Inbox: The Invisible Machine Behind Everything | Ed Conway

Why did the cod in your fish fingers go to China and back before it reached your freezer?

What does a medieval king blocking English wool from Flanders have to do with Xi Jinping's grip on rare earths?

And, if China can now build cars far more cheaply than Europe or America, could the West lose its car industry altogether?

Ed Conway, Sky News economics and data editor and Times columnist, takes Peter Frankopan and Afua Hirsch down the hidden supply chains behind everyday life with his new book, Trade World.

The sliced white loaf that can't be made without wheat from the far side of the world. The cotton fields of Gujarat, where farmers have no idea where their crop ends up. The Corn Laws as the original Brexit, the West African cocoa farmers who've never tasted chocolate, and what David Ricardo really thought about free trade. Then comes the warning about cars that Afua hopes is wrong, and suspects isn't.

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[0:00] North Sea, Shandong, back again: the fish finger's secret round trip

[2:48] The invisible network beneath everything you own

[8:29] Edward III, Flemish wool and Xi Jinping's rare earths

[13:10] Why your toast depends on wheat from the other side of the world

[17:21] The Corn Laws, free trade and the Brexit echo

[21:03] Gujarat's cotton fields, and a farmer who never asks where it goes

[26:51] Was Ricardo right, and what did he actually say?

[32:09] The car industry Europe and America could lose

Stay connected with Legacy:

Instagram: @originallegacypodcast

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Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas:

Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com

Join Legacy+ for bonus episodes, early access, Q&A's, fewer adverts and more.

legacy.supportingcast.fm

Stay connected with Legacy:

Instagram: @originallegacypodcast

TikTok: @legacy_productions

Explore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com

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