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Material World: When the Invisible Fails Us
We think of the internet and our digital lives as weightless — made of data, clouds, and code.
But every email, every search, every call runs through cables made of glass and sand, metals and minerals pulled from the Earth.
In this episode of Compost of Ideas – The Podcast from the Bin, we look at how deeply material our world still is, even when we think it’s virtual.
Starting from the story of Tonga — an island cut off from the world after a volcanic eruption severed its only undersea internet cable — we explore the hidden infrastructures and raw materials that keep modern life running.
Inspired by Ed Conway’s book Material World, this episode traces the line between sand and silicon, war and glass, cables and fragility. Because when the invisible breaks, what we rediscover is just how heavy our world really is.
Notes:
On Tonga’s 2022 eruption https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/sep/30/tonga-pacific-island-internet-underwater-cables-volcanic-eruption?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Othe
Material World by Ed Conway explores the six materials shaping our lives: sand, salt, iron, copper, oil, and lithium. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/125937631-material-world
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By samara.crociWe think of the internet and our digital lives as weightless — made of data, clouds, and code.
But every email, every search, every call runs through cables made of glass and sand, metals and minerals pulled from the Earth.
In this episode of Compost of Ideas – The Podcast from the Bin, we look at how deeply material our world still is, even when we think it’s virtual.
Starting from the story of Tonga — an island cut off from the world after a volcanic eruption severed its only undersea internet cable — we explore the hidden infrastructures and raw materials that keep modern life running.
Inspired by Ed Conway’s book Material World, this episode traces the line between sand and silicon, war and glass, cables and fragility. Because when the invisible breaks, what we rediscover is just how heavy our world really is.
Notes:
On Tonga’s 2022 eruption https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/sep/30/tonga-pacific-island-internet-underwater-cables-volcanic-eruption?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Othe
Material World by Ed Conway explores the six materials shaping our lives: sand, salt, iron, copper, oil, and lithium. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/125937631-material-world