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Battlefield rare earths: How the U.S. lost to China

2026-04-24 00:00:00 +0000 UTC ·34m 15s ·by NPR
Battlefield rare earths: How the U.S. lost to China
Planet Money
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About this episode

At one point in history, one U.S. company monopolized the rare earths industry. Then China took over the industry. Can the U.S. bring it back? Rare earths are critical to making, like, everything. From smart phones to electric vehicles to microwaves. They’ve also become a powerful political weapon f