David French is a senior editor at The Dispatch. In this episode, David (who first appeared on the podcast in 2020) talks about what has changed since his book -- Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation – came out two years ago, how the pandemic exacerbated the divisions in America, the religious divisions in the Democratic party, gun laws, and why public figures like LeBron James, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Dolly Parton can help unite the country. (Recorded August 5, 2022.)

Elizabeth Muller is the CEO of Deep Isolation, a Berkeley-based company that seeks to resolve America’s nuclear waste challenge by using technology borrowed from the oil and gas business. In this episode, she explains why the waste issue must be solved before the nuclear sector can have a full renaissance, why Deep Isolation must have success overseas before it succeeds here, the advantages of using boreholes instead of a mined repository (think Yucca Mountain), and why, when it comes to nuclear, “the world has shifted over the past six months.” (Recorded June 28, 2022.)

Anas Alhajji is the editorial advisor of Attaqa, the only Arabic-language media outlet focused on energy. In his third appearance on the podcast, (his last appearance was March 29, 2022) Alhajji explains why the sanctions against Russia are not stopping its energy exports, why the contradictions in the Manchin-Schumer bill “are laughable,” why he is more long-term bullish on natural gas than oil, and the political significance of President Biden’s recent trip to Saudi Arabia. (Recorded August 2, 2022.)

Roger Pielke Jr. is a professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado, who focuses on climate policy, sports governance, and the “messy and important place where science and politics collide.” In his fourth appearance on the podcast, (his last appearance was on February 18, 2022), Pielke talks about heat waves, the Iron Law of Climate, Europe’s energy mess, transgender athletes, why “we are treading water” on decarbonization, and why “climate policies have to appeal to everyone.” (Recorded July 25, 2022.)

Peter Grossman is a professor emeritus of economics at Butler University and the author of the 2013 book, U.S. Energy Policy and the Pursuit of Failure. In this episode, Grossman recounts five decades of bad policymaking in the U.S. including his list of the worse efforts (synfuels, price controls, and corn ethanol) how members of Congress are motivated by the “do something dilemma,” and why California is the “poster child for failure in energy policy.”

Isaac Orr is a policy fellow at the Center of the American Experiment, where he writes about environmental issues, mining, and electricity. In his second appearance on the podcast (his first was on August 10, 2021), Orr talks about the importance of the Supreme Court’s West Virginia v. EPA ruling, why utilities are keeping their coal plants open this summer, how renewables are undermining the integrity of the electric grid, and the looming shortfalls of generation capacity in the Midwest.

Jack E. Davis is a history professor at the University of Florida, a Pulitzer Prize-winner, and the author, most recently, of The Bald Eagle: The Improbable Journey of America’s Bird. In this episode, Davis explains how the Bald Eagle ended up on the Great Seal of the United States, its near-extinction due to hunting and DDT, its role as a “spirit bird” for Native Americans and Anglos alike, and why its recovery is a “great American conservation success story.”

Tiffany D. Thomas has represented District F on the Houston City Council since 2020. In this episode, Thomas discusses “why the west side is the best side” of the Bayou City, housing -- including the difficulties around “heir properties” the term for homes occupied by descendants of a family member but who don’t have clear title to the property -- the problems faced by the “permanent rental class,” and for a lagniappe, a few of her favorite restaurants in Houston. (Recorded June 16, 2022.)

Carl Wurtz is the president of Californians for Green Nuclear Power, a group “dedicated to promoting the peaceful use of safe, carbon-free nuclear power, and to keeping Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant” operating. In this episode, Wurtz explains why it’s unclear if Diablo Canyon will be kept open, why California often has to pay neighboring states to take its electricity, why a “vote for solar and wind is a vote for gas” and why “batteries are useless” for grid-scale electricity storage. (Recorded May 24, 2022.)

Toby Rice is the CEO of EQT, the largest natural gas producer in the U.S. In this episode, Rice talks about how American natural gas can help drive global decarbonization, the lack of sufficient pipeline capacity in the Northeast and why the inability to move methane is costing consumers, the continuing evolution of well drilling and completion, and why hydraulic fracturing is a “miracle technology.” (Recorded June 3, 2022.)