The HC Commodities Podcast

Hosted by Paul Chapman, HC Group

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Episodes

348

Latest episode

Sep 2026

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About the show

Each day, around the world, we have fascinating one-on-one conversations with our connections in the commodities sector. Our collaborators are uniquely informed, creative and inspirational in their fields. We want to provide our community a seat alongside us, listening in to these conversations in that special way podcasting provides as we tackle topical and people related issues with the leaders and leading minds in our sector. Visit www.hcgroup.global more information about our search and talent intelligence services for the energy and commodities sectors. To connect with our host Paul Chapman, you can find him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulchapmanhc/

Listen to episodes

60 recent

September 8, 20261 hr 1 min

Crisis, M&A and Trading: communicating commodities with Will Medvei

Crises, outsized returns, accusations of environmental damage, missing cargoes and all the rest: corporate communications is done on hard mode in the commodities sector. Why is the sector still largely defined by anomalous events, gripping books and not its successes? And why is it so important to get communications right, not just for companies and executive teams but for the sector as a whole? Especially as more and more large corporates are building commodity trading platforms. Why is it so hard to explain to investors and shareholders why trading matters? Our guest is Will Medvei, Partner at Brunswick Group, a global communications agency where he leads the energy and resources practice. www.hcgroup.global https://www.brunswickgroup.com For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities sector, visit https://www.hcgroup.global

September 1, 20261 hr 27 min

A Song of Fire and Maybe Ice: Natural gas in 2026 with Emily Kyne

US Natural Gas is expected to do some heavy lifting in 2026 and beyond. Powering the huge growth in domestic data centers, filling European storage and bridging the gap presented by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the damage wreaked on Qatar LNG. Europe is banking on a mild winter. Producers would appreciate a cold one in the US after multiple years of historically warm ones. And El Niño has introduced a new dimension of volatility. Joining us to discuss the US Natural Gas market and its consequence for the world is Emily Kyne , Vice President of Commodity Strategy and Trade Analytics at ARM Energy, a leader in natural gas transportation and management in North America.. For more on ARM Energy visit https://www.armenergy.com/ For more on HC Group visit www.hcgroup.global For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities sector, visit https://www.hcgroup.global

August 26, 202649 min

American Renewables: A Markets Story with Julie McLaughlin

The sector American renewables has undergone policy uncertainty, even whiplash. Challenging a sector already impacted by rising interest rates and infrastructure back-logs. Despite that, the renewable sector matches Europe in scale and continued to grow. Now, in a world of data centers and increasing power demand, is its fortune set to be reversed? Returning to the show, and this time in person, hence slightly different audio quality this time, is Julie McLaughlin, Managing Director and Partner at Alvarez & Marsal . Julie was last on the show in late 2023, calling for the imperative of capital discipline within the renewables sector, a call that turned out to be very prescient indeed. This time, Julie's sharing how the sector fared in the wake of that call and where it's headed. For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities sector, visit https://www.hcgroup.global

August 18, 202653 min

Trapped in Hormuz: Total War or a New World Disorder? with Jeff Currie

Ultimately, the US faces a stark binary choice: defeat Iran or retreat. Both carry profound implications for the post-war Bretton Woods order that has shaped modern economies and the commodity flows that sustain them. Indeed, it is precisely those commodity flows that both define this binary choice and make commitment to either path so difficult. Jeff Currie, Co-Founder of 1947 Oil & Gas, returns to the show to unpack this stark reality, its consequences for the world, and why he decided to launch an oil and gas company. For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities sector, visit https://www.hcgroup.global

August 11, 202646 min

Sand: The most important commodity in the modern world with Vince Beiser (Summer Repeat)

Sand has transformed modern civilization. It is the ubiquitous commodity; in our infrastructure, in our industry and even in our personal care products. Yet due to its characteristics, the supply chain is fragmented, disastrous for our environment and often corrupt. And by a tragic quirk of geometry, desert sand is unusable meaning we wreck our riverbeds and oceans to acquire it. In this episode, author and journalist Vince Beiser joins us to discuss sand and its role in the modern world. Vince is the author of The World in a Grain - the story of sand and how it transformed civilization. For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities sector, visit https://www.hcgroup.global

August 4, 202653 min

The Coming El Niño with Michael Ferrari

Today we discuss El Niño - the dramatic, periodic, shift in climate patterns, that depending on intensity and duration can have profound impacts on our world, economies, and the commodities sector. And as of right now, we are back in an El Niño and it is expected to be one of the strongest on records. What are the known impacts? And how might the state of the world today, with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, exacerbate those impacts? And what could happen if we hit Super El Niño territory? Our guest is Michael Ferrari, head of research at Moby, an AI native investment platform targeted to retail investors. Michael has previously been on the show and has a stellar career at the center of data, analytics, insight, and building platforms to support that in various roles in such companies as Coca-Cola, Syngenta, Engine No. Point72, and latterly at AlphaGeo. For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities sector, visit https://www.hcgroup.global

July 29, 202657 min

Real-Ekonomik: The Iran War's Longevity with Nick Kumleben

We return in a special episode to the Iranian-US war to discuss how "Real-Ekonomik" is shaping realpolitik. Nick Kumleben, Director at Greenmantle, the geopolitical risk and strategy consultancy, where Nick handles the energy and commodities portfolio, joins us to discuss the status of the war and its potential future track. We use commodities and more broadly economics to try and understand the strategies and positioning of the various participants and their allies. Who wants peace, who wants all-out war, if any and who is OK with the status quo for now. For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities sector, visit https://www.hcgroup.global

July 28, 202655 min

Chip War: how semiconductors became the new oil with Chris Miller (summer repeat)

Semi-conductors, microchips, are the new oil - the scarce resource on which the modern world depends. Today, military, economic, and geopolitical power are built on a foundation of computer chips. This has only accelerated with the emergence of AI. Yet, the supply chain is incredibly concentrated with just a handful of countries and companies dominating. As with oil in the previous century, chips sit at the center of geopolitics, great-power rivalry and trade, especially between the US and China. How did chips become some crucial and their supply chains so concentrated and what does it mean for all our futures? Our guest is economic historian Chris Miller, author of Chip War - The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology, the New York Times best seller. For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities sector, visit https://www.hcgroup.global

July 21, 20261 hr 1 min

The Price of Money with Edward Chancellor (Summer Repeat)

Today, we are talking interest rates. The rate of interest, or the price of money, has a profound impact on the energy and commodities sector, influencing the cost of carry, the price of assets and investment decisions. The story we're about to tell is what happens to economies and societies and the energy and commodities sector when interest rates are unnaturally low, as after the global financial crisis. In this episode, recorded just prior to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse in 2023, financial historian Edward Chancellor, joined us to discuss his book “The Price of Time”. He's noted for his prescient warnings on major economic bubbles, has many awards and accolades, and described by Fortune magazine as one of the greatest financial historians alive. For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities sector, visit https://www.hcgroup.global

July 14, 202642 min

Solar Flares and Coronal Mass Ejections with Edl Schamiloglu (Summer Repeat)

In this episode, we discuss geomagnetic storms, extreme electromagnetic events known as coronal mass ejections that would destroy every satellite around the planet, wipe out power grids and most if not all of our electronics. The Carrington event that happened in 1859 destroyed the only electrical system at that point, the telegraph, across all of North America. An event such as that now would have catastrophic, even civilization-ending impacts. Scientists predict an event like the Carrington event happens every 100 to every 500 years. And the Carrington event is small compared to pre-history events. Yet despite the profound impact and the likelihood, public awareness remains low, there is little political action, little has been done to harden our power grid or plan for such an event. Since recording this episode in 2024, we have witnessed numerous X-class flares and geomagnetic storms triggering Northern Lights across the Northern Hemisphere. To talk about geomagnetic storms, their impact, the likelihood, the fragility of our global power grids and some solutions, is Distinguished. Professor of Electronics and Computer Engineering, Edl Schamiloglu. Edl is the Distinguished and specializes in extreme electromagnetic phenomena. For related content and to find out more about HC Group, a search firm dedicated to the energy & commodities sector, visit https://www.hcgroup.global