Without superpowers a superhero is nothing. It’s much the same with rare earths - a powerful group of metals - without which nothing is possible. Rare earth metals make computers, tablets and smartphones supersmart. They are crucial for fighter jets, and high-tech weapons. Without them, the world’s shift to green energy would cease. Everybody wants these magical metals. But only one country controls them.

In this episode, host Kartik Kuna confronts the consequences of this global imbalance. He discovers the hidden fallout on ordinary people in unlikely corners of the world. From the violent hilltops controlled by Myanmar’s military, to the villages of rural Malaysia that conceal a sinister truth, or to the arid bushland of Western Australia; no one is untouched in this scramble for ‘critical metal’ power.

WATCH MORE Power Scramble
Part 1:    • Can Anyone Challenge China's Near Mon...  
Part 3:    • Vietnam's Challenge To China's Domina...  

00:00 Introduction
02:42 Illegal rare earth mining funding Myanmar's junta?
05:27 What are rare earth metals?
08:30 How mining rare earths 'poisons' the ground
13:34 Illegal rare earth mines in Malaysia
16:46 Film crew stopped by local officials
21:06 Can Malaysia contest China's rare earth monopoly?
26:55 Worries over radioactive waste near rare earth plants
30:09 Malaysia's ugly history of bad toxic waste disposal
34:28 Rare earths as a geopolitical weapon
38:52 Australian mining town starting to process rare earths
42:41 Working conditions in Myanmar's illegal mines

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About the show: There is tension between China and the West – over critical metals. These metals are essential for high tech applications, as well as a carbon-free future. Just why is the fight heating up?
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