Containers

Madrigal does a great job of putting together vignettes on subjects which are interesting in their own right, all related by the otherwise nondescript, identical seeming containers which underlie our modern lives. I came to this podcast series late, inspired by his just released book Pacific Circuit. The one knock I can mention: the audio engineering is terrible. Something went wrong at the QC stage in release.

The latest reciprocal tariffs that the Trump administration has placed on china and others makes this series relevant in 2025. I listened to the series one time back in 2018 and again in April 2025. Still super interesting.

Made it through episode three which was about coffee ands its tangential role in global shipping. Superficial and super boring factoids throughout. May be of interest to middle schoolers.

This series is one of my all-time faves, and I hope they’re working on a follow up or sequel examining peri- and post-Covid supply chains, or how drones, autonomous vehicles, and other technologies might (or might not) change shipping.

I discovered this podcast while listening to old episodes of 99% Invisible. Given the recent supply chain issues, this subject is especially interesting now in 2021.