Nuclear Barbarians

Episode 29: Synthetic Fuels Rundown Pt. I ft. Noah Rettberg

July 1st, 2022  |  38 mins 7 secs

Noah Rettberg joined me to talk about synthetic fuels. I learned a ton--and there's so much more to learn we're going to do a follow up!

Episode 28: Door-to-Door Nukepilling ft. Amelia Tiemann

June 16th, 2022  |  32 mins 49 secs

Nuclear advocate, UC Davis grad student, environmentalist, and barbell squatter Amelia Tiemann joined me to talk about convincing people of nuclear, the Beautiful Nuclear Report, and more!

Check her out on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TiemannAmelia

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Episode 27: Why *Won't* Australia Build Nuclear? ft. James Fleay

May 19th, 2022  |  38 mins 47 secs

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!

Episode 26: Fire2Fission pt. II ft. Mark Hinaman

May 12th, 2022  |  44 mins 58 secs

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!

Episode 25: A CANDU Attitude

April 28th, 2022  |  29 mins 44 secs

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.

Episode 24: From Solar King to Nuclear Barbarian ft. Brian Gitt

April 21st, 2022  |  49 mins 35 secs

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.

Episode 23: Fire2Fission Pt. I ft. Mark Hinaman

April 14th, 2022  |  48 mins 37 secs

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.

Episode 22: Hanging with @NuclearHazelnut ft. Jenifer Avellaneda

April 7th, 2022  |  27 mins 13 secs

Jenifer Avellanada 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.

Episode 21: The Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam ft. Wiliam Davison

March 31st, 2022  |  49 mins 30 secs

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. 

Episode 20: Fossil to Fission ft. Madi Hilly

March 10th, 2022  |  26 mins 27 secs

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.

Episode 19: Who's at the Wheel? ft. Robert Bryce

March 3rd, 2022  |  39 mins 3 secs

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 deeply changed our polity

Episode 18: Africa4Nuclear ft. Princy Mthombeni

February 17th, 2022  |  23 mins 47 secs

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!

Episode 17: Nuclear Radvocacy ft. DJ LeClear aka The Rad Guy

February 10th, 2022  |  38 mins 27 secs

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!

Episode 16: Nuclear's New Italian Attorney ft. Luca Romano

February 3rd, 2022  |  35 mins 33 secs

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!

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).