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

NPR | By Emily Feng,
Kenny Malone
Published May 1, 2026 at 4:44 AM EDT

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

Copyright 2026 NPR
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World Morning Edition
Emily Feng
Emily Feng is NPR's Beijing correspondent.
See stories by Emily Feng
Kenny Malone
Kenny Malone is a correspondent 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.