''Titans of Nuclear'' is an interview podcast developed by the Energy Impact Center. Each episode features interviews led by Bret Kugelmass. Other hosts include Jadwiga Najder, Olubunmi Olajide, and Naomi Senehi. Guests generally include

nuclear energy Nuclear energy may refer to: *Nuclear power, the use of sustained nuclear fission or nuclear fusion to generate heat and electricity *Nuclear binding energy, the energy needed to fuse or split a nucleus of an atom *Nuclear potential energy, the pot ...

experts who come from various political, scientific, and business backgrounds. The one-on-one discussions typically revolve around nuclear energy and related topics including

political policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organi ...

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

, and

nuclear medicine Nuclear medicine (nuclear radiology, nucleology), is a medical specialty involving the application of radioactivity, radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Nuclear imaging is, in a sense, ''radiology done inside out'', ...

History

''Titans of Nuclear'' was conceived by Bret Kugelmass, founder of the Energy Impact Center in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, in 2017. That year, he began recording interviews with a variety of nuclear energy experts. The first episode of the podcast was made available online on January 8, 2018 and featured

Michael Shellenberger Michael D. Shellenberger (born June 16, 1971) is an American author and journalist. He is the first endowed professor at the University of Austin, serving as CBR Chair of Politics, Censorship, and Free Speech. Considered a prominent heterodox t ...

as the guest. Other early guests in 2018 included eventual

Assistant Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Energy Assistant may refer to: * Assistant (by Speaktoit), a virtual assistant app for smartphones * Assistant (software), a software tool to assist in computer configuration * Google Assistant, a virtual assistant by Google * The Assistant (TV series), ...

and head of the

Office of Nuclear Energy The Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) is an agency of the United States Department of Energy which promotes nuclear power as a resource capable of meeting the energy, environmental, and national security needs of the United States by resolving techni ...

, Rita Baranwal, and individuals associated with both the

Idaho National Laboratory Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is one of the national laboratories of the United States Department of Energy and is managed by the Battelle Energy Alliance. Historically, the lab has been involved with nuclear research, although the labora ...

and the

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is one of the United States Department of Energy national laboratories, managed by the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science. The main campus of the laboratory is in Richland, Washington ...

. In 2019, the podcast featured interviews with national politicians, including House Representative for

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Seth Moulton Seth Wilbur Moulton (born October 24, 1978) is an American politician and former Marine Corps officer who has been the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 6th congressional district since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, his distr ...

and

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Mike Crapo Michael Dean Crapo ( ; born May 20, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Idaho, a seat he has held since 1999. A member of the Rep ...

. Other episodes that year featured discussions with members of the

Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC; ) is the federal regulator of nuclear power and materials in Canada. Mandate and history Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission was established under the 1997 '' Nuclear Safety and Control Act'' with a ma ...

. Kugelmass would later begin sharing hosting duties with Jadwiga Najder, Olubunmi Olajide, and Naomi Senehi. In December 2020, ''Titans of Nuclear'' conducted a miniseries of interviews with individuals from the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear w ...

's Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) program. As of September 2021, the podcast has released 331 episodes.

Format

Episodes generally consist of one-on-one interviews conducted by Bret Kugelmass, Jadwiga Najder, Olubunmi Olajide, or Naomi Senehi with guests who are experts in nuclear energy. Guests have included professors, business executives, politicians, diplomats, scientists, and others. Discussions revolve around nuclear power as an alternative and potentially carbon-negative energy source. The podcast and its guests are broadly proponents of the proliferation of nuclear energy, but some guests have taken an opposing position. Other topics discussed include nuclear energy policy and climate change.

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Official websiteEnergy Impact Center
Audio podcasts Science podcasts Technology podcasts Interview podcasts Video podcasts 2018 podcast debuts