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The Conversation with Dasha Burns

Nerdcast presents: Global Translations, episode 6

The Conversation with Dasha Burns

POLITICO

News, Politics, Government

4.0 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 25 December 2020

⏱️ 28 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

"Nerdcast" presents Episode 6 of the new season of POLITICO's podcast "Global Translations": To understand how essential critical minerals are to our world, we turn to a case study: cobalt. This mineral is proving key to the future of green energy, defense and high tech manufacturing — not to mention electric vehicles. But cobalt has its challenges. Hosts Luiza Savage and Ryan Heath look at China’s dominant role in global cobalt mining and the serious problems that can arise if other countries can't get enough supplies.Luiza Savage is the host of "Global Translations".Ryan Heath is a host of "Global Translations". Annie Rees is a producer for POLITICO Audio. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO Audio. Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.Nedal T. Nassar is Chief of Materials Flow Analysis Section at the U.S. Geological Survey.Bryce Crocker is the CEO of Jervois MiningAimee Boulanger is the executive director of Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA)Read Luiza Savage's article on how America got outmaneuvered in a critical mining race:https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/02/china-cobalt-mining-441967And check out the other POLITICO newsletters: Global Translations: https://www.politico.com/newsletters/global-translationsMorning Energy: https://www.politico.com/morningenergy/The Long Game: https://www.politico.com/newsletters/the-long-gameChina Watcher: politico.com/chinaMorning Tech: https://www.politico.com/morningtech/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

The fight against climate change has some powerful allies.

0:03.6

We're seeing some of the world's largest financial players

0:06.5

starting to integrate climate risk into how they evaluate their portfolios.

0:11.2

Stay tuned for a special branded episode of Global Translations, presented by City, right here on December

0:18.3

16th.

0:19.3

Ryan, when you hear the word COBOLT, what's the first thing that pops into your mind?

0:24.7

Really? Well, honestly, it's a guy called Darghamishol.

0:30.9

Darg what?

0:32.2

Darghamishol.

0:34.0

He was a United Nations Secretary General, so the top bureaucrat, and he died in a mysterious

0:40.3

plane crash in Congo in in 1961.

0:42.5

But what does that have to do with COBOLT?

0:47.2

Well, his plane fell out of the sky,

0:48.7

or maybe it was shot down.

0:49.9

He met death.

0:50.9

Oh my God.

0:51.9

And that's the thing we don't know and it was during a dispute over

0:54.3

COBOLT mining rights and it's been a true unsolved mystery for six decades the

0:58.3

poor guy. That really sounds like a spy thriller. It really was. It was Cold War meets colonialism

1:04.9

meets billion-dollar treasures hidden in the jungle. Oh my gosh well I mean my

1:09.0

thought is way less dramatic.

1:10.8

Cobalt makes me think of COBOL- less dramatic.

...

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