Microreactors, Macro Problems
Nick Touran, a nuclear engineer and manager at TerraPower, unearths the sobering realities of micro nuclear reactors. Through a detailed discussion of physics, engineering, economics, and history, Tou...
12 Nov 20241h 22min
Paper Reactors to Power Reactors
Nick Touran tells the story of Admiral Hyman Rickover, the “Father of the Nuclear Navy” and author of the legendary "Paper Reactor" memo. We discover how Rickover’s hard-driving management and obsessi...
5 Nov 20241h 15min
TMI: Too Much Intervention?
James Krellenstein, co-founder of Alva Energy, explains precisely what happened at the Three Mile Island accident, in which an ordinary reactor trip cascaded into a partial meltdown due primarily to e...
29 Okt 20241h 6min
Small Reactors Are Bulking Up
Koroush Shirvan, an MIT professor and consultant on recent major reports on nuclear economics, sheds light on the hidden costs of small modular reactors. Lower power densities, ballooning containment ...
22 Okt 20241h 12min
321, Liftoff!
Jigar Shah, Director of the Loan Programs Office (LPO) at the U.S. Department of Energy, joins me to discuss his office’s latest Pathways to Commercial Liftoff report on nuclear energy. We touch on th...
15 Okt 202454min
Lead the Way, TVA
Fred Stafford, a STEM professional and anonymous energy commentator, discusses the Tennessee Valley Authority's potential to lead a nuclear revival in the United States — that is, if it can overcome t...
9 Okt 20241h 2min
The Energy Transition Will Not Happen
Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, a French historian of science and technology, challenges our understanding of energy history. He unravels the myth of energy transitions, revealing symbiotic relationships betwe...
2 Okt 20241h 18min
The Bottomless Well
Mark P. Mills returns to Decouple to challenge our understanding of energy scarcity and efficiency. In this episode, he unravels the paradox of how pursuing energy efficiency often leads to increased ...
25 Sep 202456min
