Direct Current - An Energy.gov Podcast

50 years after Apollo 11 made history, NASA is getting ready to send astronauts back to the Moon, then on to Mars. We're going to need a power supply that can keep humans alive in space for years at a time. Could a miniature nuclear reactor be the answer?

50 years after Apollo 11 made history, NASA is getting ready to send astronauts back to the Moon. After that, Mars is next up. We're going to need a power supply that can keep humans alive in space for years at a time — but it's got to be small, light, and tough as nails. Could a miniature nuclear reactor be the answer? This is a story about perseverance, teamwork, and faith in an idea against all odds. Don't be fooled by the name — these folks aren't clowning around.

Join Direct Current on a subatomic sojourn into the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), a massive international research project aiming to unlock the secrets of the neutrino and answer the question, "Why does anything exist?"

Here's a question. Why does anything exist? The key to this age-old mystery could lie with neutrinos, elusive particles that flow all around us and (through us) by the trillions. Join Direct Current on a subatomic sojourn into the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), a massive international research project aiming to unlock the secrets of the neutrino with help from more than 175 institutions in over 30 countries. We'll take you from Fermilab to the home of the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland to the bottom of a former gold mine a mile beneath the hills of South Dakota as we explore one of the most ambitious particle physics projects of our lifetime.

Direct Current - An Energy.gov Podcast talks to the women who are leading a clean energy revolution, with a little help from C3E. It's part support network, part annual gathering, part awards show — and all about empowerment.

Meet the women who are leading a clean energy revolution, with a little help from C3E. It's part support network, part annual gathering, part awards show — and all about empowerment.

There's an invisible world of microbes living all around us that we're only just beginning to understand. We talked to two DOE scientists at the 2019 AAAS Meeting in D.C. to learn how genetic research could answer big questions about these tiny organisms.

There's an invisible world of microbes living all around us — on our skin, in our guts, even in the ground beneath our feet — and we're only just beginning to understand their function. In this episode, recorded live at the 2019 American Association for Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) Meeting in D.C., we interview two scientists who are using genetic data to study the "microbiome" of soil. Turns out, these tiny organisms can help us answer big questions about agriculture, energy, climate, and much more.

Grease. Gunk. Sludge. Where most people see a nasty nuisance, these scientists see powerful potential. Join us as we wade into the world of bioenergy and learn about the folks working to turn waste into useful energy!

Grease. Gunk. Sludge. Where most people see a nasty nuisance, these scientists see powerful potential. Join us as we wade into the world of bioenergy and learn about the folks working to turn waste into useful energy!