Noel King

You cover energy and the environment for Vox, and I want to ask you, as we've asked other people throughout the course of our two-part series, why do you think it's so important that we get the critical minerals race right?

Umair Irfan. You can find him at Vox.com. Avishai Artsy produced today's show. It was produced in partnership with Vox's Future Perfect team. Jolie Myers is our editor. Andrea Kristen's daughter and Patrick Boyd engineered and Laura Bullard checked the facts. I'm Noelle King. It's Today Explained.

Umair Irfan. You can find him at Vox.com. Avishai Artsy produced today's show. It was produced in partnership with Vox's Future Perfect team. Jolie Myers is our editor. Andrea Kristen's daughter and Patrick Boyd engineered and Laura Bullard checked the facts. I'm Noelle King. It's Today Explained.

Umair Irfan. You can find him at Vox.com. Avishai Artsy produced today's show. It was produced in partnership with Vox's Future Perfect team. Jolie Myers is our editor. Andrea Kristen's daughter and Patrick Boyd engineered and Laura Bullard checked the facts. I'm Noelle King. It's Today Explained.

About Elon Musk and Doge.

About Elon Musk and Doge.

About Elon Musk and Doge.

Those are the loud stories of the Trump administration. There's a quieter story, though. President Trump's obsession with critical minerals.

Those are the loud stories of the Trump administration. There's a quieter story, though. President Trump's obsession with critical minerals.

Those are the loud stories of the Trump administration. There's a quieter story, though. President Trump's obsession with critical minerals.

In South Africa, Ukraine, China, Greenland, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the ocean. What exactly is going on right now? That's coming up on Today Explained.

In South Africa, Ukraine, China, Greenland, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the ocean. What exactly is going on right now? That's coming up on Today Explained.

In South Africa, Ukraine, China, Greenland, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the ocean. What exactly is going on right now? That's coming up on Today Explained.

This is Today Explained.

This is Today Explained.

This is Today Explained.

All right, Ernest, we promised the people we'd explain what is going on with the president and his fixation on critical minerals. Go ahead.

All right, Ernest, we promised the people we'd explain what is going on with the president and his fixation on critical minerals. Go ahead.

All right, Ernest, we promised the people we'd explain what is going on with the president and his fixation on critical minerals. Go ahead.

All right. So President Trump, as he sometimes does, has become obsessed with something. But it's something, as you're telling us, it's something quite important. What are critical minerals exactly?