"Slaves digging this stuff" - Joe Rogan speaks out against concerning human rights violations in cobalt mines that fuel the electronic industry
Episode #2290 of The Joe Rogan Experience saw the popular podcaster welcome stand-up comedian Michael Costa. During the pair's near-three-hour conversation, Rogan shared his thoughts on the alleged mistreatment of workers in the cobalt mines fundamental to the electronic industry.
Rogan found the conditions under which the cobalt miners worked so deplorable that he compared it to a form of modern-day slavery. He cited the investigative work of Siddharth Kara as evidence for his criticism, which he detailed to Costa in their conversation about the topic.
"I had Siddharth Kara on. He's done some pretty brilliant and brave investigative work on the cobalt mines and he took video of what they call artisanal mines. It's essentially slaves digging this stuff out of the ground with their babies on their back. This is from Siddharth's book. I mean, this is f*cking crazy, and they're digging the cobalt out of the ground literally with sticks."
Check out Joe Rogan's thoughts on cobalt mines (1:14:44):
The longtime UFC commentator has quickly become more interested in the sociopolitical dynamics of the world over the years. He previously feared that the Biden administration's pro-Ukraine stance would somehow lead the rest of the world into WWIII, a long-feared scenario.
Moreover, he believes that current United States president Donald Trump will serve the world's interests well in terms of peace. He even had the United States commander-in-chief on as a guest on his podcast in episode #2219, which is credited by many as helping turn the tide of the 2024 U.S. presidential elections.
It was thought that many voters who were uncertain of who to support were swayed by Rogan's sitdown with Trump.
Joe Rogan previously hosted Siddharth Kara on his podcast
Not long ago, Joe Rogan welcomed Siddharth Kara to his podcast on episode #1914, during which the pair had a lengthy discussion about numerous topics. Kara is an author and expert on modern-day slavery and human trafficking, as well as the continued use of child labor in certain parts of the world.
Check out Joe Rogan's conversation with Siddharth Kara:
It was an enlightening conversation for Rogan, who has had a plethora of guests from various backgrounds with different areas of expertise on the JRE podcast.