The pillage that fueled America's tech booms

Cobalt mining is one of the world's most dangerous jobs. And it's also one of the most essential: cobalt is what powers the batteries in your smartphone, your laptop, the electric car you felt good about buying. More than three-quarters of the world's cobalt supply lies in the Democratic Republic of Congo, whose abundant resources have drawn greed and grifters for centuries. This week on our series Hidden Histories, we reveal the fight for control of those resources, and for the dignity of the people who produce them. (This episode originally aired in 2023)

Guests: 

Siddharth Kara, author of Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives

Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold’s Ghost

Ramona Austin, art historian and former curator at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Dallas Museum of Art

Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, African and global studies Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina and former UN ambassador for the Democratic Republic of Congo

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