Peter St. Onge, an economist at the Heritage Foundation, has become something of a phenom on TikTok, where he has 96,000 followers. In this episode, St. Onge explains why he expects a severe global recession in the coming months, why he’s bullish on gold and Bitcoin, why the “alt-energy agenda” will be “crippling” for Western economies, why the Constitution is America’s “superpower” and why despite the many challenges ahead, he remains bullish on the United States. (Recorded June 26, 2023.) 

Lisa Linowes is a New Hampshire-based energy policy analyst and the author of a report for the Fiscal Alliance Foundation which found that renewable-energy mandates in New England have resulted in dramatic increases in electricity costs. In her second appearance on the podcast, (the first was on April 25, 2022),  Linowes explains why renewable mandates are costing Massachusetts ratepayers at least $1 billion per year, the causes of the natural gas shortages in New England, the death of environmentalism, and why the biggest climate NGOs in the country are silent about the impact offshore wind development is having on whales and other marine mammals. (Recorded June 19, 2023.) 

In his second appearance on the Power Hungry Podcast, Steve Brick, (who last appeared in February 2021), talks about what he has learned over his 40-year career in the power sector. He explains the challenges facing countries in Africa as they try to build more generation capacity, why microgrids are often more expensive to operate than large grids, and the “regulatory patchwork” that governs the U.S. electric grid. (Recorded June 6, 2023.)

Paris Ortiz-Wines didn’t plan to be a nuclear advocate when she graduated from the University of California-Santa Cruz a few years ago. In this episode, the 28-year-old native of California explains how she became the head of a non-profit that advocates for nuclear energy all over the world, why millennials are more open to nuclear, why California’s politicians decided to keep Diablo Canyon open, and which countries are likely to build new nuclear reactors over the next few years. (Recorded May 8, 2023.) 

Over the past two years, Irina Slav emerged as one of the bluntest critics of Europe’s climate policies and the “energy transition.” In this episode, Slav, who lives in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, says that there’s a new Iron Curtain, but this time “the totalitarianism is on the western side,” she also talks about the growing cracks in the EU over energy, “transition crusaders,” propaganda, legacy media, Substack, and what she sees happening in Europe over the next few years. (Recorded June 2, 2023.)  

Matt Wald has been writing about the energy and power sectors for decades, including 38 years as a reporter at the New York Times. In this episode, Wald talks about his recent articles for the American Nuclear Society on the nuclear fuel “Gordian knot,” why the U.S. quit enriching uranium and in doing so, empowered Russia, SMRs, HALEU, and why he believes the federal government will have to step in to assure long-term supplies of nuclear fuel for the domestic fleet of reactors. (Recorded May 25, 2023.)   

On April 26, 2023, Ashley Nunes testified before Congress about electric vehicles, saying that just because EVs “can lower emissions doesn’t mean that they necessarily will.” In this episode, Nunes, who in addition to his position with the Breakthrough Institute is also a researcher at Harvard Law School, explains why EV prices are rising, why EV makers haven’t demonstrated a “viable path to profitability,” and why the federal government’s lavish support and mandates for EVs are an “unworkable policy.” (Recorded May 2, 2023.)

Ruy Teixeira is the author or co-author of eight books, as well as a prolific writer on politics in America, including his recent essay,  “The Working Class Isn’t Down With the Green Transition.” In this episode, Teixeira talks about how the climate change issue came to dominate Democratic Party politics, how the party lost its connections to rural Americans, the “insularity of the elites” who dominate both parties, the attacks on free speech that are coming from the Left, and why more Hispanic voters are attracted to the Republican Party. (Recorded April 20, 2023.) 

Over the past few years, Helsinki-based Wärtsilä has made inroads into the U.S. power generation market with its huge gas-fired reciprocating engines, including a 190-megawatt deal it struck with the Lower Colorado River Authority in February. In this episode, Karl Meeusen, who directs Wärtsilä’s legislative and regulatory team in the U.S., explains why his company’s fast start-and-stop engines are a good match for grids that need to offset the variability of wind and solar, the ongoing challenges of building high-voltage transmission capacity, and why Texas “is a big focus” for his company.  (Recorded April 17, 2023.)

The Texas Legislature is now in the final days of considering a spate of bills that could change how the state’s electricity market functions. In this episode, Doug Lewin, who has been tracking energy-related legislation at the Texas Capitol for more than 20 years, explains the surge in distributed generation, the huge amounts of solar and storage coming onto the ERCOT grid, the prospects for a Texas capacity market, and why his first priority would be to “weatherize, weatherize, weatherize” the state’s gas plants, homes, and businesses. (Recorded May 5, 2023.)