• Tue, Jan 31 2012

    Atomic Show #179 – The Forgotten Bomb

    Bud Ryan is a documentary filmmaker who is deeply concerned that the world has forgotten about the fight against nuclear weapons. As part of his effort to remind people that there is still a need for activism in support of disarmament, he produced a film titled The Forgotten Bomb. In it, he interviews a number [...] ...read more
    • Mon, Jan 23 2012

    Atomic Show #178 – Nuclear Process Heat

    One of the persistent myths left over from the first Atomic Age is that nuclear reactors can only be used to produce electricity in massive, central station power plants. That application is only one of many ways to use the heat from fissioning uranium, plutonium or thorium. In the US, fully 1/3 of the 100 [...] ...read more
    • Mon, Jan 9 2012

    Atomic Show #177 – Vermont nuclear energy politics

    On Sunday January 8, 2012, I chatted with Meredith Angwin who blogs at Yes Vermont Yankee and Margaret Harding, a well known independent consultant who specializes in GE Boiling Water Reactors. Our primary topic was the fate of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power station, which has been embroiled in a several year long battle to [...] ...read more
    • Tue, Dec 6 2011

    Atomic Show #176 – Let Fukushima Residents Go Home

    There have been a number of recent articles about the evacuated area that surrounds the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. One in particular that caught my attention was an article published in the Washington Post titled Around the Fukushima plant, a world left behind. The problem is that the contamination levels outside of the gate [...] ...read more
    • Mon, Nov 14 2011

    Atomic Show #175 – INPO Fukushima Timeline Report

    On November 11, 2011, the Institute of Nuclear Plant Operators (INPO) released a report that provides a detailed timeline of events that occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in the days and weeks following the Great North East Japan earthquake and series of seven tsunamis. Releasing that report was a rare event; INPO [...] ...read more
    • Mon, Sep 26 2011

    Atomic Show #174 – Cal Abel – Atomic Inventor and PhD Candidate

    I first met Cal Abel during a flurry of correspondence associated with actions he recommended after the Fukushima event. Cal, a former submarine Engineer Officer and current PhD candidate at Georgia Tech, had produced some rapid response papers with useful ideas for the people responding to the events. One idea in particular that Cal produced [...] ...read more
    • Mon, Aug 29 2011

    Atomic Show #173 – Nuclear communicators bid goodnight to Hurricane Irene

    Hurricane Irene took a path up the east coast of the United States that put a large population at risk from heavy rains, storm surges, and high winds. Before the storm there were stories about the fact that among all of the other parts of the infrastructure that might be affected, there were a number [...] ...read more
    • Sat, Aug 13 2011

    Atomic Show #172 – Decarbonise South Australia

    On August 13, 2011, I spoke with Ben Heard of Decarbonise SA and Barry Brook of Brave New Climate. These two Australians are both working hard to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in a land where the idea of reducing the consumption of carbon and hydrocarbon fuels trends on the interests of some very powerful [...] ...read more
    • Thu, Jun 30 2011

    Atomic Show #171 – Fukushima retrospective dated March 14, 2011

    In the near term aftermath of The Great East Japan Earthquake, Amelia Timers of The Energy Collective asked Dan Yurman, who blogs at Idaho Samizdat and ANS Nuclear Cafe and me to join her for a discussion about the events that were happening at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear station. She and the staff had developed [...] ...read more
    • Mon, Jun 27 2011

    Atomic Show #170 – Partnerships between Chesapeake Energy and Environmental Groups

    On June 26, 2011, the New York Times published an article titled Insiders Sound an Alarm Amid a Natural Gas Rush. That article described how emails from natural gas industry insiders, financial analysts covering the gas industry, and several independent geologists describe the challenges associated with producing gas by hydraulic fracturing. The mosaic that emerges [...] ...read more
    • Fri, Jun 24 2011

    Atomic Show #169 – Fukushima Update – Will Davis

    Will Davis blogs at Atomic Power Review. Since four of the six Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants were destroyed by the effects of a tsunami and subsequent loss of power to supply cooling water, Will has been providing well researched updates to his readers. I highly recommend visiting his site if you want to know [...] ...read more
    • Fri, Jun 10 2011

    Atomic Show #168 – Tom Popik, Foundation for Resilient Societies

    I received an email from Tom Popik, the founder of the Foundation for Resilient Societies a few days ago. The email was addressed to a selection of people who blog favorably about nuclear energy. For some odd reason, Tom thought that we might be interested in supporting the petition for rulemaking that his organization has [...] ...read more
    • Fri, May 27 2011

    The Atomic Show #167 – Jeff Merrifield – AP1000 Design Certification Application

    The topic of this podcast is the status of the design certification application for the Westinghouse AP1000, the system that has been chosen for about half of all of the new nuclear power plant projects that are currently planned in the United States. Last week, the Chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a [...] ...read more
    • Wed, May 25 2011

    The Atomic Show #166 – Nuclear Energy Advertising

    PopAtomic Studios has taken a conversation regarding a lack of nuclear energy advertising that occurred on a private email list frequented by both amateur and professional nuclear energy communicators and decided to run with the inspiration. The Nuclear Literacy Project was approved by the PopAtomic Studios board yesterday. The new web site is not yet [...] ...read more
    • Mon, Apr 11 2011

    The Atomic Show #165 – Nuclear Exceptionalism

    Inspired by Steve Aplin’s excellent post titled Nuclear exceptionalism: why is a nuclear fatality more noteworthy than a non-nuclear one? show # 165 focuses on the reasons why nuclear exceptionalism exists. We also talk about ways to change the tone of the discussion and actions that are already being done. Guests on this episode of [...] ...read more
    • Mon, Mar 21 2011

    Atomic Show #164 – Fukushima Discussion by Pro Nuclear Communicators

    On Sunday, March 20, a group of pro nuclear energy communicators gathered to chat about the events at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station following a devastating earthquake and tsunami that put the entire station into a blackout condition. As predicted at the very beginning of the casualty, there have been no releases of radioactive [...] ...read more
    • Wed, Feb 16 2011

    The Atomic Show #163 – Four Women in Nuclear Energy

    On February 15, 2011, I gathered together a terrific group of four women who are each making a significant contribution to the expansion of nuclear energy and nuclear knowledge in the United States. I hope you enjoy the conversation and the stories. Meredith Angwin blogs at Yes Vermont Yankee and is the Director of the [...] ...read more
    • Mon, Jan 3 2011

    The Atomic Show #162 – New Year Chat With Pro-Nuclear Bloggers

    A group of pro-nuclear bloggers discusses industry events from 2010 and predictions for 2011. It has been far too long since the last episode of The Atomic Show. Life got in the way with a career transition and a move to a new home. However, there is always a bit of motivation to use the [...] ...read more
    • Fri, Sep 10 2010

    The Atomic Show #161 – Shoreham Documentary Project

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8CqdECzklI In early 2009 a recently graduated film student and a journalist who grew up on Long Island got together to produce a film about the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant fiasco. Originally planned as a 10 minute YouTube video, the project grew to what might be a documentary lasting 100 minutes. Rod Adams and Gwyneth [...] ...read more
    • Mon, Aug 23 2010

    The Atomic Show #160 – Bumps in the Renaissance Road

    The nuclear renaissance in the United States is not moving forward very quickly. Several more companies have announced delays in previously released schedules and others have imposed hiring freezes or actual work reductions. The opposition is strong; supporters need to redouble efforts. Meredith Angwin and Charles Barton joined Rod Adams to talk about some of [...] ...read more
    • Mon, Aug 2 2010

    The Atomic Show #159 – Nuclear Engineering Student Delegation 2010

    The Washington Nuclear Engineering Student Delegation makes an annual trip to Washington DC. The trip provides students in nuclear engineering programs around the country the opportunity to talk with leaders in DC based organizations important to nuclear technology like the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Energy Institute. The trip also [...] ...read more
    • Mon, Jul 26 2010

    The Atomic Show #158 – Loan guarantee politics, fuel recycling, small reactors prospects

    Margaret Harding, Lisa Stiles, Dan Yurman and Rod Adams talk about the political maneuverings related to nuclear plant loan guarantees, the politics related to nuclear fuel recycling, and the prospects for significant deployment of smaller nuclear power plants in the United States. Rod discusses the evidence that he documented on Atomic Insights with regard to [...] ...read more
    • Sun, Jul 11 2010

    Atomic Show #157 – Lisa Stiles interview with Joe Colvin, President of the American Nuclear Society

    On June 15, 2010 during the American Nuclear Society annual meeting, Lisa Stiles interviewed Joe Colvin, the new President of the American Nuclear Society. Joe talked about the opportunities and challenges facing the ANS and discussed his priorities for the upcoming year. Look for some technological improvements, new opportunities for the ANS to provide independent [...] ...read more
    • Fri, Jul 9 2010

    Atomic Show #156 – ANS Annual Meeting, Platts SMR, NRC’s shrinking budget

    Lisa Stiles and Rod Adams met for a chat about recent nuclear industry meetings including the American Nuclear Society annual meeting that Lisa attended in San Diego in early June and the Platts – DOE Small Modular Reactor meetings that Rod attended in Washington, DC in late June. After signing off with Lisa, Rod asked [...] ...read more
    • Mon, Jun 14 2010

    Atomic Show #155 – Lisa Stiles Interview of NRC Chairman Greg Jaczko

    At the American Nuclear Society Meeting 2010 being held in San Diego, CA from June 13-18, NRC Chairman Greg Jaczko gave one of the plenary addresses. Lisa Stiles, providing reports from the meeting to the Atomic Show and Atomic Insights filed the following report and audio interview: From Lisa Stiles: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairman [...] ...read more