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Science Quickly

The Meteorite That Vanished: El Ali’s Strange Journey

Science Quickly

Scientific American

Science

4.31.4K Ratings

🗓️ 17 October 2025

⏱️ 17 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A massive iron meteorite sat undisturbed in the Somali desert for generations—until armed men stole it in 2020. The El Ali meteorite contains at least three minerals never before seen on Earth, making it scientifically priceless. But its journey from landmark to black market raises thorny questions about the role of researchers in legitimizing stolen artifacts. Recommended Reading The Sordid Mystery of a Somalian Meteorite Smuggled into China E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura. Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck fact-check the show. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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The new-level innovation. For scientific American science quickly, I'm Rachel Feltman.

0:52.4

For generations, a massive iron meteorite sat in the Somali desert, becoming a landmark where children played and herders sharpen their knives.

1:02.0

Then, in 2020, a group of armed men arrived to steal it.

1:07.0

The L. Ali meteorite contains three minerals never before seen naturally on Earth, making it

1:13.2

scientifically priceless. But its journey from Somalia to the black market, with some research

1:18.8

along the way, raises uncomfortable questions. Are scientists helping to legitimize stolen artifacts

1:25.6

and perhaps even adding to their monetary value before they

1:29.2

go up for sale? Here to walk us through the story is Scientific American Senior Editor Dan Vergano,

1:35.3

who investigated the meteorite's dubious trajectory for a recent feature article.

1:40.6

Thanks so much for coming on to talk through this story with us. You bet. Good to talk to you.

1:44.8

So can you start by just painting a picture?

1:47.8

You know, what is this meteorite?

1:50.2

What made it so special to the local community in Somalia before it disappeared?

1:54.4

Well, it wasn't.

...

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