The Surprising Chemistry of Road Paint

Every day, billions of tonnes of rubber and steel roll over a thin film of paint that we collectively trust with our lives — and almost nobody knows what it's made of, how it's maintained, or when it's supposed to be replaced. This episode dives into the five-billion-dollar global industry hiding in plain sight: the chemistry of thermoplastic road markings, the glass beads that make lines visible at night, the laser-guided trucks that lay them within millimetres of perfection, and the inspectors who decide when it's time to repaint. Plus, the unresolved tension between physical lane markings and the digital maps that autonomous vehicles increasingly rely on.