Ray Rothrock is a California-based professional venture capitalist with 34 years of experience in the industry. In this episode, Rothrock, who holds a degree in nuclear engineering from Texas A&M University and has a portfolio of investments in nuclear startups, explains why the recent breakthrough in fusion is a “Kitty Hawk moment,” the many challenges facing commercial use of fusion, the “labyrinth of regulations and red tape” impeding new fission reactors, and why the U.S. will need strong leadership from Congress and the president if it wants to lead in the deployment of the next generation of nuclear reactors.

Jesse Ausubel is the director of the Program for the Human Environment at Rockefeller University and the recent winner of the prestigious Nierenberg Prize. In his second appearance on the podcast (the first was on October 12, 2021), Ausubel talks about his new work on “peak human” and “peak humans,” why we appear to be reaching the limits of human potential, immunity to disease, “nature deficit disorder,” and why -- after a lifetime of being a fan of the New York Yankees -- he has quit watching sports. (Recorded December 7, 2022.)

Peter Zeihan is a geopolitical strategist and the author of four books, including most recently, The End of the World is Just the Beginning. In this episode, Peter talks about the civil unrest – and pending demographic collapse -- in China, why “Apple has refused to see the writing on the wall” in China, Mexico as America’s most important trading partner, why he is investing in commodities, and why -- despite the unraveling now underway in many parts of the world --  he believes “the American system will thrive.” (Recorded December 2, 2022.)

Robert Rapier is a chemical engineer with more than 25 years of international engineering experience in chemicals, oil and gas, and renewables, who writes for Forbes and Utility Forecaster. In this episode, Rapier talks about the ongoing diesel shortage in the U.S., the mismatch between domestic crude production and domestic refining capacity, his stock-investment strategies, Vinod Khosla’s stupid bet on biofuels, why cellulosic ethanol has never worked, and why he believes ExxonMobil is “going to be in business for a long time” to come. (Recorded November 15, 2022.)

Simon Michaux is an associate professor of geometallurgy at the Geological Survey of Finland which published his 1,000-page report about the amount of mining that will be required if the world attempts to quit using hydrocarbons. In this episode, he discusses why copper will be the key constraint for alt-energy, the “flamboyantly stupid” decisions being made by European policymakers, and why the pending limits to economic growth will require a new  “social contract and a radically different system of governance” from what we have today. (Recorded November 11, 2022)    

 Reiner Kuhr worked in the electric power sector for more than 40 years and is the co-founder of the Center for Academic Collaboration Initiatives, a group that aims to increase the exchange of research among students and academic institutions. In his second appearance on the podcast (his first was on May 27, 2021) Kuhr  talks about his recent paper on the problems and costs associated with integrating renewables into electric grids, why batteries are an expensive way to reduce emissions, and why you can “go nuclear, or go renewable, but you can’t do both.” (Recorded October 19, 2022.)

Matt Ridley is the author of ten books, including most recently, with co-author Alina Chan, Viral: The Search For the Origin of Covid-19. In his third appearance on the podcast (previous appearances: July 7, 2020, and January 4, 2022), Ridley talks about Britain’s energy crisis, why it must begin drilling for gas, the increasing evidence that the Covid pandemic was started by a lab leak, why China’s vaccines haven’t been effective, birds, birdwatching, and why the growing prosperity in Africa gives him hope. (Recorded on November 2, 2022.)

Virginia Postrel is a California-based journalist who has written four books, including her most recent one, The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made The World, (which I highly recommend.) In this episode, Virginia talks about why the history of fabric and civilization is a “story of innovation,” the mechanized Italian silk mills that predated the Industrial Revolution by two centuries, cotton’s history and dominance in today’s clothing, advances in synthetic fabrics, and the tragic life of Wallace Carothers, the almost-unknown inventor of nylon. (Recorded September 23, 2022.)

Maria Korsnick holds a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Maryland and now serves as president and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association that operates on an annual budget of about $50 million. In this episode, Korsnick talks about the “new paradigm for nuclear” energy, why the “urgency” for nuclear “is only going to grow,” how the U.S. and Canada are working together on approval of new reactor designs, and why the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has to get more efficient. (Recorded October 21, 2022.)

Benny Peiser is the director of Net Zero Watch, a London-based public charity that focuses on the “implications of expensive and poorly considered climate change policies.” In his second appearance on the podcast, (his first was on March 8, 2022) Peiser talks about Liz Truss’s resignation last week, why both Tory and Labour Party politicians are to blame for Britain’s energy crisis, why Britain must immediately begin drilling and fracking for natural gas, how soaring energy costs could lead to a financial crisis, and why three decades after Margaret Thatcher resigned, Britain is going “back to energy socialism.” (Recorded October 22, 2022).