Emmet 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: www.nuclearbarbarians.com.
This podcast is supported by the Foundation for American Innovation.
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I'll admit, I'm a bit of a fusion skeptic. But! There are exciting things happening in the fusion industry these days. So, I brought Andrew Holland , CEO of the Fusion Industry Association , to talk to me about why things are looking up for fission's avant-garde cousin. Andrew's candor, insight, and enthusiasm made him a great guest. I had questions about everything from break-even hurdles to robotics and he handled it all with aplomb. I came away from this episode convinced that regardless of h...
In today’s episode, I got to talk about something near and dear to my heart (nuclear waste reprocessing) with Carl Perez of Exodys Energy, a nuclear waste reprocessing company. Carl is a wealth of knowledge, as you’ll hear in the episode. We discuss the basics of waste reprocessing, the history of the industry, what makes Exodys stand out, and why getting waste reprocessing right will change the world. Check out Exodys here....
Today I’m joined by Julie Kozeracki, the Chief Investment Officer of the Energy Dominance Financing Office, which serves as the Department of Energy’s bank. We talk about her admiration for Admiral Hyman Rickover, the nature of the EDF, financing large light water reactors and small modular reactors, why the EDF’s operations are vital to a nuclear renaissance in America, and more! I felt really lucky to speak with Julie. I’m a huge fan of hers and a major supporter of the EDF’s work. Read more a...
For this episode, my guest is Jeff Waksman, whose official title is Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment. That’s a long title. In brief, he’s trying to get microreactors built for the US Army via the Janus Program. We discussed the nature of the program, unforeseen challenges in hard tech, why the Army is pursuing microreactors, and more! You can learn more about Janus here . And you can follow Jeff Waksman on X —which I heartily recommend....
One of the best parts of running this podcast is the chance to learn about aspects of the nuclear industry I know little about. Today’s guest, the President and CEO of United Clean Up Oak Ridge, taught me all about remediating nuclear sites. UCOR, the DOE’s contractor for the Oak Ridge Reservation, boasts an impressive suite of expertise and logistical acumen dedicated to turning over former Manhattan Project sites for civilian and government use. Ken broke down the steps of remediation and the ...
Reed Clay, President of the Texas Nuclear Alliance , joined me today to talk about how Texas is gearing up for the nuclear renaissance. We discussed how he came to support nuclear by learning about waste, what has set Texas’s nuclear strategy apart from other states, how TNA’s annual summit is shaping the national nuclear landscape, and Reed’s advice for other states that want to become nuclear hubs. Reed is a humble, hard-working guy and it was a pleasure to speak with him....
This episode is dedicated to all of the light water reactor fans out there. Especially if you like your LWRs in water. Listen to this conversation with the co-founder and CEO of Blue Energy, Jake Jurewicz, and you'll understand what I mean. Jake is a utility industry veteran with a lifetime of experience on construction sites, so our discussion about how his new company is going to site SMRs on waterways and ship them by barge gets into all kinds of deployment nitty gritty: management, permittin...
Craig Fuller comes from a legacy trucking family. He’s also the CEO and founder of Freightwaves , the Bloomberg of logistics. So, Craig’s the perfect guy to write an accessible primer on supply chains, which is exactly what he’s done. He came on the show to talk about the new book, Moving the World: How the Supply Chain’s Evolution Affects Us All ( which you can pre-order here !). We dig into what the Covid crisis taught us about supply chains, why reshoring makes sense both economically and str...
Zeno Power , a cutting edge nuclear company, is making batteries powered with Strontium 90 for niche deployment cases: the moon, the arctic, and the seafloor. I got to pick Zeno cofounder and CEO Tyler Bernstein’s brain about their exciting new technology, why Zeno’s work is critical in our increasingly multipolar world, and the upsides of competing with China. This was a fascinating discussion and I think you guys are going to love it. Not long after we recorded this episode, Zeno added former ...
Matt Loszak , the cofounder and CEO of Aalo Atomics, joined me to talk about Aalo’s progress rolling SMRs off the factory line. We get into Aalo’s test reactor at Idaho National Labs, a DOE path toward approving nuclear designs, how Trump’s nuclear executive orders have helped the industry, “zero power criticality,” and more. Since we recorded this episode, Aalo has closed its $100 million Series B and has officially been selected by the DOE to test the Aalo-X reactor at INL by hitting zero powe...
There are so many exciting developments in the nuclear space, I can hardly keep up. And not just in the realm of reactors. Kurt Terrani , the CEO of Standard Nuclear , joined me to talk about his new company and its ambitions for TRISO fuel. For me, this was a major download on nuclear fuel types. Kurt’s a very knowledgable dude working with a highly experienced team. Check out Standard Nuclear on LinkedIn , Instagram , and X . Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/s...
On today’s episode, I spoke with Scott Lathrop , the Founder and Chief Executive Director of Native Nuclear. Like me, Scott sees nuclear power as a multi-generational infrastructure investment that serves as a sheet anchor for healthy communities and healthy economies. But he brings a distinctly native perspective to nuclear that subverts stereotypes, just like the educational work his organization is doing in tribal energy politics. I learned a lot from Scott during this interview and I know yo...
Former navy nuke Ari Brown joined me to talk about his experience in the service. For me, his story offers profound insight into what it takes to institutionalize excellence. Then we talk about his new company, Bellwether LLC , and how Ari is using his programming background and acoustic analysis skills to figure out how to fix machines in an innovative way. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe...
For this episode, Joe Klecha, the Chief Nuclear Officer at The Nuclear Company , joined me to talk about his background as a navy nuke, his time working on the Vogtle build, and what it takes to pull off megaprojects. Then we discuss how TNC’s recent deal with Palantir is going to unleash fleets of new nuclear power plants. I learned so much from this episode—Joe is a patriot, a leader, and a wealth of knowledge. I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I did. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians ...
On this episode, Andrew Kirima of the Texas Nuclear Alliance stops by to talk about his origins as a nuclear advocate, what’s been going on with nuclear in Texas, and how the TNA fits into the American nuclear scene. Register for the TNA Summit this October! Check out Andrew on X and LinkedIn. And also check out the other nuclear project Andrew is involved with: Exodys Energy. Nuclear Barbarians is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free...
In a special bonus episode, I speak with comic book writer Aubrey Sitterson about his new hard scifi geopolitical space opera, Free Planet. This comic has it all: energy literacy, questions of science and technology, the trials and tribulations of democracy, and some incredible layouts. I hope you guys enjoy this break from our usual programming. I encourage you to head down to your local comic shop and snatch up Issue 01, which you can read a sample of here . Also: check out Aubrey’s Substack, ...
Benton Arnett, Director of Markets and Policy at the Nuclear Energy Institute , joined me to talk about nuclear’s prospects today and what makes it such a boon for energy security. Benton’s a great guy with a deep knowledge base. I had a lot of fun chatting with him and learned things about the nuclear supply chain construction that surprised me! Nuclear Barbarians is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full a...
John and I are back with the first installment of our series on one of Galileo’s masterworks in the history of philosophy and science: Dialogue Concerning Two Chief World Systems . We dive into the historical context in which the work was published and then discuss the book’s dedication to the Grand Duke of Tuscany. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe...
Film critic and writer Andrew Plimpton returns to the pod to talk about one of the greatest American films of all time—Chinatown—which also happens to be a canonical film about the politics of energy. We dive into the film’s themes, noir as a genre, Jack Nicholson as a writer, and much more. Nuclear Barbarians is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com...
Spencer Klavan joined me to talk about his new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: Illuminating Science Through Faith . We talk about "Newtonian" Default Mode, the history of science, what innovations in physics mean for the faithful and secular alike, and much more! Check out Spencer's Substack, Rejoice Evermore. Check out The American Mind’s Roundtable . Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe...
Dr. Scott Tinker discusses the significant shift in how energy is understood, highlighting the vast disparity between energy-rich and energy-poor nations and the resulting differing priorities. He emphasizes the critical lack of energy education in the wealthy world, which leads to naive policy decisions and a failure to grasp the complex trade-offs inherent in energy systems. The conversation delves into the political nature of energy, the dangers of misinformation, and the need for a balanced, realistic approach that considers all factors beyond just climate, advocating for global collaboration and education to address energy challenges.
John and I finish up our series on the esoteric origins of the Enlightenment by diving into romanticism, mesmerism, the forgotten aspects of Jung, American New Age stuff, and way more! Next up: Galileo’s Dialogue Concerning Two Chief World Systems. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe
In our penultimate Hanegraaff episode, John and I take a look at how “magic,” “superstition,” and the “occult” became epithets divorced from critical reasoning, the uncomfortable overlap between occult and scientific practices, and I deliver a brief monologue on how all of this shows up in the work of HP Lovecraft. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe...
In our second episode on Hanegraff’s Esotericism and the Academy, John and I dive into the “history of error,” and how Protestantism and refinements in historical practices began to put pressure on the Renaissance conceptions of perennial philosophy and ancient wisdom. John also had some corrections for Hanegraff! Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe...
John and I are back with our new series. This time we’re working through Wouter Hanegraaff’s Esotericism and the Academy: Rejected Knowledge in Western Culture . Hanegraff’s project looks at the debates over the recovery of ancient texts and their impact on Christian life and thought and what that means for us today, especially when it comes to our weird world of scientism on the one hand and woo-woo New Age-y stuff on the other. The material is dense and you might feel a little overwhelmed list...
John and I finish up our series on Michael Gillespie’s Theological Origins of Modernity—offering a break down of his final chapter and our closing thoughts. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe
John and I spend this, our penultimate episode in the series, discussing Hobbes—his anthropology, his physics, his politics—and the nature of modernity’s “new science.” If you have questions for our final Q&A episode, please leave a comment! Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe
John and I return to Gillespie’s book to talk about Luther, Erasmus, and Descartes and to dig into the motivations behind the ideas that inspired the philosophies that brought about the scientific revolution. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe
Grant Dever joined me to talk about his recent work on the loss of Indian Point, lowering energy costs in America, the vitality of energy prosperity for America’s future, and more. Autopsy of a Perfect Policy Failure: The Closure of Indian Point by Grant Dever Liberating America: Overcoming Energy Scarcity and Inflation by Grant Dever Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe...
John and I continue our journey through Gillespie’s Theological Origins of Modernity, this time we dig into Petrarch, Martin Luther, the underpinnings of enlightenment humanism, and more. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe
