From Alex Epstein: “10 years ago, I recorded what is still my favorite Earth Day Power Hour with philosopher Onkar Ghate, a long-time mentor of mine. Before we recorded the episode, Onkar suggested to me that we take a positive approach, explaining how much better human beings have made the Earth. That suggestion, and much of what we discussed in that episode, has affected my thinking ever since. "This best-of-episode features a new intro by Alex, including an update on Fossil Future....
May 14, 2021•1 hr 1 min
On this week's Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews economist Ross McKitrick, famous for debunking Michael Mann's once-ubiquitous "hockey stick," about how climate science gets distorted--so that what the public hears about climate science is a wild exaggeration of what most climate scientists actually believe. McKitrick explains: - How the "hockey stick" became ubiquitous despite widespread concerns about its (in)validity. - The real track record of climate models. - Why climate economists are c...
May 05, 2021•1 hr 4 min
On this week's Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews Brent Bennett, a materials scientist by training and Policy Director of Life:Powered. In the first half of the interview, Brent shares how his background in physics and materials science has informed his views on the future of energy. In the second half, he summarizes the politics of Texas electricity--before, during, and after the recent mass-blackouts. Some of the specific topics covered include: - Alex's analogy between drug addicts and "rene...
Apr 29, 2021•57 min
On this week's Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews Steve Koonin, a highly accomplished physicist and author of the new bestselling book "Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't and Why It Matters" In 2014, Koonin, who had worked in the Obama administration, began to question climate catastrophism when he led a panel of physicists assessing the current state of climate science. In his new book he summarizes what he regards as the actual state of climate science--which does not s...
Apr 22, 2021•55 min
On this week’s Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews John Robson of Climate Discussion Nexus, about how the green energy movement is weakening free countries like the United States and increasing Communist China’s odds of achieving its goal of being the world superpower by 2049. They discuss: - John’s excellent video The Red-Green Menace - China’s openly stated goal of world superpower status - China’s continuing embrace of fossil fuels - How US “green energy” is inferior energy produced largely b...
Apr 15, 2021•57 min
On this week's Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews economist Steven Landsburg, professor of economics at The University of Rochester, about how economics can help us understand many realms--including today's "religion of environmentalism." They discuss: - How Landsburg's popular book The Armchair Economist came about. - Why Landsburg regards "people respond to incentives" as the foundation of economics. - How understanding incentives makes sense of seemingly counterintuitive outcomes, such as re...
Apr 07, 2021•51 min
On this week's Power Hour, Alex Epstein discusses the policy platform known as the Green New Deal with Marc Morano, author of the new book "Green Fraud: Why The Green New Deal is Worse Than You Think." They focus on the roots of the Green New Deal--Marc, its historical and political roots, Alex, it's philosophical roots--which both believe are key to successfully opposing it and advocating a positive alternative. Some of the topics they cover are: - How Marc became skeptical of the modern enviro...
Apr 01, 2021•1 hr 3 min
On this week’s Power Hour Alex Epstein joins philosopher Gregory Salmieri and statistician Carlos Carvalho to discuss what caused Texas electricity to be so unreliable when it was desperately needed during a recent winter storm. In this wide-ranging discussion Alex emphasizes the point that by giving undeserved money and preferences to unreliable wind and solar electricity, Texas defunded the reliable and resilient electricity it needed. Some specific topics include: - How the grid needs to matc...
Mar 25, 2021•1 hr 18 min
On this week's Power Hour Alex Epstein interviews ecologist Patrick Moore, cofounder of Greenpeace and author of "Fake Invisible Catastrophes and Threats of Doom." In his book Moore thoroughly debunks 11 alleged current or imminent catastrophes, from mass species extinction to ocean "acidification" to the near death of the Great Barrier Reef. In this interview Alex asks Moore about the false assumptions that drive our propensity to believe in "fake invisible catastrophes," including the assumpti...
Mar 18, 2021•1 hr 13 min
On this week's Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews Robert Hargraves on the topic of how to decriminalize nuclear energy so it can provide low-cost, reliable, ultra-clean energy for billions of people. Hargraves is cofounder of ThorCon and author of "Thorium: Energy Cheaper Than Coal." They cover topics including: - Why since the creation of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) over 45 years ago not one nuclear power plant has been designed and built to completion. - Why the Linear no Threshol...
Mar 12, 2021•53 min
The Biden Administration has just announced $51/ton "Social Cost of Carbon." On this week's Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews David Kreutzer, Senior Economist at the Institute for Energy Research, about the many methodological and moral problems with this metric, including: - How the SCC overestimates negative climate impacts - How the SCC underestimates positive climate impacts - How the SCC underestimates adaptation - How the SCC ignores the unique cost-effectiveness of fossil fuels - How th...
Mar 05, 2021•1 hr 3 min
Alex Epstein interviews Maxwell Goldberg, an entrepreneur and industrial analyst, about our little-known dependence on China for dozens of materials that modern life requires. They cover topics including: - How Maxwell got interested in this issue at such a young age. - Just how dependent the US is on China. - China’s proven track record of exploiting its control of the “rare earths” supply chain - China’s goal - The sincerity of China’s “net-zero” by 2060 pledge - What policy changes are necess...
Feb 25, 2021•1 hr 6 min
Alex interviews Michael Lynch, the renowned debunker of “peak oil,” to discuss Lynch’s new essay on “peak oil demand”—the idea that the post-pandemic world will mean “the end of oil.” https://eprinc.org/2021/02/the-pandemic-and-the-end-of-oil-the-pandemic-peak-oil-demand-and-the-oil-industry-by-michael-lynch-and-ivan-sandrea/ In this interview they cover: false past predictions of a green future, the real economics of EV batteries, what post-pandemic culture will look like, how much oil exists i...
Feb 18, 2021•47 min
Alex brings on Steve Milloy, a fellow green energy whistleblower and creator of JunkScience.com, to discuss the massive power outages in Texas and how they were brought about by “green energy” policies. They also discuss the failure of green energy around the world this winter. Near the end of the show Alex asks Steve about his remarkable success countering “ESG” efforts and his views on the recently-publicized “fossil fuels cause 1 in 5 deaths” claim.
Feb 18, 2021•59 min
On this week’s Power Hour Alex Epstein shares a recent interview of him by Heidi McKillop, a Candian filmmaker who went from an opponent of the Candian oil and gas industry to a champion of it. This is his first wide-ranging interview in many months. He shares new thoughts on the world of energy including how to think about our environment, how to stand up to the anti-fossil fuel movement, and the miracle of “machine labor.”
Feb 11, 2021•41 min
Alex Epstein interviews Yaron Brook about the origins, rise, and unprecedented power of today’s anti-fossil fuel ESG movement in investing. They cover: - Larry Fink’s latest influential letter - The shareholder value theory of the purpose of a corporation - What’s wrong with the “stakeholder value” theory of the purpose of a corporation - How government coercion increases the power of the ESG movement - How the culture gives the ESG movement most of its power - What companies can do to fight bac...
Feb 04, 2021•1 hr 3 min
On this week’s Power Hour Alex Epstein interviews Meredith Angwin, author of Shorting the Grid, on the precariousness of today’s electric grid. They discuss: - Why the so-called competition of today’s electric grid is a myth. - The strengths and weaknesses of the old regulated monopoly system. - Why “deregulation” increased costs and regulation. - How today’s pseudo-competitive RTO (Regional Transmission Organization) works. - How today’s RTO system devalues reliability. - How New England’s inab...
Jan 28, 2021•52 min
On this week’s Power Hour Alex Epstein interviews Professor Pierre Desrochers of the University of Toronto, about the history of environmental catastrophism, including but not limited to climate catastrophism. Today we are told that our use of fossil fuels is causing a global environmental catastrophe, and that the solution is for government to dictate what kind of energy we should use, namely solar and wind. Both this prediction and this policy, we are told, are the conclusions of the best expe...
Jan 21, 2021•54 min
On this episode of Power Hour Alex Epstein interviews energy/environment researcher Rupert Darwall, author of The Age of Global Warming and Green Tyranny, on why the corporate “net-zero” movement is unscientific and suicidal. Here’s some of what they cover: - Where the net-zero-by-2050 and its accompanying 1.5 degrees C target came from. Hint: It’s not a scientific origin. - How even small steps toward “net-zero” are harming citizens and industry in the UK. - The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Cl...
Jan 14, 2021•55 min
On this week’s Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews one of his mentors, philosopher Onkar Ghate, on how the fossil fuel industry can fight for its freedom (far) more effectively by standing up for itself as a matter of justice. Some of the questions discussed include: - Why is it so powerful to fight on grounds of justice? - What should people in the fossil fuel industry consider unjust about the way they’re treated? - What kind of justice should the fossil fuel industry demand? - How should the ...
Jan 07, 2021•1 hr 7 min
On this week’s Power Hour Alex Epstein interviews international energy economist Anas Alhajji about the future of energy and energy security. They cover: - What factors affect energy security - How overreliance on electricity is a threat to energy security - The future of competition with the global oil industry using solar, wind, and batteries - The future of competition within the global oil industry, including US shale, OPEC, and Russia - The contradictions of the modern environmental movemen...
Dec 30, 2020•1 hr 1 min
Alex Epstein interviews Adam Anderson, author of a widely-circulated open letter to The North Face when the company refused to sell Anderson’s oilfield services company, Innovex, 400 jackets. They discuss: - How Adam got into the oil and gas industry - Why Adam wrote the letter - How Adam was influenced by The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels - The unexpected volume of feedback Adam has gotten - Why The North Face and other anti-hydrocarbon groups didn’t publicly respond - Why speaking up has less do...
Dec 23, 2020•45 min
On this episode of Power Hour Alex Epstein continues his discussion with physicist Adrian Bejan, of “constructal law” fame, to discuss the central ideas of Bejan’s book Freedom and Evolution. They cover: - Professor Bejan’s broad-ranging conception of freedom, including change and movement. - How freedom of change and movement naturally leads to economies of scale for humans, for other life forms, and for the inanimate. - How freedom of change and movement and naturally leads to hierarchies, for...
Dec 17, 2020•1 hr 29 min
On this week’s Power Hour Alex Epstein interviews Adrian Bejan, a Duke Professor and Benjamin Franklin Medal recipient renowned for identifying “constructal law.” The topic is how physics, specifically thermodynamics, can help us better understand life, including our use of energy, our environmental impact, and the need for freedom. Topics covered include: - How Bejan escaped communism, immigrated to the US, and studied MIT. - How Bejan identified “constructal law.” - The universality of thermod...
Dec 09, 2020•1 hr 25 min
On this week’s Power Hour, Alex Epstein is joined by former Congressman Keith Rothfus, to talk about threats to energy freedom under the new administration--and how to fight back. Alex asks Congressman Rothfus: - What prompted you to run for Congress? - What did you do to promote energy freedom while in Congress? - What are the major attacks on energy freedom you expect from the Biden administration and its Congressional allies? - What advice do you have for pro-energy, pro-freedom elected offic...
Dec 02, 2020•52 min
In the “Best-Of” episode, originally titled “Greenpeace cofounder Patrick Moore eviscerates climate catastrophism,” Moore does just that by looking at rising CO2 levels from a scientific and pro-human perspective--not the pseudoscientific and anti-human perspective that dominates today. Topics include: - Why Moore left Greenpeace. - The beginnings of the climate catastrophe movement. - Why Moore believes human beings would not only survive but survive better at far higher average temperatures (w...
Nov 26, 2020•1 hr 6 min
On this week’s Power Hour Alex interviews futurist J. Storrs Hall, author of the mind-blowing book Where’s My Flying Car? which gives a brilliant analysis of what has held back many forms of progress, including flying cars, over the last half-century. Topics they cover include: - What is the Great Stagnation? - How did you become interested in analyzing the Great Stagnation? - What is your basic explanation for The Great Stagnation? - How does government funding of research promote stagnation? -...
Nov 18, 2020•1 hr 9 min
On this week’s Power Hour, I interview Vijay Jayaraj, an up and coming energy/environment researcher based in India. Vijay has experienced the reality of poverty, including energy poverty, firsthand--as well as India’s rapid rise from poverty using fossil fuels. Some topics we discussed included: - Why Vijay decided to study energy and environmental issues professionally. - Vijay’s experience at the University of East Anglia during the “Climategate” scandal. - What life in the unempowered world ...
Nov 11, 2020•1 hr 3 min
On this week’s Power Hour, Alex shares some thoughts on the election and then features a “best of” interview with Michael Shellenberger, author of Apocalypse Never. Some highlights: - How Shellenberger went from being a renewables activists to championing nuclear. - Why Shellenberger decided to stand up against climate catastrophism after years of silence. - How modern environmentalism is a religion. - The real motives of most of modern environmentalism. - How environmental journalists misrepres...
Nov 06, 2020•1 hr 3 min
Recently, Shawn Steffee, an executive board member of Boilermakers 154 in Pennsylvania, was featured on a popular FoxNews segment in which he loudly and proudly advocated for fossil fuels. On this week’s Power Hour Alex Epstein interviews Steffee about the fossil fuel industry in Pennsylvania and what its challenges and opportunities are going forward. They cover: - Why every other form of energy is made using fossil fuels - How Steffee learned about the case for fossil fuels - Why utilities sho...
Oct 28, 2020•37 min
