Show Notes
“Nuclear fission is a miracle technology, and we've had it for 80 years. But we don't live in an energy abundant world. Because progress takes more than miracles.” Almost exactly 50 years ago, nuclear fission and large scale reactors were on track to deliver abundant, cheap energy to the globe. But instead, nuclear power declined even faster than it had scaled, becoming a pariah of the energy industry and relegated to a footnote. What actually happened? And how do we prevent it from happening again?
From nuclear’s origins in small reactors for submarines and planes after WWII to its rapid scaling into gigawatt-scale reactors in the 60s and 70s; from President Eisenhower’s calls for “atoms for peace” to the pressures of the original “decels”, the degrowth anti-nuclear environmental movement; from regulatory boosterism to regulatory overreach, the story of nuclear is one of extremes. And there’s much to learn about pushing nuclear forward in the 21st century.
Thank you to this episode’s guests: Emmet Penney, Rod Adams, Nick Touran, James Krellenstein, Bret Kugelmass, Alex Epstein, and Mark Nelson. - SPONSORS: RIPPLING SPEND | WEIGHTS AND BIASES | GIVEWELL | ANROK Imagine total control over your company's spending with Rippling Spend, the all-in-one platform for expense reports, corporate cards, and bill pay. Control spend, set custom approval chains, and close your books 3x faster. Visit https://www.rippling.com/turpentine for a free demo and one month free trial.
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Timestamps: (00:00) Two narratives of nuclear energy (05:50) Nuclear’s early history and rise (11:34) The start of the fall (19:44) Five key factors that led to nuclear's decline (20:09) Factor #1: the AEC (25:32) Factor #2: good old-fashioned economics (29:35) Factor #3: regulation (41:33) Factor #4: the environmentalists (49:13) Factor #5: the nuclear disasters (53:00) Recap of the historical lessons
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We can live in an Age of Miracles, but it’s going to take a lot of work. Energy abundance is the most important thing we can work towards as a species. More than simply surviving climate change, we have the opportunity to unlock a new level of human thriving if we can successfully navigate this transition. That’s why we chose to do the first season of Age of Miracles on the energy sources of the future. In this episode of Age of Miracles, the final episode of season one, Packy and Julia reflect on the importance of energy abundance, how nuclear energy helps us unlock it, and what the future might look like when we do. Thank you to all of our guests this season for making this show possible—we're so grateful.