The Elements of Power: In Conversation with Nicolas Niarchos

​​Commonweal Ventures is thrilled to host Nicolas Niarchos for a discussion on his new book, The Elements of Power: A Story of War, Technology, and the Dirtiest Supply Chain on Earth.

​Niarchos, a journalist whose work focuses on energy, war, and migration, investigates the hidden, often brutal, supply chain for battery metals like cobalt and lithium. The book connects the global race for these minerals, essential for the energy transition and for the development of modern technology, to conflict, exploitation, and geopolitical competition, particularly in places like the Democratic Republic of Congo, while also exploring the roles of big tech, big business, and China's dominance.

As Patrick Radden Keefe, the author of Say Nothing, described the book: "A tale of rapacious colonialism, Cold War spy games, dazzling technical innovation, big business rivalry, big power geopolitics . . . Niarchos has produced an unflinching, landmark work on the nature of extractive capitalism."

​​Niarchos will be joined in conversation by Nate Loewentheil, managing partner of Commonweal Ventures and former Obama White House advisor. The discussion will be followed by audience Q&A.

​​Schedule: 

​6:00 PM - Doors open, networking

​6:30 PM - Moderated conversation and audience Q&A

​7:30 PM - Networking

​​ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

​​Nicolas Niarchos is a journalist whose work focuses on energy, war, and migration. His work has been published in The New Yorker, The Nation, and The New York Times. He has testified on the effects of Congolese battery metal mining on Capitol Hill. His work on mining in Indonesia was shortlisted for a 2024 Livingston Award. In 2023, he won an Edward R. Murrow Award for a radio report from Ukraine for The New Yorker and WNYC.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Nate Loewentheil is the Founder and Managing Partner of Commonweal Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm investing in startups at the intersection of technology and government. He is an early-stage investor in companies like Palantir, Robinhood, and Roivant. He is a former Forbes 30 under 30 and Aspen Ideas Fellow and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Fast Company, among many other outlets.

​​He served in the Obama White House as a Special Assistant to the President at the National Economic Council, where he advised President Obama on emerging technology. Nate holds a BA from Yale College and a JD from Yale Law School.