Source to Porch

Spooky Supply Chain: Pirates, Poisoned Pills and Train Robbers with Grace Sharkey

Sri Lanka's Tea, Cinnamon and the Trade Routes Behind Them

Why a Japanese Toilet Maker Belongs in the AI Supply Chain

Agave and Its Multiple Uses Throughout Mexico's History

Tequila is the famous one, but agave's supply chain reaches into fiber, food, and centuries of trade.

Rare Earths, Real Risk: Mining vs. Processing and the 2027 Plan

Why mining isn't the bottleneck. Processing is. China's grip, the U.S. response, and what 2027 actually means.

Le Creuset Factory-to-Table: How Cast Iron Is Made

The mystery boxes, the parking-lot economy, and how a 100-year-old French cookware brand still runs its supply chain.

Halloween's $13B Supply Chain: Why Nov 1 Is a Write-Off

The strange economics of seasonal demand. Why every Halloween costume on the shelf is already a financial loss by November 1.

From Corn Sweat to Internet Cables

How everyday things (humid Iowa air, undersea fiber, and the stuff in between) quietly shape global logistics.

The Silver Supply Chain Crisis

Why global demand for silver is outpacing supply, and what it means for solar panels, electronics, and the people who mine it.

Icebreakers Create New Shipping Routes

Arctic ice is melting, and a new generation of icebreakers is opening lanes that didn't exist a decade ago.

The Logistics of Snacks, Chocolate, and Popcorn Buckets

Why your favorite snacks keep disappearing from the shelf, temperature-controlled supply chains, viral merch, and the chaos of seasonal demand.

Underrated Modes of Shipping: Tugs, Barges, and Canals

Container ships get the headlines. Tugs, barges, and inland canals quietly move a staggering amount of the world's freight.

NASA Series: Manufacturing & Shipping Weather Satellites

How a multi-ton weather satellite gets built, tested, and shipped to the launch pad without breaking.

NASA Series: How to Grow Food in Space

The supply chain ends at the launch pad. After that, astronauts have to grow it themselves.

The Chocolate Supply Chain Crisis

Cocoa prices are at all-time highs. The climate, labor, and shipping forces squeezing every chocolate bar on the shelf.

The Global Makeup Supply Chain

From mica mines to the Sephora shelf, the surprisingly long road every tube of foundation takes before it lands in your cart.

The Shocking Truth Behind Makeup Returns

What actually happens to that returned mascara. Hint: it almost never goes back on the shelf.

The Logistics of Magnets

Rare-earth magnets are in everything from your phone to wind turbines, and almost all of them come from one place.

Movie Theater Popcorn Buckets: Source to Porch

How a viral collectible bucket becomes a global manufacturing scramble. The supply chain behind the meme.

Cargo Overboard: LEGOs, Garfield Phones, and Coffee

The strange and durable afterlife of containers that fall off ships. Decades later, the cargo still washes ashore.

JAXPORT: How A City Gets A Port

Behind the scenes at the Port of Jacksonville and what it takes to build, fund, and grow a working port.

The Logistics of Christmas Trees

Eight years of growing, two weeks to sell. The brutally tight window of the Christmas tree supply chain.

The Friendly Floaties Story

What happens when a cargo ship loses its load. The 28,000 rubber ducks that taught oceanographers how currents really work.

Flexport's Ryan Petersen on the Origins of Supply Chain Terminology

Where the words we use every day in logistics actually come from. A tour through the language of the trade.

Logistics of Lipstick

A single lipstick tube touches a dozen countries before it touches your lips. The full mica-to-mouth tour.

Succulent Smuggling and the Logistics Behind It

Yes, succulent smuggling is a real, multi-million-dollar problem. The bizarre supply chain behind your local plant shop.

Logistics of Sand and Why It Gets Stolen

Sand is the second most-consumed natural resource on Earth. It also has a thriving black market. Here's why.

The Logistics of NFL Gameday

Every Sunday is a tightly choreographed supply chain. Equipment, broadcast gear, and concessions all on the clock.

Losing Super Bowl Merchandise Logistics

Both teams' championship gear gets pre-printed. What actually happens to the losing side's hats and shirts.

Logistics of Championship Merchandise

How playoff merch gets designed, manufactured, and delivered the moment the final whistle blows.

Logistics After a Disaster

When normal supply chains collapse, a different one has to spin up overnight. The realities of disaster logistics.

Containerization: How It Revolutionized the Global Economy

The single steel box that rewrote the global economy. The short, sharp history of why everything you own is cheaper because of one guy and one idea.

Lord of the Rings Logistics

One does not simply walk into Mordor. The supply chain analysis Tolkien never wrote.