How to get through the Strait of Hormuz

The United States has been at war with Iran since February 28th. And for a month and a half, Iran’s main leverage over the U.S. has been their control over the Strait of Hormuz — a key global shipping route. Iran has attacked ships that try to pass without approval. And recently they’ve insinuated that one part of the Strait — the part near Oman — is not safe. Which means that captains had to go right by Iran’s shores to get through the Strait … effectively creating a chokepoint for the global economy. On today’s show, a source inside Iran tells us how ships had been getting through the strait, and how the tollbooth Iran set up works. And we ask: What does this all mean for the global economy? Live show tour and book info. /

You can listen to How to get through the Strait of Hormuz online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

How to get through the Strait of Hormuz is an episode from Planet Money by NPR.

This episode is 18:53 long.

This episode was published on Apr 14, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Planet Money when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.