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The U.S. once had a monopoly on rare earths. How it lost to China

Planet Money tells the story of how the U.S. lost to China on rare earths.

Copyright 2026 NPR

Emily Feng
Emily Feng is an international correspondent for NPR covering China, Taiwan and beyond from her base in Washington D.C.
Kenny Malone
Kenny Malone is a cohost for NPR's Planet Money podcast. Before that, he was a reporter for WNYC's Only Human podcast. Before that, he was a reporter for Miami's WLRN. And before that, he was a reporter for his friend T.C.'s homemade newspaper, Neighborhood News.

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