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Decouple...

Mark Nelson, managing director of Radiant Energy Group, joins Decouple host Chris Keefer for another installation of the Masterclass series: this time on the slippery subject of oil. We zoom from ancient plankton to modern empires to see how a mysterious black liquid birthed from prehistoric seas now powers our civilization, touching on the complex chemistry, geology and history of oil. Episode name on podcast apps: "Oil: A Masterclass" Listen to Decouple on: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PNr3ml8nEQotWWavE9kQz • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/decouple/id1516526694?uo=4 • Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1516526694/decouple • Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ehbfrn44 • RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/23775178/podcast/rss Website: https://www.decouple.media

Two thought leaders in the nuclear energy conversation, James Krellenstein and Ted Nordhaus, join Decouple for a “debate” over the question of reactor size: should advanced, small nuclear technologies lead the way on nuclear energy, or should conventional large reactors? What could have been a heated debate over nuclear energy's future resulted in a nuanced discussion about the industry’s challenges—and how to overcome them. James Krellenstein is the co-founder and CEO of Alva Energy. Ted Nordhaus is the founder and executive director of The Breakthrough Institute. Listen to Decouple on: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PNr3ml8nEQotWWavE9kQz • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/decouple/id1516526694?uo=4 • Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1516526694/decouple • Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ehbfrn44 • RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/23775178/podcast/rss Website: https://www.decouple.media

Jeff Waksman, program manager for Project Pele, joins Dr. Chris Keefer to discuss the impetus for the military microreactor project, the logistics and energy challenges at the heart of modern warfare, and the technical considerations of microreactor development. Few voices are more qualified to speak on the state-of-the-art in tiny nuclear reactors. Episode name on podcast players: Reactors on Wheels Listen to Decouple on: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PNr3ml8nEQotWWavE9kQz • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/decouple/id1516526694?uo=4 • Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1516526694/decouple • Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ehbfrn44 • RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/23775178/podcast/rss Support Decouple: https://www.decouple.media

Steve Keen, economist and author, joins Decouple host Dr. Chris Keefer to explain how modern economics has catastrophically misunderstood the role of energy in our world and underestimated the risks of climate change through oversimple models. In this in-person conversation, we discuss the evolution of economic thinking since feudalism, the shortcomings of prevailing economic models, modern monetary theory, the role of state capitalism in funding large infrastructure projects, and much else. Episode title on podcast apps: "A Heterodox Economics Lesson" Listen to Decouple on: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PNr3ml8nEQotWWavE9kQz • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/decouple/id1516526694?uo=4 • Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1516526694/decouple • Podcket Casts: https://pca.st/ehbfrn44 • RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/23775178/podcast/rss Website: https://www.decouple.media Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 05:12 History of economics in stages 14:20 Physiocracy 21:57 Classical economics 30:25 Energy blindness 36:18 Neoclassical economics 41:33 Utopianism in economics 44:40 Monetary theory 57:53 Climate change economics 1:22:07 State capitalism 1:25:49 What is money? 1:35:38 The future of economics amid climate change

Phil Chaffee, Editor of Nuclear Intelligence Weekly and Bureau Chief of Energy Intelligence’s New York offices, joins me to discuss the implications of a second Trump administration on U.S. nuclear energy. Will the tantalizing nuclear power purchase agreements signed by hyperscalers evaporate as carbon pricing becomes less likely? Will free-market ideology manage to sustain the government support needed to deploy nuclear power at scale? We speculate about these questions and more. Tune in! Note: This interview was recorded 20 November 2024. Episode title on podcast platforms: The End of an IRA? Listen to Decouple on: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PNr3ml8nEQotWWavE9kQz • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/decouple/id1516526694?uo=4 • Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1516526694/decouple • Podcket Casts: https://pca.st/ehbfrn44 • RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/23775178/podcast/rss Website: https://www.decouple.media

Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, a French historian of science & technology, shares how European societies grappled with climate change centuries before modern science proved the scale and breadth of its impact, revealing a forgotten saga where colonial ambitions and volcanic winters shaped our earliest understanding of Earth's shifting climate. Grounding our discussion is his Fressoz’s 2024 book "Chaos in the Heavens: The Forgotten History of Climate Change," co-authored with Fabien Locher. Episode title on podcast apps: The Forgotten Climate Debate Order Fressoz's book: https://www.versobooks.com/products/2725-chaos-in-the-heavens?srsltid=AfmBOorAD-1jvDU-BKAnqjWzOXvdmkcl9c3gTQeTxXWDUgdbTJVNVsAn Listen to Decouple on: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PNr3ml8nEQotWWavE9kQz • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/decouple/id1516526694?uo=4 • Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1516526694/decouple • Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ehbfrn44 • RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/23775178/podcast/rss Website: https://www.decouple.media Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:01 Historical Perspectives on Climate Change 03:13 Deforestation and Its Global Impact 03:53 Climate and Political Stability in Early Modern Societies 09:38 The Little Ice Age and Its Implications 11:29 The Orbis Spike Hypothesis 15:48 Colonial Narratives and Climate Change 25:35 Theories of Climate Zones and Human Impact 42:06 Impact of the Tambora Explosion on Climate 46:08 Early Scientific Research on Climate Change 49:32 Deep Time Perspective and Ice Age Discovery 54:35 French Environmentalism and Key Thinkers 01:02:17 Climate Regulation and Private Property 01:06:09 Shift from Climate to Microbiology and Sociology 01:12:51 Nuclear Scientists and Modern Climate Understanding 01:22:34 Final Thoughts

Aidan Morrison, director of energy research at Australia’s Centre for Independent Studies, takes us to the murky depths of Australia’s security predicament as a country near Maritime Southeast Asia dependent on liquid hydrocarbon imports. We discuss military strategy, the use of nuclear and diesel-electric submarines, and the continent’s precarious dependence on maritime trade and military alliances. Episode title on podcast platforms: Defense at Depths Listen to Decouple on: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PNr3ml8nEQotWWavE9kQz • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/decouple/id1516526694?uo=4 • Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1516526694/decouple • Podcket Casts: https://pca.st/ehbfrn44 • RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/23775178/podcast/rss Support Decouple Media: https://www.decouple.media Watch Aidan's video on diesel versus nuclear submarines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-vhmpDq7Ok Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 03:33 Australia's military history and strategy 11:32 Australia natural resource weakness: oil 19:35 Australia's energy situation in a hot war 23:30 Defending martime hydrocarbon imports 34:07 AUKUS submarine strategy 44:00 Political consensus for AUKUS 50:55 Facing geostrategic challenges 1:04:53 Liquid hydrocarbon strategy 1:11:03 Power grid vulnerabilities 1:23:40 Closing thoughts

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, Touran explains why microreactors face fundamental challenges that factory production alone cannot solve. Thumbnail image: ML-1 mockup at the National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho. The ML-1 was an experimental “truck-bed” nuclear reactor that was intended to be transported by truck to supply electricity for military operations. The intended applications included powering field hospitals, military bases, radar installations, weapons systems, and command and communication centers. Listen to Decouple on: • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PNr3ml8nEQotWWavE9kQz • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/decouple/id1516526694?uo=4 • Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1516526694/decouple • Podcket Casts: https://pca.st/ehbfrn44 • RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/23775178/podcast/rss Website: https://www.decouple.media Chapters: 00:00 Visions for microreactors 03:49 Defining microreactors 11:56 The problem of radiation shielding 18:48 Original microreactor projects 24:29 Niche applications 30:32 The problem of neutron economy 40:08 The problem of fuel 53:03 The problem of operations and maintenance 1:00:17 The problem of commercialization 1:05:42 The problem of spent fuel 1:09:27 The problem of scaling 1:12:36 The problem of licensing 1:13:42 Hope for microreactors 1:15:18 Scaling down reactors with LEU? 1:21:50 Recap