Nuclear Barbarians

Zeno Power, a cutting edge nuclear company, is making batteries powered with Strontium 90 for niche deployment cases: the moon, the arctic, and the seafloor. I got to pick Zeno cofounder and CEO Tyler Bernstein’s brain about their exciting new technology, why Zeno’s work is critical in our increasingly multipolar world, and the upsides of competing with China. This was a fascinating discussion and I think you guys are going to love it. Not long after we recorded this episode, Zeno added former NASA chief technologist AC Charania to its team as SVP of Space Business Development. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

Matt Loszak, the cofounder and CEO of Aalo Atomics, joined me to talk about Aalo’s progress rolling SMRs off the factory line. We get into Aalo’s test reactor at Idaho National Labs, a DOE path toward approving nuclear designs, how Trump’s nuclear executive orders have helped the industry, “zero power criticality,” and more.Since we recorded this episode, Aalo has closed its $100 million Series B and has officially been selected by the DOE to test the Aalo-X reactor at INL by hitting zero power criticality. And then they broke ground on the project just a few days ago! Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

There are so many exciting developments in the nuclear space, I can hardly keep up. And not just in the realm of reactors. Kurt Terrani, the CEO of Standard Nuclear, joined me to talk about his new company and its ambitions for TRISO fuel. For me, this was a major download on nuclear fuel types. Kurt’s a very knowledgable dude working with a highly experienced team. Check out Standard Nuclear on LinkedIn, Instagram, and X. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

On today’s episode, I spoke with Scott Lathrop, the Founder and Chief Executive Director of Native Nuclear. Like me, Scott sees nuclear power as a multi-generational infrastructure investment that serves as a sheet anchor for healthy communities and healthy economies. But he brings a distinctly native perspective to nuclear that subverts stereotypes, just like the educational work his organization is doing in tribal energy politics. I learned a lot from Scott during this interview and I know you guys are going to enjoy it!Check out Native Nuclear on LinkedIn and Instagram. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

Former navy nuke Ari Brown joined me to talk about his experience in the service. For me, his story offers profound insight into what it takes to institutionalize excellence. Then we talk about his new company, Bellwether LLC, and how Ari is using his programming background and acoustic analysis skills to figure out how to fix machines in an innovative way. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

For this episode, Joe Klecha, the Chief Nuclear Officer at The Nuclear Company, joined me to talk about his background as a navy nuke, his time working on the Vogtle build, and what it takes to pull off megaprojects. Then we discuss how TNC’s recent deal with Palantir is going to unleash fleets of new nuclear power plants. I learned so much from this episode—Joe is a patriot, a leader, and a wealth of knowledge. I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I did. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

On this episode, Andrew Kirima of the Texas Nuclear Alliance stops by to talk about his origins as a nuclear advocate, what’s been going on with nuclear in Texas, and how the TNA fits into the American nuclear scene.Register for the TNA Summit this October!Check out Andrew on X and LinkedIn.And also check out the other nuclear project Andrew is involved with: Exodys Energy.Nuclear Barbarians is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

In a special bonus episode, I speak with comic book writer Aubrey Sitterson about his new hard scifi geopolitical space opera, Free Planet. This comic has it all: energy literacy, questions of science and technology, the trials and tribulations of democracy, and some incredible layouts. I hope you guys enjoy this break from our usual programming. I encourage you to head down to your local comic shop and snatch up Issue 01, which you can read a sample of here. Also: check out Aubrey’s Substack, Atlantis Still Sunk, which is chalk full of behind the scenes deep dives into the making of and research behind Free Planet. Nuclear Barbarians is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

Benton Arnett, Director of Markets and Policy at the Nuclear Energy Institute, joined me to talk about nuclear’s prospects today and what makes it such a boon for energy security. Benton’s a great guy with a deep knowledge base. I had a lot of fun chatting with him and learned things about the nuclear supply chain construction that surprised me!Nuclear Barbarians is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

John and I are back with the first installment of our series on one of Galileo’s masterworks in the history of philosophy and science: Dialogue Concerning Two Chief World Systems. We dive into the historical context in which the work was published and then discuss the book’s dedication to the Grand Duke of Tuscany. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

Film critic and writer Andrew Plimpton returns to the pod to talk about one of the greatest American films of all time—Chinatown—which also happens to be a canonical film about the politics of energy. We dive into the film’s themes, noir as a genre, Jack Nicholson as a writer, and much more. Nuclear Barbarians is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

Spencer Klavan joined me to talk about his new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: Illuminating Science Through Faith. We talk about "Newtonian" Default Mode, the history of science, what innovations in physics mean for the faithful and secular alike, and much more!Check out Spencer's Substack, Rejoice Evermore. Check out The American Mind’s Roundtable. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

One of my favorite things about running this podcast is getting to talk to people with way more experience than me. Dr. Scott Tinker, a geologist and energy expert with decades of experience, joined me to talk about the breadth of his career, how our understanding of energy has changed over time, energy realism, teaching people the energy basics, and more!Check out the Switch Energy Alliance!And Scott’s show, Energy Switch! Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

John and I finish up our series on the esoteric origins of the Enlightenment by diving into romanticism, mesmerism, the forgotten aspects of Jung, American New Age stuff, and way more!Next up: Galileo’s Dialogue Concerning Two Chief World Systems. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

In our penultimate Hanegraaff episode, John and I take a look at how “magic,” “superstition,” and the “occult” became epithets divorced from critical reasoning, the uncomfortable overlap between occult and scientific practices, and I deliver a brief monologue on how all of this shows up in the work of HP Lovecraft. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

In our second episode on Hanegraff’s Esotericism and the Academy, John and I dive into the “history of error,” and how Protestantism and refinements in historical practices began to put pressure on the Renaissance conceptions of perennial philosophy and ancient wisdom. John also had some corrections for Hanegraff! Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

John and I are back with our new series. This time we’re working through Wouter Hanegraaff’s Esotericism and the Academy: Rejected Knowledge in Western Culture. Hanegraff’s project looks at the debates over the recovery of ancient texts and their impact on Christian life and thought and what that means for us today, especially when it comes to our weird world of scientism on the one hand and woo-woo New Age-y stuff on the other. The material is dense and you might feel a little overwhelmed listening to the podcast—don’t worry! After the first two episodes (the first half of the series) it gets way easier and more fun, but this episode in the next are necessary listening/reading (if you want to follow along in the book) to appreciate the second half. However, if you haven’t listened to our series on Michael Gillespie’s The Theological Origins of Modernity, don’t listen to this one just yet. You can start the Gillespie series here, as it provides great and more accessible background for the Hanegraaff. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

John and I finish up our series on Michael Gillespie’s Theological Origins of Modernity—offering a break down of his final chapter and our closing thoughts. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

John and I spend this, our penultimate episode in the series, discussing Hobbes—his anthropology, his physics, his politics—and the nature of modernity’s “new science.”If you have questions for our final Q&A episode, please leave a comment! Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe

John and I return to Gillespie’s book to talk about Luther, Erasmus, and Descartes and to dig into the motivations behind the ideas that inspired the philosophies that brought about the scientific revolution. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe