Ed Conway

From Financial Crises to Material Realities

• 2003-2011: Decoding Market Upheavals – Began career at Daily Mail and The Telegraph covering banking collapses and quantitative easing revelations
• 2011-Present: Sky News' Economic Architect – Established economics desk during Eurozone crisis, pioneering data journalism techniques
• 2014: Bretton Woods Revival – Authored acclaimed history The Summit, reframing modern economic governance
• 2023: Material World Breakthrough – Groundbreaking investigation into critical minerals named FT Business Book of the Year finalist

"The true story of progress isn't written in spreadsheets but in the silent alchemy turning raw earth into technological marvels." – Material World

Defining Works

• The Weird and Wonderful Logic of Aluminium (Substack, 2025)

Conway's deep dive into aluminium production reveals why this "everyday miracle metal" dictates everything from air travel to green energy transitions. Through vivid smelter visits and historical analysis, he exposes the fragility of global supply chains – particularly Britain's dwindling production capacity. The piece masterfully connects century-old industrial processes to contemporary debates about economic sovereignty.

• Magical and Essential: On the Mineral and Metallic Bases of Our World (Literary Hub, 2023)

This lithium-focused investigation in Chile's Atacama Desert combines geological wonder with geopolitical tension. Conway demonstrates how the "white gold rush" for battery materials reshapes international alliances while raising urgent environmental questions. His account of brine extraction techniques becomes a metaphor for humanity's Faustian bargain with technological progress.

• US President Donald Trump's tariffs: What just happened? (Sky News, 2025)

When Trump imposed sweeping 2025 tariffs, Conway delivered a masterclass in real-time economic analysis. By tracking currency fluctuations and manufacturing data across three continents, he revealed how protectionism accelerates supply chain Balkanization. The report stands as a primer on modern trade warfare's unintended consequences.

Strategic Pitching Guide

1. Material Economics Innovations

Conway prioritizes stories exposing hidden material dependencies in green technologies. Successful pitches might explore rare earth recycling breakthroughs or cobalt-free battery prototypes, mirroring his Lithium Valley investigations. Example: His aluminium analysis [Substack, 2025] stemmed from manufacturing process revelations.

2. Data-Driven Policy Impacts

Seek narratives where datasets challenge political rhetoric, similar to his tariff coverage [Sky, 2025]. Ideal pitches combine ONS statistics with corporate supply chain maps to reveal policy blind spots.

3. Historical Economic Parallels

Leverage archival research to contextualize current crises, as seen in his Bretton Woods book. Pitches comparing 1970s stagflation to modern energy shocks would align with this approach.

4. Energy Transition Realities

Focus on infrastructure bottlenecks rather than aspirational targets. Conway's lithium work [LitHub, 2023] succeeded by contrasting extraction realities with net-zero promises.

5. Global Supply Chain Forensics

Stories tracing single commodities across conflict zones and trade blocs resonate strongly. His aluminium piece [Substack, 2025] exemplifies this through pandemic production data analysis.

Awards and Industry Recognition

• Wincott Foundation Journalist of the Year (2020) – The "Nobel Prize of financial journalism" honored his COVID-era reporting on vaccine supply chain economics, setting new standards for crisis coverage.
• Financial Times Business Book of the Year Shortlist (2023) – Material World competed against Nobel laureates, praised for making mineral economics accessible without sacrificing academic rigor.
• British Academy Book Prize Nomination (2024) – Rare crossover recognition from the UK's national academy for humanities, underscoring his interdisciplinary impact.