Nuclear: The perfect energy or perfect weapon.

There are such widely-held—and understandable—fears surrounding nuclear that in 2023 the Green party in Germany were instrumental in decommissioning the nation’s final plants—in the middle of an energy crisis. The environmentalists in the sixtoies and seventies were key to the anti-nuclear movement which swept the world, with France one of the only nations to resist the calls to shut down the reactors for fear of states weaponising the waste. That decision means France is now one of the only energy resilient nations in Europe.

There are obvious benefits to nuclear, and a new generation of nuclear engineers desperate to prove it. Mark Nelson is one of them. An engineer and consultant in the energy transition, Mark joined me to dispel myths around nuclear, where he believes the backlash started, and how we can transform existing fossil fuel infrastructure into truly renewable energy. We cover a lot in this conversation—including a couple of disagreements on the social and political angles—and there’s a lot to be mined in the episode. It certainly won’t be the last one on nuclear energy.

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00:00 Intro
04:14 Why Is The World in Crisis?
05:48 The Role of Nuclear Energy in the Energy Crisis
09:15 The Controversy Surrounding Nuclear Energy
13:43 The Impact of Nuclear Energy on the Environment
24:38 The Fear and Misunderstanding of Nuclear Energy
34:04 The Potential of Nuclear Energy
52:43 Understanding Nuclear Waste
01:00:17 The Potential Dangers of Nuclear Waste
01:04:21 The Future of Nuclear Energy
01:18:48 The Potential of Nuclear Energy in a Post-Oil World
01:28:49 The Human Side of Nuclear Energy
01:33:02 The Future of Nuclear Energy: A Techno-Optimist's View
01:35:41 The Future of Nuclear Energy: A Realist's View
01:42:00 Who would you like to platform?