The pillage that fueled America's tech booms
Summary
This episode explores the violent history of resource extraction in the Democratic Republic of Congo, linking King Leopold II’s rubber atrocities to modern cobalt mining for smartphones and electric vehicles. Featuring researcher Siddharth Kara and historian Adam Hochschild, the story highlights how colonial exploitation persists through forced labor and child slavery. It also examines the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, whose fight for resource sovereignty was crushed by Western powers to secure uranium and other minerals.
Topics discussed
Introduction: Cobalt's role in modern technology
Sidharth Kara on the horrors of cobalt mining
The hypocrisy of green energy and supply chains
E.D. Morell exposes forced labor in the Congo
King Leopold II and the Congo Free State
William Henry Shepards documentation of atrocities
Rubber quotas, hostages, and mutilation
The international campaign against Leopold
Patrice Lumumba and the fight for independence
Lumumba's assassination and Cold War politics
Modern cobalt mining and hope for change
Conclusion and upcoming episodes
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