Nuclear Barbarians

Episode 15: Below Zero Blackouts? ft. Isaac Orr

January 26th, 2022  |  43 mins 58 secs

Isaac Orr 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.

Episode 14: Save Pickering! ft. Edgardo Sepulveda

January 19th, 2022  |  56 mins 46 secs

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 to Closure of Indian Point” in June 2021 (https://exhaust.fireside.fm/41).

Episode 13: Advancing Nuclear ft. Rod Adams

January 12th, 2022  |  59 mins 49 secs

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!

Episode 12: Preserving Nuclear History ft. Nick Touran

January 6th, 2022  |  37 mins 14 secs

america, climate change, energy, energy crisis, fdr, history, nuclear, tva

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.

Episode 11: The Nuclear Titan Himself ft. Bret Kugelmass

December 29th, 2021  |  42 mins 31 secs

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!

Episode 10: Yung Nuclear ft. Aidan Swanson

December 22nd, 2021  |  35 mins 34 secs

andrew yang, aoc, climate change, electricity, greta, grid, keystone xl, markets, natural gas, nuclear, renewable energy, renewables, yang gang

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

Subscribe to my Substack: https://nuclearbarians.substack.com/
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nukebarbarian

Episode 9: Energy Crisis Update ft. Mark Nelson

December 15th, 2021  |  42 mins 37 secs

africa, climate, climate change, climate crisis, coal, cop26, germany, ghana, imperialism, nuclear, renewable energy, renewables, solar, wind

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.

Follow Mark on Twitter: https://twitter.com/energybants

Follow me on Substack: https://nuclearbarians.substack.com/
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nukebarbarian

Episode 8: Defending Diablo Canyon ft. Heather Hoff

December 8th, 2021  |  37 mins

california, climate change, climate crisis, diablo canyon, green new deal, nuclear, nuclear energy, renewable energy, renewables

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 weekend.

Episode 7: RTO No ft. Meredith Angwin

December 2nd, 2021  |  54 mins 42 secs

electricity, energy, energy crisis, energy politics, grid, natural gas, nuclear, renewables, rto, texas blackouts

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!

Episode 6: Ireland Energy Report

November 18th, 2021  |  41 mins 24 secs

data centers, energy crisis, fianna fiall, fine gael, ireland, nuclear energy, sinn fein, tech, workers party of ireland

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.

Episode 5: Dr. Decouple ft. Chris Keefer

November 10th, 2021  |  51 mins 54 secs

climate change, climate crisis, cop26, green new deal, nuclear, nuclear energy, renewable energy, renewables

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 nucler’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, and more!

Episode 4: China's Cruel and Dirty Winter ft. Angelica Oung

November 3rd, 2021  |  54 mins 6 secs

beijing, china, climate change, coal, energy, nuclear energy, solar, supply chains, taiwan, wind

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!

Episode 3: The Hunger for Power ft. Robert Bryce

October 27th, 2021  |  50 mins 59 secs

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 Explains the World.

Definitely check out his podcast, Power Hungry. It’s one of my staples.

Episode 2: CEPPtic Shock in Arizona ft. Isaac Orr

October 20th, 2021  |  46 mins 27 secs

biden, budget reconciliation, cepp, climate change, joe manchin, kyrsten sinema, natural gas, nuclear energy, renewable energy, solar energy

Isaac Orr, a policy analyst at the Center of the American Experiment, joined me to talk about the recent report he co-authored on what the Clean Energy Performance Program would mean for the state of Arizona. We talk about the report, the suburban mindset, the hard winter ahead, elite resentment against regular people, and more!

Episode 1: Stand Up For Nuclear ft. Paris Ortiz-Wines

October 13th, 2021  |  1 hr 2 mins

climate, climate change, environment, environmentalism, nuclear, nuclear energy, renewables

Emmet introduces himself and then sits down with Paris Ortiz-Wines, the global organizer of Stand Up for Nuclear, to talk about the international nuclear scene, Paris' background, why nuclear gives us so much hope, and more!