Nuclear Barbarians
74 episodes - English - Latest episode: 20 days ago - ★★★★★ - 22 ratingsEmmet Penney talks to experts, workers, journalists, and scholars from all over the world about nuclear energy, energy issues, culture, and society. Subscribe to the substack to get the newsletter and the podcast sent directly to your inbox: https://nuclearbarians.substack.com/
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Episodes
From Solar King to Nuclear Barbarian ft. Brian Gitt
April 22, 2022 06:45 - 49 minutesBrian 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://www.gridbrief.com/subscribe Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at nuclearbarbarians.sub...
Fire2Fission ft. Mark Hinaman
April 15, 2022 04:45 - 48 minutesMark 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://fire2fission.com/2022/03/19/fire2fission-a-fund/ Reach him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedi...
Hanging with @NuclearHazelnut ft. Jenifer Avellaneda
April 08, 2022 06:45 - 27 minutesJenifer 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://www.gridbrief.com/subscribe Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at nuclearbarbarians.substa...
The Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam ft. Wiliam Davison
April 01, 2022 06:55 - 49 minutesWiliam 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-d306a98686fe Nile Dam Talks: Unlocking a Dangerous Stalemate https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-a...
Fossil to Fission ft. Madi Hilly
March 11, 2022 07:45 - 26 minutesMadi 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: https://twitter.com/MadiHilly Subscribe to Grid Brief: https://www.gridbrief.com/subscrib...
Who's at the Wheel? ft. Robert Bryce
March 04, 2022 07:45 - 39 minutesReturn 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 Read Robert’s piece on the Turkey Point situation: https://www.forbes....
Africa4Nuclear ft. Princy Mthombeni
February 18, 2022 07:45 - 23 minutesPrincy 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 at nuclearbarbarians.substack.com/subscribe
Nuclear Radvocacy ft. DJ LeClear aka The Rad Guy
February 11, 2022 07:45 - 38 minutesDJ 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-VzJiNVOHEmLSEAgwww.instagram.com/theradguyglows/?hl=enwww.tiktok.com/@theradguyglows?lang=entwitter.com/ThatRadGuy5www.patreon.com/join/TheRadGuy?rads-glowing-apparel.creator-spring.com/ Subscribe to my newsletter to get curated energy news and ...
Nuclear's New Italian Attorney ft. Luca Romano
February 04, 2022 07:45 - 35 minutesItalian 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/AvvocatoAtomico Twitch: https://twitch.tv/avvocatoatomico Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/cha...
Below Zero Blackouts?
January 27, 2022 07:45 - 43 minutesIsaac 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 Nuclear Barbarians at nuclearbarbarians.substack.com/subscribe
Save Pickering ft. Edgardo Sepulveda
January 20, 2022 05:45 - 56 minutesEmmet 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). Edgardo discusses ho...
Advancing Nuclear ft. Rod Adams
January 13, 2022 07:45 - 59 minutesThe 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 nuclearbarbarians.substack.com/subscribe
Preserving Nuclear History ft. Nick Touran
January 06, 2022 12:00 - 37 minutesNick 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 nuclearbarbarians.substack.com/subscribe
The Nuclear Titan Himself ft. Bret Kugelmass
December 30, 2021 07:47 - 42 minutesHost 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 nuclearbarbarians.substack.com/subscribe
Yung Nuclear ft. Aidan Swanson
December 23, 2021 07:47 - 35 minutesPronuclear 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 nuclearbarbarians.substack.com/subscribe
Energy Crisis Update ft. Mark Nelson
December 16, 2021 07:59 - 42 minutesKing 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 nuclearbarbarians.substack.com/subscribe
Defending Diablo Canyon ft. Heather Hoff
December 09, 2021 07:59 - 37 minutesI 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. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at nuclearbarbarians.substack.com/subscribe
RTO No! ft. Meredith Angwin
December 02, 2021 06:59 - 54 minutesAuthor 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 nuclearbarbarians.substack.com/subscribe
Ireland Energy Report ft. Gavin Mendel-Gleason
November 18, 2021 08:03 - 41 minutesGavin 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 Nuclear Barbarians at nuclearbarbarians.substack.com/subscribe
Dr. Decouple ft. Chris Keefer
November 11, 2021 07:40 - 51 minutesDr. 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 follow him on Twitter. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at nuclearbarbarians.substack.com/su...
China's Cruel and Dirty Winter ft. Angelica Oung
November 04, 2021 06:00 - 54 minutesEnergy 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, Citywire. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at nuclearbarbarians.substack.com/subscribe
The Hunger for Power ft. Robert Bryce
October 28, 2021 06:59 - 50 minutesI’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. ...
CEPPtic Shock in Arizona ft. Isaac Orr
October 21, 2021 06:00 - 46 minutesIsaac 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! Check out Isaac's report here. Follow him on Twitter. If you like the episode: rate, review, like, and share! Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at nuclearbar...
Episode 1: Stand Up For Nuclear ft. Paris Ortiz-Wines
October 13, 2021 18:00 - 1 hourEmmet introduces himself and then sits down with Paris Ortiz-Wines (https://twitter.com/ParisOrtizWines), the global organizer of Stand Up for Nuclear (https://twitter.com/StandUp4Nuclear), to talk about the international nuclear scene, Paris' background, why nuclear gives us so much hope, and more! Check our Paris's work and get involved with Stand Up! (https://standupfornuclear.org/) Sign up for the Nuclear Barbarians substack to get podcast episodes and more delivered straight to your inbo...