RARE EARTHS FOR THE COMMON PEOPLE
You’ve probably heard of rare earth elements before, but you likely haven’t heard the stories of complex domestic politics and local communities that surround their mining. Our goal is to look beyond economics and geopolitics in order to tell these stories and provide a richer image of the Chinese rare earths mining industry.
Listen in with Michelle Guo and Celine Sui:
Michelle Guo is a sophomore at MIT in the department of Chemistry. She was born in China and immigrated to Canada in her early childhood. Her interest in China and by extension the Chinese Rare Earths industry stems from this heritage.
Jude He is a writer, birdwatcher and (lapsed) student hailing from the wilds of Long Island. Interests outside of rare earths mining include: places, spaces, lace-making, bread-baking, monstrosity, Marxism, the politics of the body. Jude will be returning to MIT fall of 2021 to complete a degree in anthropology and computer science.
Celine Sui is a freelance journalist based in Seattle. Her reporting on China has appeared in Foreign Policy, Quartz, South China Morning Post, and elsewhere.