The podcast episodes explore how China's control over the processing and manufacturing of critical minerals, particularly rare earth elements, has significant geopolitical implications and could become the new 'oil' in terms of energy security risks.

China's dominance in this space is highlighted across the episodes, with discussions centered around the global scramble to secure alternative sources and develop domestic processing capabilities to reduce reliance on China.

For example, episode The Big Switch: Are Batteries the New Oil? delves into China's dominant position in the processing and refining of critical minerals, and the potential for this to be leveraged for geopolitical gain. Similarly, episode Rare earths: the minerals that could save the world? focuses on China's control of the rare earth supply chain, from mining to processing, and the resulting geopolitical tensions as other nations try to break free from this dependence.