Are Lithium and Cobalt the New Oil? The Elements of Power, with Nicolas Niarchos

Intelligence Squared

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4.2 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 25 February 2026

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Decarbonisation is triggering a new great-power race. As demand for green technologies and sustainable power sources grows, Washington and Beijing are battling for control of cobalt, lithium, copper, and nickel - the critical metals that will determine who lands on top of the global energy transition. In this episode, Nicolas Niarchos joins host Atossa Araxia Abrahamian to discuss The Elements of Power, a sweeping investigation into the war for the global supply of battery metals. From the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Indonesia and beyond, Niarchos uncovers a world shaped by rapacious colonial legacies, Cold War maneuvering, corporate rivalry, and dazzling technological innovation. Niarchos argues that as wealthy nations push to electrify their economies, the human and environmental costs are pushed out of sight - onto miners working by hand, polluted communities, and territories still treated as expendable. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Intelligence Squared, where great mines meet.
0:03.5	I'm producer Mia Serente.
0:06.0	Decarbonization is triggering a new great power race.
0:09.5	As demand for green technologies and sustainable power sources grows,
0:13.0	Washington and Beijing are battling for control of cobalt, lithium, copper and nickel,
0:18.0	the critical metals that will determine who lands on top of the global energy transition.
0:23.6	In this episode, Nikos Nyakos joins host Atusa Araxia Abrahamian to discuss the elements of power,
0:30.2	a sweeping investigation into the war for the global supply of battery metals.
0:34.7	Let's join our host, Atusa now with more.
0:39.4	Welcome to Intelligence Squared.
0:46.2	I'm Atusa Araksea Abrahamian. Our guest today is Nicholas Nyarkos. Nicholas began his journalistic career as a fact checker at the New Yorker, for which he is now a contributing writer.
0:51.8	He is also the editor of Now Voyager magazine, a magazine of international long-form
0:56.6	reporting that's coming out later this year. Nick has reported extensively from Africa, from the
1:02.2	Middle East, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. And today, I'm delighted to be speaking to Nick about
1:07.7	his new book, The Elements of Power, a really terrific investigation into the
1:12.5	war for the global supply of battery metals, essential for the decarbonization of our economies,
1:18.4	and the terrible, bloody human cost of this badly misunderstood industry. Nick, thank you for being here.
1:24.7	Thank you so much for having me, it isa. So let's start for the beginning.
1:29.3	What compelled you to write an entire book about batteries and so much more?
1:34.3	Yeah, I mean, I think if you told me 10 years ago,
1:39.2	you'd be publishing a book this day on batteries, I'd say you're crazy.
1:44.2	You know, I became interested in, well, I started my sort of reporting career working on
	...

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