paid Interview • 13 min read A More Fun Ride Jan Heine on the physics of pneumatic tires, the rise of gravel cycling, and his role in the bike industry.…
paid Rubber • 8 min read Cars. Since the introduction of the Model T, the rubber industry has evolved in tandem with the automobile industry – and American car culture.…
paid Rubber • 8 min read On Pneumatic Tires. Pneumatic tires were invented (and then promptly forgotten) in 1846. Then, they became perhaps the quintessential twentieth-century transportation technology.…
public Rubber • 8 min read On Hevea. How the Brazilian rubber tree made Manaus – and then left it behind.…
members Feature • 8 min read On Naphtha How naphtha -- one of the first fossil fuel derivatives ever made -- played a key role in the commercialization of rubber.…
public Feature • 9 min read On Vulcanization On Charles Goodyear and the unlikely discovery of the vulcanization process.…
public Feature • 9 min read On Latex The geography and logistics of pre-industrial rubber production.…
public Project Notes • 8 min read A Supply Chain in the Jungle How did Foxconn arrive at the inaccessible heart of the Amazon rainforest?…