Joe Rogan Experience #2556 – Siddharth Kara

Why this one hits different

Your phone, your laptop and your car battery probably contain cobalt, and Siddharth Kara has spent years documenting where much of it comes from. In Joe Rogan Experience #2556 the author of "Cobalt Red" joins Joe with a new book about one of the most horrifying episodes in the history of the Atlantic slave trade.

Who is Siddharth Kara?

Kara is a researcher and author who has spent his career investigating modern slavery and forced labor. He is connected to the Rights Lab at the University of Nottingham, one of the leading academic centers studying modern slavery.

His bestselling book "Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives" reported from the mining regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where much of the world's cobalt is dug, often by hand and often by children. The book made a supply chain most people never think about impossible to ignore.

The new book: "The Zorg"

His latest, "The Zorg: A Tale of Greed and Murder That Inspired the Abolition of Slavery," goes back to the eighteenth century. The Zorg was the original name of the British slave ship later known as the Zong. In 1781 its crew threw more than a hundred enslaved Africans overboard, and the ship's owners then went to court to be paid for them as lost cargo. The case shocked the British public and became a rallying point for the abolition movement.

Why it's worth your time

Kara connects the economics of exploitation across centuries, from insurance claims on human beings to the minerals in today's electronics. It's heavy material, and it's the kind of conversation long-form podcasts exist for.

Quick answers

When did JRE #2556 come out?

September 22, 2026.

What is Siddharth Kara's new book?

"The Zorg: A Tale of Greed and Murder That Inspired the Abolition of Slavery," published by Macmillan.

What is "Cobalt Red" about?

Cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the human cost behind the batteries in everyday electronics.