Nuclear Barbarians

My friend James Fleay, founder of Down Under Nuclear Energy (DUNE), joined me to talk about what's stopping Australia from building nuclear. We talk about the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal, electricity spot market, economic complexity, human capital, Australian economic history, and more! Detailed description of how the anti-nuclear legislation was snuck in under cover of darkness in Australia: htt...

Mark Hinaman joined me again to talk about his vision for the Fire2Fission fund, nuclear regulation, the value of human capital, what the fossil fuel and nuclear industries can do better, and more! Check out his blog: https://fire2fission.com/2022/03/19/fire2fission-a-fund/ Follow Mark on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkHinaman Subscribe to Grid Brief: https://twitter.com/GridBrief Get full acces...

Dr. Chris Keefer, the host of the Decouple podcast, stopped by to update me on the incredible progress being made in Canada for nuclear energy.  https://www.gridbrief.com/subscribe Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

Brian Gitt was once a true Amory Lovins all-renewables believer. But then, as he spent time in the industry, things stopped adding up. We talk about his journey towards the radiant light of nuclear and what renewables advocates leave out when they make their case. Follow Brian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrianGitt Check out his website: https://briangitt.com/ Subscribe to Grid Brief: https://w...

Mark Hinaman, who grew up in an oil and gas family and found great success in fracking, is now turning towards nuclear for a vision of the future. In this first episode in a two-parter, Mark and I dove into his background, what nuclear can learn from O&G, realistic energy transitions, and so much more. I absolutely loved talking to him and am looking forward to part 2. Check out Mark's work: https...

Jenifer Avellaneda is one of my favorite new Twitter follows. She's a young Nuclear Risk Analyst for Westinghouse whose been passionate about nuclear since she was a kid and who does a great job of communicating nuclear safety to the public. We had a fun chat about her background and our mutual love of nuclear. Follow Jenifer: https://twitter.com/NuclearHazelnut Subscribe to Grid Brief: https://ww...

Wiliam Davison of Crisis Group joined me to talk about GERD. It's a hugely informative episode about the hurdles developing countries face in scaling up the energy ladder.  Read more about it here: Shock death intensifies dam debate: was Abiy pessimistic or realistic about GERD? https://medium.com/@wdavison10/shock-death-intensifies-dam-debate-was-abiy-pessimistic-or-realistic-about-gerd-d306a9868...

Madi Hilly of the Campaign for a Green Nuclear Deal joined me to talk about her organization's latest report on repowering retiring coal plants with nuclear reactors. We talk about giving energy communities a chance to choose their future, preserving American industrial ability, obstacles to repowering, and much more. Read the report: https://gndcampaign.org/repowering-coal Follow Madi on Twitter:...

Return guest Robert Bryce joined me to talk about the NRC’s decision to rescind its license extension to Turkey Point in Florida. The conversation then turns to the dismal state of current energy policy, Biden’s State of the Union, the problem with how most people (especially those in the media) think about energy, what we can do about it, and some of my weird theories about how the internet has d...

Princy Mthombeni from Africa4Nuclear sat down with me to talk about how she ended up becoming such an amazing advocate for nuclear, the obstacles to building nuclear in Africa, overcoming energy poverty, and more! Check out her youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQZmA_Zryw077ModGyDEKpw Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Princymthombeni Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians a...

DJ LeClear, The Rad Guy, sits down to talk to me about working in radiation safety, how he became a nuclear advocate, how he changed his mind on climate, what it means to be an advocate, and more! Follow The Rad Guy: www.youtube.com/channel/UCNRNPA4-VzJiNVOHEmLSEAg www.instagram.com/theradguyglows/?hl=en www.tiktok.com/@theradguyglows?lang=en twitter.com/ThatRadGuy5 www.patreon.com/join/TheRadGuy...

Italian nuclear advocate Luca Romano joins me to talk about the history of Italian nuclear, how he's amassed such an impressive pro-nuclear following, the great news of the EU's new green taxonomy, and more! Support Luca's work! Patreon: https://patreon.com/nicodaemon Facebook: https://facebook.com/AvvocatoAtomico Instagram: https://instagram.com/avvocatoatomico/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Avvoc...

Isaac Orr of the Center of the American Experiment returns to talk about his latest article on MISO's potential for cold weather blackouts this winter. We dive into what's happening with solar in Minnesota, grid unreliability, coal, how wind turbines can be net consumers of energy in cold weather, phony environmental justice language, and more. Check out Isaac's article here . Get full access to N...

Emmet chats with Edgardo Sepulveda to discuss some of the history of public power in Canada and the US in the context of trying to save the publicly-owned Pickering Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) from being shut down in 2025 in his home province of Ontario, Canada. This episode is a type of follow-up to Emmet and Edgardo’s first episode “A Brief History of the American Electricity Grid From the 1920s t...

The legendary Rod Adams (@atomicrod) of Atomic Insights and Nucleation Capital joined me to talk about his time as a Navy nuke, changes in nuclear, what advanced nuclear is all about, and more! Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

Nick Touran , creator of whatisnuclear.com , joins me to talk about stewarding our nuclear past and learning from our engineering forefathers. Nick’s a great guy and I’ve learned a lot from his work. We had a fun time chatting and I encourage everyone to consult his website for valuable information about the development of nuclear energy in America. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuc...

Host of the famous Titans of Nuclear podcast and Managing Director of the Energy Impact Center , Bret Kugelmass joined me to talk about his background, the corruption of the American utility industry, nuclear deadlocks, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, regulation, and more! Check out Bret's podcast, Titans of Nuclear . Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

Pronuclear zoomer Aidan Swanson came on the pod to talk to me about how he got into nuclear, his research on RTOs and natural gas, the posi/doomer divide amongst his generation, and more! Follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MemdeeCapital Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

King of the energy analysts Mark Nelson swings by to talk about COP 26, his visit to Ghana, the energy crisis and how it's changing minds about nuclear. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

I got to speak with Heather Hoff , an employee at Diablo Canyon and founder of Mothers for Nuclear . This one was a big deal for me—I really admire Heather and all the work that she does. We talked about how Heather came to work at Diablo, how she overcame her fears of nuclear and became one of its fiercest advocates. We also talked about the amazing march to save Diablo that took place over the w...

Author of Shorting the Grid and Campaigning for Clean Air , Meredith Angwin joins me to talk about electricity wholesale markets, grid resiliency, the beauty of energy, and more! Follow Meredith. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

Gavin Mendel-Gleason of the Workers’ Party of Ireland joined me to talk about the absolute state of the Irish grid, how they’re facing the energy crisis, the Irish public’s feelings about nuclear, and what might be next for the country as its burgeoning data center economy makes it more and more power-hungry. Check out his Why Nuclear Power is Necessary brief for the WPI. Get full access to Nuclea...

Dr. Chris Keefer, host of the Decouple podcast, joined me to talk about how he went from being a neo-Luddite to a full-blown nukepilled doctor of medicine and one of nuclear’s most powerful advocates. We talk about fragilizing green policies, the importance of labor for nuclear energy, why mitigation is the wrong way to think about handling climate change, and more. Check out his podcast , and fol...

Energy reporter Angelica Oung joins me to discuss China's energy crunch and Taiwan's energy future. I learned so much and had a great time! We discuss the trade-off and tribulations of China's command economy, what's happening with Chinese coal, how Taiwan's president basically spoke the Taiwanese renewables economy into being, and more! China Faces a Cruel and Dirty Winter , Angelica Oung, Citywi...

I’m really excited to bring you guys this episode with my friend Robert Bryce, author, podcaster, husband, dad, and an all-around great guy. Robert and I talked about his career, watching Enron implode, how electricity shapes our lives, and why the grid is the commons. We touch on other stuff too! Check out Robert’s latest book, A Question of Power , and his documentary, The Juice: How Electricity...