Episode description

What if we could harness the same energy that powers the stars to fuel our world—cleanly, safely, and virtually without limits? Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are working towards turning this vision into reality.

In this episode, we explore how fusion works, why it’s fundamentally different from today’s nuclear energy, and how the groundbreaking achievement of ignition at the National Ignition Facility is paving the way for future fusion power plants. Join us as we discuss the challenges, breakthroughs, and the global race to bring fusion energy to the grid.

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Big Ideas Lab is a Mission.org original series. 

Executive Produced by Lacey Peace and Levi Hanusch.

Sound Design, Music Edit and Mix by Daniel Brunelle. 

Story Editing by Daniel Brunelle. 

Audio Engineering and Editing by Matthew Powell. 

Narrated by Matthew Powell. 

Video Production by Levi Hanusch. 

Guests featured in this episode (in order of appearance): 

• Tammy Ma, Lead, Inertial Fusion Energy Institutional Initiative, LLNL
• Issa Tamer, Laser Scientist, LLNL

Brought to you in partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.