Intelligence Squared

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