Who are the “titans” of nuclear?
If you are someone who is trying to understand how to solve climate change in the short amount of time we have left, you may have heard that nuclear energy is clean, reliable, and can generate enormous amounts of energy at a global scale that could, if allowed, replace fossil fuels. For many of us, this was a stunning revelation—that there is a feasible solution! So, assuming that you are seeking all possible solutions and are not driven solely by ideology, you are likely trying to decide whether or not you agree that nuclear should have a big role in helping humanity address climate change. The first place you would want to go to learn more is to the scientific and technical experts. One way do to that is to figure out who the experts are and attend conferences, take classes, go to academic symposiums, talks at NASA or the National Academies when these experts are appearing. Another way, thanks to a surge in the publication of podcasts, is to listen to the experts being interviewed on these issues. It has taken decades for some of us to get informed the old fashioned way: now, we are pleased to provide links to some of the podcasts that we know about which provide instant access to most of the key experts looking at the issue of how we solve our energy needs in the face of climate change. Just by listening to these podcasts, you can shorten your learning curve by more than a decade! So, get to it!
Climate & Nuclear Energy Podcasts
Titans of Nuclear is a podcast produced by the Energy Impact Center, run by Bret Kugelmass. We want to thank Bret for loaning us his great title for this Things to Know post, so we are reciprocating by listing the Titans of Nuclear podcast first. Also, it seems that Bret has almost run the table on doing interviews with most of the great minds looking at this crisis and now has hundreds of interviews under his belt. We are providing links to just some of the 150 episodes that we think are critical to listen to, for anyone serious about understanding the importance of nuclear energy in addressing climate change.
Todd Allen, University of Wisconsin
Rita Baranwal, Director of DOE’s GAIN Program
David Blee, US Nuclear Industry Council President
Jacopo Buongiorno, MIT, Nuclear Science & Engineering
Jim Conca, Writer, Forbes
Josh Freed, VP of Clean Energy, Third Way
Kam Ghaffarian, X-Energy Founder & CEO
Josh Goldstein, Author, A Bright Future
Trace Heffner, Reactor Engineer, Calvert Cliffs NPP
Umair Irfan, Reporter, Vox
Milko Kovachev, Nuclear Infrastructure Development, IAEA
Alastair Laird, European Nuclear Society President
Janice Dunn Lee, Former Deputy Director General IAEA
Jeff Merrifield, Former Commissioner, NRC
Kemel Pasamehmetoglu, Versatile Test Reactor, Idaho National Labs
Lou Qualls, Molten Salt Reactors, ORNL
Per Peterson, Kairos Power, Chief Nuclear Officer
Richard Powell, Executive Director, Clearpath
Amy Roma, Hogan Lovells, Partner
Jose Reyes, CTO, NuScale Power
Michael Shellenberger, Environmental Progress, President
Rachel Slaybaugh, ARPA-e, Fission Program Director
John Wagner, Nuclear Science & Technology, Idaho National Lab
Don Wolf, Advanced Reactor Concepts, CEO
The Atomic Show Podcast is a podcast series hosted and produced by veteran nuclear expert, Rod Adams, an independent atomic energy expert with more than 25 years of experience in making atomic energy information understandable and accessible through the website Atomic Insights. Rod is a retired Commander in the US Navy. Former Engineer Officer, USS Von Steuben and founder of one of the first advanced nuclear start-ups, Adams Atomic Engines, Inc. The Atomic Show Podcast produces and distributes accurate information about a variety of topics associated with atomic technologies, including how atomic energy is produced and regulated, who is doing what of interest within the industry, the competitors to atomic energy, radiation, the risks and benefits of using nuclear technology, as well as the hazards of avoiding the use of nuclear technology in an era of climate change. There are more than 250 episodes of this podcast, many of which include interviews with nuclear titans and other interesting people associated with nuclear, such as Atomic Show #259 – David Schumacher: The New Fire Movie, in which Rod Adams interviews the director of The New Fire, a movie about Advanced Nuclear.
The Ecomodernist Podcast, produced by Gabe Ignetti, follows ecomodernism, a movement based upon the belief that economic and technological processes are central to economic modernization and environmental protection. They believe that it is not by our “return to nature” but rather through a withdrawal from nature and accelerated scientific advancement, that we will be able to alleviate poverty, reverse our population growth, and enable a restoration of the ecosystems on our planet. Gabe Ignetti supports the aspirations of the environmental movement yet rejects the pseudo-science that has permeated environmentalism such as the opposition to nuclear power and GMOs, which scientific consensus, based on many decades of data, have shown to be safe. He stands behind the conclusion of the many thousands of scientists and engineers in the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), that nuclear power is indispensable in the fight against climate change and ocean acidification which is threatening life on this planet. Follow the Ecomodernist Podcast to learn more about how traditional environmentalism has lost it’s way and explore what is needed to free it from dogmas to bring forth a new environmentalism that is more suited to the challenges of the 21st Century.
FutureTech Podcast is a podcast covering a wide range of technologies including Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, BioTech, and BitCoin/BlockChain. In their episode entitled “The New Nuclear,” they feature Jessica Lovering, Director of Energy at The Breakthrough Institute, discussing how efficient nuclear power might help to mitigate climate change.
Marketplace is a non-profit news organization focused on educating the public on the business and economic events that impact our everyday lives. The news platform communicates other smaller youtube channels and podcasts such as Make Me Smart with Kai and Molly. In this episode “Nuclear, but better”, Kai and Molly bring on Suzy Hobbs Baker-the creative director for the Fastest Path to Zero Initiative at the University of Michigan.
SciencesPO Energy Podcast is a Podcast on energy, economics, & politics recorded and produced at SciencesPo Paris. There are a growing number of podcasts covering nuclear, shale oil, energy effiiency and other topics of interest. Below are the two episodes relating to nuclear energy.
Nuclear economics and public opinion: Despite some clear advantages, nuclear energy suffers from an public image problem. In this episode we speak to Valérie Faudon head of the French nuclear society and board member at Orano, the French nuclear company.
Nuclear energy basics: conversation with Dominique Greneche: This episode is designed for listeners who are relatively new to nuclear energy to introduce the history, technology, and common problems associated associated with it and their solutions.
Nuclear Unscripted is not a podcast but rather seems to be a Youtube channel, which is focused on talking about nuclear energy and the reasons why we need to support existing and new technologies. Nuclear Unscripted is being produced by Alan Medsker and Thies Becker and their episodes, which number at this point in time, are running over an hour long.
The Nuclear Humanist is the Youtube channel created by nuclear advocate, Mathijs Beckers, who writes and produces pro-nuclear videos and documentaries, including the Climate Zero Hour documentary, and who has written four books, among them Climate Zero Hour: Crossing the Energy Debate Divide. He is a prolific producer of new pro-nuclear content and is actively involved with working to organize the European nuclear workforce.
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