The Shipping News: Containers (Podcast)
April 26, 2017 5:18 PM   Subscribe

Oakland, California. The war in Vietnam. Global trade. Logistics, then and now. The thread that links them over time and space? Containers, the subject of an 8-part audio documentary hosted by Alexis Madrigal. "Throughout the documentary, Alexis uses a collection of anecdotes to explore how global trade has transformed the economy and ourselves. In doing so, he provides an insightful, in-depth perspective regarding the role that global trade has had in shaping capitalism, ushering in the world of commerce as we know it today."
posted by MonkeyToes (27 comments total) 47 users marked this as a favorite
 
Okay, this sounds fascinating. I've subscribed via iTunes and will listen over the next day or two. Thanks for posting!
posted by hippybear at 5:38 PM on April 26, 2017


Also, needs podcast tag
posted by hippybear at 5:38 PM on April 26, 2017


Communism, Capitalism, A-Bomb, Semiconductors, what's changed the world the most? A box.

(well a mind boggling vast shitload redefining global commerce, but still basically, a box)

!?!

posted by sammyo at 5:50 PM on April 26, 2017


I was listening to excerpts of the first episode, as it was featured on 99% Invisible. Fascinating stuff. Thanks for sharing.
posted by Fizz at 5:56 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]


Question, anyone have any suggestions on a book that would also discuss similar subject-matter?
posted by Fizz at 5:59 PM on April 26, 2017


Also cf., from a few years ago, KCRW's Cargoland.
posted by mykescipark at 6:08 PM on April 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


woo, thanks for the mention. I quite enjoyed the 99% Invisible excerpt of this series!
posted by rebent at 6:10 PM on April 26, 2017


anyone have any suggestions on a book that would also discuss similar subject-matter?

How about The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger by Marc Levinson?
posted by JoeZydeco at 6:11 PM on April 26, 2017 [11 favorites]


Yup, Marc wrote the definitive book in the topic.
posted by twsf at 6:27 PM on April 26, 2017


Ooh. This is very relevant to my interests. I pass by a major shipping port with its mountains of containers every day on my commute. And, it looks like in Ep. 5 they might get at a question which has been nagging at me for a while: Why are American companies almost non-existent in ocean container shipping? The biggest American container shipping line is/was APL but was acquired first by Singapore-based NOL which itself was then subsequently acquired by the French giant CMA CGM; at the time of their acquisition, I think APL was something like the #9 or #10 largest. The biggest American shipping line currently listed independently in the Alphaliner Top 100 is Matson and they're down at #36. It's all the more remarkable considering that some of the major European lines (I'm thinking of Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Sud, specifically) had their fleets pretty much destroyed in World War I. And Maersk, the current largest container line, lost half of their fleet in World War II. I thought that this would be a ripe environment for American industry to fill the void but nope.
posted by mhum at 6:35 PM on April 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


There's another book on Shipping Containers. Rather good and part of a good series on everyday things.
posted by Rumple at 6:46 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]


I listened to this whole series and can confirm, its super interesting. It's also sponsored by... a shipping company. Which makes me suspicious.
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:59 PM on April 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


Why are American companies almost non-existent in ocean container shipping?

I expect it's related to the Jones Act and unintended consequences. If you look at the national flag on virtually any ocean going vessel it's not the stars and stripes, largely because every crew member must be US and union. (way too expensive) Thus if the ships, crews and most ports are non-american, it's tough for american firm to grow bigger. The huge port you drive by is probably small potatos compared to vast Asian ports.
posted by sammyo at 7:19 PM on April 26, 2017 [4 favorites]


I definitely can recommend this. I've been listening to it since the third episode was aired on 99% Invisible. There's a lot of good stuff, but some of the episodes are more interesting than others.
posted by wierdo at 7:30 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]


Question, anyone have any suggestions on a book that would also discuss similar subject-matter?

The Box by Marc Levinson, naturally. Also Ninety Percent of Everything by Rose George, and The Docks by Bill Sharpsteen.

If you're specifically into geeking out on containers themselves, there's The Container Guide by Craig Cannon. There's also a book on pallets and palletization that made a lengthy appearance on the blue a couple years ago, but I can't seem to remember the title..
posted by tapir-whorf at 7:48 PM on April 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


The global shipping market is experiencing a glut of available tonnage for shipping, one of the reasons for ongoing consolidation, possible price fixing and of course the Hanjin bankruptcy. Non-vessel owning common carriers like the one I work for buy space on other company's ships to move freight. We're at less risk for problems than the vessel owners, but it's a delicate balance between booking space with steamship companies whose rates are diving toward the bottom and charging enough to make profits of our own.

I'm very much looking forward to listening to this. Global shipping is a surprisingly interesting topic, especially living in a port city and working for a company that helps move those big steel boxes around.
posted by lhauser at 8:55 PM on April 26, 2017 [2 favorites]


Seriously though, the shipping container yard trope has become so prevalent over the last couple of decades I'm surprised they can get any work done with all the action movies and tv shows being filmed down at the port.
posted by valkane at 1:28 AM on April 27, 2017 [2 favorites]


I forgot to thank borsboom for bringing this series to my attention in a recent thread about the cargo ship El Faro. Much appreciated, borsboom!
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:49 AM on April 27, 2017


Thanks, I can't wait to listen.

Shane Carruth [Primer, Upstream Color] has said his next movie will be The Modern Ocean, about, at least on some level, this world.
posted by rock swoon has no past at 7:17 AM on April 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


Cargo comes in TEUs
Rolling up, rolling down
A twenty foot box, boys, filled wi' booze
We go rollin' down the river
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 8:53 AM on April 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


If you look at the national flag on virtually any ocean going vessel it's not the stars and stripes

It's unlikely to be of the origin country at all - they use "flags of convenience", mostly Panama, Liberia, etc. From Wikipedia: "The reasons for choosing an open register are varied and include tax avoidance,[8] the ability to avoid national labor and environmental regulations,[8][9] and the ability to hire crews from lower-wage countries".

I used to work in container shipping and it was a fascinating window into the underbelly of global trade. You might be interested to know that the US did have a shipping line called American President Lines (APL) which is still going, though it's now a subsiduary of French titan CMA-CGM.
posted by Acey at 9:59 AM on April 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


Listened to the entire thing in one sitting during a lengthy drive last night. I found it to be interesting and informative, but frustrating. Every time he said he was going to do a deep dive into a subject, he ended up expounding about it at length but never really got deep, just lengthy.

Overall, though, it did give me a lot of information and history I didn't have before, and I'm glad to have listened to it. Thanks for posting!
posted by hippybear at 6:56 PM on April 28, 2017


Also, I have to say, it did sort of wake me up to what sort of economic ripples would happen if trade were obstructed in any kins of effective way. The end of the era of the longshoreman really devastated localities, and the trade we do have today has a very well-paid limited worker supply. Cut too many of those off, and the limited community support they provide in the local economies will disappear, and the ripples will go outward again.
posted by hippybear at 10:00 PM on April 28, 2017


Question, is the audio low quality for anyone else? Is there a way to get a high-quality version of this at all? The episode I listened to on 99PI was whisper smooth, but this is very #needsmoremp3
posted by rebent at 4:03 PM on May 4, 2017


Question, is the audio low quality for anyone else? Is there a way to get a high-quality version of this at all?

Are you listening via SoundCloud or to the original iTunes episodes?
posted by mykescipark at 5:21 PM on May 4, 2017


I'm listening to whatever was downloaded via podcast addict
posted by rebent at 6:31 PM on May 4, 2017


Sound quality is pretty good, but definitely not up to public radio standards.
posted by Jesse the K at 10:02 AM on May 21, 2017


« Older Cap being a Nazi can't help, but...   |   Conservative Party of Canada Leadership Race... Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments