Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives

Cobalt Red is a deeply reported journey into the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where a rare metal essential to rechargeable batteries is pulled from the earth by some of the world’s poorest people. Siddharth Kara moves from Lubumbashi through Likasi, Kambove, and Kolwezi, into pits and tunnels where families dig for cobalt by hand, and to depots and factories where the supply is laundered into the formal global chain. Along the way we meet mothers, children, miners, and traders who speak plainly about wages, injuries, and loss, and we watch as soldiers, companies, and cooperatives profit from their labor. The book weaves this frontline reporting with the Congo’s long history of exploitation—from Leopold’s rubber terror to modern-day deals—and exposes a simple truth: our clean-energy future is being built on lives made disposable. This narrative script brings you through that world step by step, in the author’s tracks, so you can see what’s really powering the devices and vehicles we love.

• People who want a clear, human picture of the costs behind batteries and EVs
• Leaders and teams in tech, auto, mining, ESG, and supply‑chain roles
• Listeners who value investigative storytelling and care about ethical consumption

Siddharth Kara is an author, researcher, and activist focused on modern slavery. A British Academy Global Professor and associate professor at the University of Nottingham, he has spent more than two decades documenting forced labor and trafficking worldwide. His books, including Sex Trafficking, Bonded Labor, and Modern Slavery, have informed policy and won major awards. In Cobalt Red he brings the same ground‑level reporting to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, combining survivor testimony with rigorous investigation to reveal the human cost of the cobalt supply chain.