discussion about that. Because, of course, in the book, it's a complete.

Christina Raffini (25:16)

I had no idea. I literally screamed at the book. Yeah.

Andy Weir (25:19)

And that was the intent. We wanted you specifically to scream at the book. Perfect. But that was a big twist. And the readers are very good about not spoiling things for each other, moviegoers or not. Like, moviegoers will tell each other everything. And also, like, if we hid the fact that Rocky was in the movie, I mean, sometime. I mean, by now everybody would be talking about, there's an alien in this movie. Like, it would be general public knowledge. So we thought that, plus, this isn't just a story about some schlub out in space by himself. This is a story that includes an alien and all sorts of really cool stuff and that we want to draw people into the theater. Things get a lot more interesting when they find out, okay, there's an alien

Christina Raffini (26:04)

in this one, and it's not like a little green man alien. It's basically an anthropomorphized rock.

Andy Weir (26:09)

So I was trying to avoid anything that looked like, you know, just a human.

Christina Raffini (26:13)

Not getting your Captain Kirk vibes?

Andy Weir (26:15)

No, no. I wanted an alien that was very, very alien. And so I wanted his environment to be incompatible with ours and vice versa. I mean, shoot, that happens on Earth. Like if you exchange the positions of a shark and a camel, they're both going to die. Right?

Christina Raffini (26:30)

And so I don't know a lot about science, but I know that is true.

Andy Weir (26:33)

You know that is true. There are very few aquatic camels, to our detriment.

Christina Raffini (26:38)

So which. Which comes first when you're writing, the science or the plot?

Andy Weir (26:41)

Usually the science. In this case, I'll figure out something that I want and then I'll kind of back calculate a way to allow that and try to find the minimum little violation of, like, real world physics or whatever.

Christina Raffini (26:54)

Do you check your math? Do you, like, send stuff out to people? Okay, well.

Andy Weir (26:58)

Well, no, I don't have other people check my math.

Christina Raffini (26:59)

You check your own math?

Andy Weir (27:00)

I check my own math and sometimes I make mistakes, and that's the way of things. There are no lives riding on the line here. It's just a fictional story. If I mess up, I mess up.

Christina Raffini (27:07)

I'm a former White House correspondent, foreign affairs correspondent, and in D.C. there is

Andy Weir (27:11)

a. I'm a big step down. No, this is a big step down.

Christina Raffini (27:14)

Correct. This is the interview I've been looking forward to most for a week. Um, there is a book club of all former or current White House producers and correspondents in dc. It's all women. We do not read sci fi. We read, like, smart fiction, sometimes less smart fiction. Usually it's a way to escape the news cycle and drink some wine and talk about our families. Someone suggested this book. It was a bit out of left field. My group chat is blowing up this morning with questions for you because they are all completely obsessed with this. Did you know this was going to have such an appeal to folks who aren't necessarily into sci fi?

Andy Weir (27:48)

Well, I always try to appeal to people who aren't necessarily into sci fi. I don't go out of my way. It's just my. My mechanism of storytelling is to try to make it's. I mean, yes, it's a science fiction story, but it's really a story about friendship and loyalty to. To newfound friends and. And so I guess my brand, or whatever it is I sell Optimism and, like, I have in real life, a very high opinion of humanity, and I feel pretty good about the human species and that I think we're pretty awesome. And. Yeah. So I think that ends up having an appeal to a lot of people. You don't have to be obsessed with science to enjoy these stories, I hope.

Christina Raffini (28:32)

I did get some other questions from my book club. One was, did you visualize Ryland being as hot as Ryan Gosling?

Andy Weir (28:39)

I did not.

Christina Raffini (28:40)

Okay.

Andy Weir (28:41)

To be fair, though, I don't have a very, very visual imagination.

Christina Raffini (28:44)

I heard you talking about this. This is really interesting to me.

Andy Weir (28:47)

Yeah. So I'm kind of on the Aphantasia scale, which means, like, when I try to visualize something, I get more of a blob. I mean, it's not. So they usually use.

Christina Raffini (28:55)

How does that work when you're writing?

Andy Weir (28:57)

It's conceptual. Like, so in my mind, what I'm seeing is a concept, like a blob of a person talking to a blob of another person in a sort of a blobby, undefined background. I. The best way to describe it would be is if you've ever had a dream and, you know, the focus of the dream is you talking to the. You know, to the magical cat or whatever's happening in your dream. The background, like, describe the background. It's like you didn't define it in your head, and so you can't really tell me what's in the background. It's just sort of this. This blobby. There's something there, but for me, it's also in the foreground. It's just this concepts.

Christina Raffini (29:30)

I mean, I personally like that about your writing because it allows the reader to kind of fill in a bunch of those details, which is why I think we were also interested in seeing Rocky the alien, because I had a really hard time picturing what that looks like.

Andy Weir (29:43)

I could tell you, oh, he has a pentagonal thorax, kind of, and he has, like, five legs, and they each end in three claws. But I don't know, like, if his limbs were skinny or thick or if they're smooth or bumpy or if they're symmetrical or asymmetrical. So when I went to the model shop during the shoot, when I went to the model shop and saw Rocky, that was like, the first time I seen Rocky. It was like. It was like, oh, I get it. Oh, so that's what Rocky looks like now. I know.

Christina Raffini (30:09)

That's incredible. And you and I were talking briefly earlier. It seems like Rocky might be getting Better VIP treatment than you. Press tour. Do you want to explain what you were saying to me earlier about who gets the nicer hotel suite? Yeah. For our viewers who don't know, Rocky is. It's a practical effect. So it's a giant, like, puppet that's operating. I love practical effects.

Andy Weir (30:28)

Yeah, it's as practical as it gets. I mean, there's CG smoothing of the motions, some and some of the finger movements and stuff like that. And there's plenty of CG shots, let's be clear. And also the digital removal of all the sticks of puppeteers and things. But yeah, so at the junket, the media junket for this, which was in la, I was like, I'm feeling good about this. They got me a real nice room. You know, it's kind of a Sweet having your moment. Yeah, I'm an important guy. And then, like, Rockies room, because they had a room for Rocky where. Where, like, reporters could go, like, talk to Rocky and stuff like that. Rocky got the presidential suite on the top floor. It's a penthouse. So I go up to Rocky's room and he's got a grand piano in his room, stuff like that. And I mean, the reason is because they really wanted high security around that. That puppet. It's an irreplaceable prop. It's.

Christina Raffini (31:20)

He just didn't want you feeling too good about yourself.

Andy Weir (31:21)

Yeah, I know.

Christina Raffini (31:23)

Career moment.

Andy Weir (31:23)

Yeah. And Rocky gets the presidential suite. I just thought that was funny.

Christina Raffini (31:27)

Finally. You said you are optimistic about the human race. And one of the things that I also read the Martian. Love the Martian. One of the things that I think was so interesting about this book is initially, your main character is kind of a weenie. He really. He doesn't want to do the thing. They make him do the thing. And the arc of his personal growth over time in the book is quite incredible and redeeming. Is that kind of what you're hoping for?

Andy Weir (31:49)

The rest of us, there's no deeper meaning. I just wanted to. So I'm always trying to work on my character depth, complexity and nuance because I think that's my weakest part of writing. I'm good at the science. I think I'm good at coming up with interesting and compelling plots. But it's my characters that I really need to level up on.

Christina Raffini (32:08)

But I would argue that's where this book really stands out.

Andy Weir (32:10)

Thank you. Thank you. Because I put a lot of work into it, so I appreciate it. And so I wanted to have a flawed but likable and I think We've all felt that way before. We've all felt like scared, overwhelmed and underqualified.

Christina Raffini (32:22)

I mean every day man, every day

Andy Weir (32:24)

as a writer, that's your whole life. I mean, you know, give a man a book, you entertain him for a night, teach a man to write, you give him crippling self doubt for life.

Christina Raffini (32:31)

Oh God, that's so true.

Andy Weir (32:33)

So I wanted to make him relatable and then he has a redemption arc and yeah, so that was deliberate. Thank you. I'm glad it landed.

Christina Raffini (32:41)

Anything else you want to add about Humanity Space?

Andy Weir (32:44)

I'm a fan of both.

Game Host / Quizmaster (32:46)

Stay with us for more on Bloomberg this weekend right after this

Adobe/PayPal/Mint Mobile Announcer (32:53)

Every business has an ambition. PayPal open is the platform designed to help you grow into yours with access to business loans so you can expand and hundreds of millions of PayPal customers worldwide. Your customers can pay all the ways they want today with PayPal, Venmo, pay later and all major cards so you can focus on the future when you need a partner trusted by millions. There's one platform for all business PayPal open grow today at paypalopen.com loans subject to approval in available locations.

Odoo Announcer (33:23)

Running a business is hard enough, so why make it harder? With a dozen different apps that don't talk to each other. One for sales, another for inventory, a separate one for accounting. Before you know it, you are drowning in software. Instead of growing your business. This is where Odoo comes in. Odoo is the only business software you'll ever need. It's an all in one fully integrated platform that handles everything CRM, accounting, inventory, E commerce, HR and more. No more app overload, no more juggling logins. Just one seamless system that makes work easier. And the best part? Odoo replaces multiple expensive platforms for a fraction of the cost. It's built to grow with your business whether you are just starting out or already scaling up. Plus it's easy to use, customizable and designed to streamline every process so you can focus on what really matters running your business. Thousands of businesses have made the switch, so why not you try Odoo for free@odoo.com that's o-o.com this is Bethany Frankel

Bethenny Frankel (34:26)

from Just Be with Bethany Frankel. Let me be blunt. Most dog food is junk. It just is. And I'm not feeding junk to Biggie and Smalls. That is why they eat just food for dogs. It's real 100% human grade food with ingredients I actually recognize, not mystery pellets pretending to be healthy. And once I Switched. The difference was obvious. Better digestion, better skin, more energy. Dogs who actually feel good instead of just surviving dinner. Here's the thing. You care about quality. You make an intentional choice to be healthy. So why are you gambling with your dog's health? So let's think about our furry babies. Go to justfoodfordogs.com right now and get 50% off your first box. No code. Just try it, because once you see the difference, you're not going back.

Game Host / Quizmaster (35:18)

So this is pointed. Okay. So you each have 30 chips in front of you. Okay. Christina has 30. David has 30.

David Gura (35:23)

Yeah.

Game Host / Quizmaster (35:24)

I'm going to propose a question. There are three categories. Okay. You have to bet your wagers based on those categories.

David Gura (35:31)

The confidence that I have that I have in my knowledge of those categories.

Game Host / Quizmaster (35:34)

Correct. So if you feel really good about that first category, I don't know if you want to bet at all.

David Gura (35:39)

But, you know, she knows heavyweight over the last two weeks.

Christina Raffini (35:42)

But now I'm scared because I overheard our producer working on this, and he was like, oh, they're. These are all too easy or really, really hard. We can't make them too easy. And I was like, well, don't make them that hard. So I don't know. I'm shook. I'm shook.

David Gura (35:52)

Let's see how she shook.

Adobe/PayPal/Mint Mobile Announcer (35:53)

Shook.

David Gura (35:54)

What are the categories?

Game Host / Quizmaster (35:54)

Here we go for the categories. All right, so let's get right to it. The categories are Diplomatic. That is the first one.

Brendan Duvall (35:59)

All right.

Christina Raffini (36:00)

That's gonna be embarrassing.

Game Host / Quizmaster (36:02)

Bankruptcy is number two, and Oscars is number three, so.

David Gura (36:07)

Oh, he's going heavy on the Oscars, despite not really. I saw a movie. I saw a movie.

Christina Raffini (36:13)

What did you see?

David Gura (36:14)

I saw Train Dreams.

Christina Raffini (36:15)

Oh. How was it?

Game Host / Quizmaster (36:16)

Okay.

David Gura (36:16)

Very good. Based on a Dennis Johnson novel, but not good. One of the marquee favorites, standouts of the night. It's in your queue. Anyways, I did watch the Oscars. I'm going to go 20 on that and 10 on diplomacy.

Christina Raffini (36:27)

All right. I'm hoping I don't embarrass myself.

David Gura (36:28)

Bankruptcy. Oh, you're going 20 on nobody.

Christina Raffini (36:31)

Nobody's doing 20 on diplomacies. I am not confident in bankruptcies, and then I will hopefully not.

Game Host / Quizmaster (36:36)

No one's confident in bankruptcy.

Brendan Duvall (36:38)

No, no.

Christina Raffini (36:39)

Including the companies are going bankrupt. No. No one's confident.

Game Host / Quizmaster (36:41)

All right, are you ready for your question? You have your whiteboards. You have your pens. Get ready.

Christina Raffini (36:45)

Here it is.

Game Host / Quizmaster (36:45)

Okay.

David Gura (36:46)

Expo. Dry erase is open.

Game Host / Quizmaster (36:48)

Diplomacy. Let's start there. Okay, the question is. This week, the Taoiseach made a traditional visit to the White House. Which country does he lead? Taoiseach.

David Gura (37:00)

Can I ask you to spell it? And then we'll just give it away for the.

Game Host / Quizmaster (37:03)

Would you like a spelling. Oh, he's looking. He's going. He's going to go. I even see, like, little pictures that you're doing here. I'm peeking over it.

David Gura (37:14)

I'm ready. I think so.

Game Host / Quizmaster (37:16)

Okay. All right, let's flip it. Okay.

David Gura (37:18)

He's Irish.

Game Host / Quizmaster (37:18)

You both say Irish. Irish. What country?

David Gura (37:21)

Oh, sorry. Did I not listen carefully?

Christina Raffini (37:23)

She's fine.

David Gura (37:23)

It's just a failing of mine.

Adobe/PayPal/Mint Mobile Announcer (37:24)

Give it to you.

David Gura (37:25)

Oh, Lisa, thank you so much. I know that that could have been overruled on a technicality.

Game Host / Quizmaster (37:29)

All right, so Christina keeps her 20. David keeps her tent.

David Gura (37:32)

We should have said who had the better shamrock.

Christina Raffini (37:34)

Illustration. I think they were both not good for our radio listeners. You did not miss this.

Game Host / Quizmaster (37:37)

But he is.

Christina Raffini (37:37)

Yes.

Game Host / Quizmaster (37:38)

The Prime Minister called the Taoiseach. He met with President Trump, you know,

David Gura (37:42)

St. Patrick's Day, a bowl of shamrocks was.

Game Host / Quizmaster (37:44)

They did. The meeting was okay. You know, he. He did defend British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

David Gura (37:49)

Yes.

Game Host / Quizmaster (37:50)

After President Trump criticized him. But. But other than that, it was a wonderful meeting.

David Gura (37:54)

Fountain was bright green. This is not the guy who has the dog.

Christina Raffini (37:57)

Right. That's the president who had the dog, who went around with him everywhere. I think he's of Ireland.

Game Host / Quizmaster (38:01)

Yeah.

David Gura (38:01)

He's tuned for our next hour. And we get into the intricacies of Irish.

Christina Raffini (38:04)

Sorry. Continually. So please quiz us on bankruptcy.

Game Host / Quizmaster (38:06)

Are we ready for bankruptcies?

David Gura (38:07)

Bankruptcy. Question number two.

Game Host / Quizmaster (38:08)

You didn't bet anything, either of you. Okay.

Brendan Duvall (38:10)

All right.

Game Host / Quizmaster (38:11)

Which company that produces a fiber sometimes called Elastane has filed. Elastane has filed for chapter 11.

Christina Raffini (38:18)

Yes. Elastin. We're naming the fiber or the company or both.

Game Host / Quizmaster (38:21)

Which company that produces the fiber, sometimes called Elastin, has filed for chapter 11. So what is the company that produces that fiber?

David Gura (38:33)

I have not. My God. Okay. I don't know.

Game Host / Quizmaster (38:38)

I really don't know.

Christina Raffini (38:39)

I have to pick one.

Game Host / Quizmaster (38:41)

I have to pick one.

Christina Raffini (38:41)

Okay. I'm gonna pick this one.

Brendan Duvall (38:42)

Okay.

David Gura (38:43)

I wrote chapter 11, incorporated. I don't know. I really.

Game Host / Quizmaster (38:47)

What do you have?

David Gura (38:48)

Lycra.

Game Host / Quizmaster (38:48)

Lycra.

Christina Raffini (38:49)

Yes.

Brendan Duvall (38:49)

That is.

Christina Raffini (38:50)

Wait, really, I can't.

David Gura (38:53)

You don't get any more points for that.

Christina Raffini (38:55)

I thought it was Spandex, and then

Game Host / Quizmaster (38:57)

I thought, yes, the maker of Spandex. Spandex. Okay. So Lycra, the maker of Spandex, you know, struggling with the supply chain issues since the Pandemic but again, inflation, tariffs a lot has affected the company. So that's why I think the lack

Christina Raffini (39:10)

of leggings and David Gura's life put him at a disadvantage.

David Gura (39:13)

No, I don't tend to wear them.

Game Host / Quizmaster (39:15)

No.

David Gura (39:15)

Unless winter's run.

Game Host / Quizmaster (39:18)

All right, are you ready for Oscars? I think we're going to do a

Christina Raffini (39:21)

lot better in this.

David Gura (39:22)

Yes.

Game Host / Quizmaster (39:22)

Although Christina's on a roll. All right, Oscars, here we go. So the two films that took home the most Oscars were both distributed by which studio? So which studio?

Christina Raffini (39:35)

Okay.

Game Host / Quizmaster (39:35)

Christina betted 10. David went all in on 20.

David Gura (39:39)

Yeah, I'm all in on this.

Christina Raffini (39:41)

I'm not feeling good about this.

Game Host / Quizmaster (39:42)

Are you not feeling good? Okay.

David Gura (39:43)

Me and the Animaniacs.

Christina Raffini (39:44)

Are you? Oh, well, okay.

Game Host / Quizmaster (39:47)

Live it down.

David Gura (39:48)

Warner Brothers. Warner Brothers living in the water too.

Game Host / Quizmaster (39:52)

Mgm. Christina, you gotta hand over your 10 to Matteo.

David Gura (39:56)

I believe. I believe MGM was the subject of a joke by 1 Conan O', Brien because MGM is now Amazon's company. And I don't think they had any nominations.

Christina Raffini (40:04)

No, they also, you know, the producers of project Hail Mary.

Game Host / Quizmaster (40:06)

They did. Okay, so let's, let's break down. Okay, the awards. So they took home 11 Oscars, right? Six for one battle after another, four for sinners and one for the horror film Weapons, which I haven't even seen. I haven't seen that one.

David Gura (40:18)

That was, you know. Did you watch the Oscars?

Game Host / Quizmaster (40:22)

I didn't, no.

David Gura (40:23)

Okay, Anyways, there's a whole send up of it.

Christina Raffini (40:25)

But anyways, with the character from Weapons. Yeah, because then she won anyway.

Game Host / Quizmaster (40:29)

All right, all right.

David Gura (40:29)

Is there a bonus?

Game Host / Quizmaster (40:30)

David, you're ahead. Wait, hold on. 10. Oh, 20. 20. Wait. Okay, are we. No, he's got 30.

David Gura (40:37)

You stacked 30. I just wanted to stack them all there because we're here for the bonus round.

Game Host / Quizmaster (40:40)

All right, he's got 30. Christina's got 20. We're gonna go for the bonus.

David Gura (40:42)

All right, here we go.

Game Host / Quizmaster (40:43)

Okay, ready? Let's go for the bonus.

Christina Raffini (40:44)

I'll lose my winning because it's very upsetting. Okay, here we go.

Ernesto Sobron Guzman (40:47)

We're going.

Game Host / Quizmaster (40:47)

Baseball. That is the category.

Christina Raffini (40:49)

I'll give it to him now. All right.

Game Host / Quizmaster (40:51)

In the World Baseball Classic, team Italy had a viral home run celebration consuming which product? What were they drinking?

Christina Raffini (40:58)

Wait till this one.

David Gura (40:59)

It wasn't Negronis.

Game Host / Quizmaster (41:01)

That would have been interesting, though.

David Gura (41:03)

Would have been very, very interesting. All right, I wrote espressos.

Game Host / Quizmaster (41:07)

Esposo. Yes, David. Espresso.

Christina Raffini (41:09)

It is Zazo's espresso.

David Gura (41:11)

Well, we didn't ask for the name brand. We didn't ask for the name brand.

Christina Raffini (41:14)

I object.

Game Host / Quizmaster (41:17)

They had a whole like a machine in their dugout and they would.

Christina Raffini (41:20)

That's someone whose last name is Raffini. That is the most Italian thing ever. I know.

Game Host / Quizmaster (41:25)

Feeney David David Gura is the winner of this pointed. You guys play along at home too. It's a lot of fun actually.

David Gura (41:33)

Find it where bloomberg.com yeah, Bloomberg and

Christina Raffini (41:35)

you get multiple choice at home. You don't have to just come up

Game Host / Quizmaster (41:37)

with the you do. You get a little bit of help. Multiple choice. It's a fun game. Go try it out.

Christina Raffini (41:44)

Thanks for joining us on today's Bloomberg this Weekend podcast. Don't forget to tune in live for the show every Saturday and Sunday morning starting at 7am Eastern.

David Gura (41:52)

We're on Bloomberg Television Radio and the Bloomberg Business app, bringing you unique takes and in depth interviews on news, politics, lifestyle and culture.

Andy Weir (42:07)

Here's the truth. You could literally be adored by everyone and then come home and still get completely ignored by your own cat. It's classic cat behavior, but new Shiba Premium Puree is a lickable treat that changes all that. They're protein rich, made with bone broth and have the smooth, creamy texture cats go crazy for, especially when it's hand fed. Yeah, it's more than a treat. It's a fast pass to favorite human status. So feed your cat Sheba and go from totally ignored to truly adored in just 12 days guaranteed or your money back. Learn more@shiba.com it's tax season and by now we're all a bit tired of numbers. But here's an important one you need to $16 billion. That's how much money in refunds the IRS flagged for possible identity fraud. But it's not all grim news. LifeLock monitors millions of data points per second, and a of lot alerts you to threats you could easily miss on your own. If your identity is stolen, they'll fix it. Guaranteed. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit lifelock.com iheart Terms apply.

David Gura (43:12)

You know that feeling when a story just grabs you and won't let go? That's the kind of drama that's waiting for you on Disney Hulu. Mysterious post apocalyptic thrillers like the acclaimed Hulu original Paradise paradise action adventure dramas like Daredevil, Born Again and iconic medical dramas like Grey's Anatomy. Or maybe you want your drama with a side of comic relief. With shows like High Potential, find the drama you want on Disney plus and Hulu with a bundle. Subscription terms apply.