Joe Rogan used his podcast to reveal the appalling slave conditions utilized to mine raw minerals used to make electric vehicles, laptops, cell phones, and other devices.
Activist Siddharth Kara, author of “Cobalt Red: How The Blood of The Congo Powers Our Lives,” described the horrific environment of these mines in Africa.
Kara focused on the Congo during the interview.
Joe Rogan’s Podcast Shows Horrifying Slave Conditions Used To Mine Materials Needed For Electric Cars | The Daily Wire @StMartinsPress https://t.co/RRVDJtsgt9
— Siddharth Kara (@siddharthkara) December 24, 2022
“Throughout the whole history of slavery, I mean, going back centuries, never, never in human history, has there been more suffering that generated more profit, and was linked to the lives of more people around the world, ever, ever in history than what’s happening in the Congo right now,” Kara said.
“And the reason I say that is this: the cobalt that’s being mined in the Congo is in every single lithium ion rechargeable battery manufactured in the world today, every smartphone, every tablet, every laptop, and crucially, every electric vehicle.”
Kara explained the brutal conditions to mine cobalt in the Congo.
“Cobalt really took off about 10-12 years ago,” he said.
“And it’s in another part of the country in the mining provinces in the southeast of the Congo. And cobalt took off because it started to be used in lithium ion batteries to maximize their charge and stability. And it just so happens that the Congo, just as it was sitting on more than half the world’s reserves of coltan and of course, a lot of gold and diamonds and other things, is sitting on more cobalt than the rest of the planet combined. And it’s in a small little patch of the Congo, southeastern corner — a part that used to be called Katanga, and before anybody knew what was happening, Chinese government, Chinese mining companies took control of almost all the big mines, and the local population has been displaced, is under duress, and they dig in absolutely subhuman, gut-wrenching conditions for $1 a day, feeding cobalt up the supply chain into all the phones, all the tablets, and especially electric cars.”
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Kara shared rare footage of a cobalt mine in the Congo during the podcast.
“A still from the video I shared with @joerogan,” Kara tweeted.
“This is an industrial mine in the DRC … This is where the cobalt in our gadgets and cars comes from … According to all their ‘Audits’ and ‘Impact Reports’, this does not exist.”
A still from the video I shared with @joerogan …
This is an industrial mine in the DRC …
This is where the cobalt in our gadgets and cars comes from …
According to all their “Audits” and “Impact Reports”, this does not exist. pic.twitter.com/cRpMDXHhLW— Siddharth Kara (@siddharthkara) December 28, 2022
Here’s a brief clip from the podcast episode:
Joe Rogan guest exposes the reality of the battery mining industry… https://t.co/7YkbXn78WB
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) December 26, 2022
Here’s a YouTube backup:
@TheJRECompanion shared this image that demonstrates the top and bottom of the cobalt supply chain.
The bottom of the supply chain is a whole lot different than the top. #cobalt
Discussed On:
The Joe Rogan Experience
Episode 1914 – Siddharth Kara@siddharthkara @joeroganListen Here: https://t.co/H4lcB7PtW4
See all of the episode references:https://t.co/0uPvHJye8Z pic.twitter.com/SPOg0h0GGX— The JRE Companion (@TheJRECompanion) December 27, 2022
“This is probably one of the heaviest podcasts I’ve ever done,” Rogan commented.
I can't even begin to describe what an incredible interview this is. Just go watch or listen to it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
Episode 1914 – Siddharth Kara@siddharthkara @joeroganListen Here: https://t.co/H4lcB7PtW4
See all of the episode references:https://t.co/0uPvHJye8Z pic.twitter.com/X5SMzkQf47— The JRE Companion (@TheJRECompanion) December 27, 2022
“Thank you @joerogan for providing a global platform for this crucial story about the unconscionable conditions of cobalt mining in the Congo,” Kara tweeted.
#1914 – Thank you @joerogan for providing a global platform for this crucial story about the unconscionable conditions of cobalt mining in the Congo. @StMartinsPress https://t.co/wdeQBCsySm
— Siddharth Kara (@siddharthkara) December 23, 2022
The New York Post reported:
A Harvard visiting professor and modern slavery activist exposed the “appalling” cobalt mining industry in the Congo on a recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” that went viral. The video has already racked up over 1 million views.
Siddharth Kara, author of “Cobalt Red: How The Blood of The Congo Powers Our Lives,” told podcast host Joe Rogan that there’s no such thing as “clean cobalt.”
“That’s all marketing,” Kara said.
Kara told Rogan that the level of “suffering” of the Congolese people working in cobalt mines was astounding.
When asked by Rogan if there was any cobalt mine in the Congo that did not rely on “child labor” or “slavery,” the Harvard visiting professor told him there were none.
“I’ve never seen one and I’ve been to almost all the major industrial cobalt mines” in the country, Kara said.
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