Victoria Bruce, "Sellout"

In her third book, Bruce, a geologist, award-winning filmmaker, and author of Hostage Nation, examines how China has steadily purchased the rights to mining and processing rare earth elements, to the point where the Chinese now hold a monopoly on these vital resources. This makes the U.S. dependent on China for key pieces of much of our technology, from consumer items and basic infrastructural equipment to high-tech defense systems. The heart of Bruce’s investigation, however, is Jim Kennedy, a retired securities trader who bought a bankrupt mining operation but was then prohibited from re-opening it. Bruce follows Kennedy through his ten-year campaign to return the rare earth industry to the U.S., a fight not yet won despite his indefatigable lobbying of various government agencies and the manifest urgency of his mission.

Bruce is in conversation with Jim Kennedy, the title character of her book.

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Produced by Tom Warren