Nuclear Barbarians

Emmet Penney

Emmet Penney talks to experts, workers, journalists, and scholars from all over the world about nuclear energy, energy issues, culture, and society. Subscribe to the Substack to get the newsletter and the podcast sent directly to your inbox: www.nuclearbarbarians.com.

This podcast is supported by the Foundation for American Innovation.

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20 episodes
Avg 45 min
English

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#102
August 19 · 41 min
The Future Belongs to Builders ft. Jonathan Webb (The Nuclear Company)
In the final installment of my follow up series with nuclear companies, I spoke with Jonathan Webb, the co-founder and CEO of The Nuclear Company. For those who don’t know, TNC is pursuing a fleet-scale build of big reactors (and perhaps small ones too!) with cutting edge tech to turn blue collar workers into the Iron Men of megaprojects. Jonathan broke down his vision for nuclear, why workers are the key to everything, what’s going on with TNC’s VC Summer build, and so much more. His big-heart
#101
July 7 · 44 min
The Critical Moment ft. Matt Loszak (Aalo Atomics)
Late in the night on July 4th, Aalo Atomics took their test reactor critical. In this episode, Aalo’s co-founder and CEO, Matt Loszak, returned to speak with me about the company’s experience in the DOE’s reactor pilot program. The conversation took a fascinating look at moving fast and building things—from sourcing materials to cultivating mindset.
#100
June 19 · 44 min
Powering the Moonbase ft. Tyler Bernstein (Zeno Power)
This is the first in a series of check-ins with previous guests about the unfolding nuclear renaissance. In this episode, Tyler Bernstein, CEO and co-founder of Zeno Power, returns to talk with me about Zeno’s progress (check out our first episode here). We chop it up about the importance of Trump’s EOs, NASA’s commitment to a permanent lunar base, and—wait! I’m burying the lede. Zeno has just acquired Vallecitos Nuclear Center in California, the first commercially owned nuclear plant. Though
#99
May 20 · 48 min
Can I Be Fusionpilled? ft. Andrew Holland (Fusion Industry Association)
I'll admit, I'm a bit of a fusion skeptic. But! There are exciting things happening in the fusion industry these days. So, I brought Andrew Holland, CEO of the Fusion Industry Association, to talk to me about why things are looking up for fission's avant-garde cousin. Andrew's candor, insight, and enthusiasm made him a great guest. I had questions about everything from break-even hurdles to robotics and he handled it all with aplomb. I came away from this episode convinced that regardless of how
#98
March 3 · 58 min
Waste Not, Want Not ft. Carl Perez (Exodys)
In today’s episode, I got to talk about something near and dear to my heart (nuclear waste reprocessing) with Carl Perez of Exodys Energy, a nuclear waste reprocessing company. Carl is a wealth of knowledge, as you’ll hear in the episode. We discuss the basics of waste reprocessing, the history of the industry, what makes Exodys stand out, and why getting waste reprocessing right will change the world.
#97
January 29 · 33 min
Energy Dominance Financing ft. Julie Kozeracki (EDF)
Today I’m joined by Julie Kozeracki, the Chief Investment Officer of the Energy Dominance Financing Office, which serves as the Department of Energy’s bank. We talk about her admiration for Admiral Hyman Rickover, the nature of the EDF, financing large light water reactors and small modular reactors, why the EDF’s operations are vital to a nuclear renaissance in America, and more! I felt really lucky to speak with Julie. I’m a huge fan of hers and a major supporter of the EDF’s work. Read mor
#96
January 15 · 35 min
Forward Operating Microreactors ft. Jeff Waksman (US Army)
For this episode, my guest is Jeff Waksman, whose official title is Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment. That’s a long title. In brief, he’s trying to get microreactors built for the US Army via the Janus Program. We discussed the nature of the program, unforeseen challenges in hard tech, why the Army is pursuing microreactors, and more! You can learn more about Janus here. And you can follow Jeff Waksman on X—which I heartily recommend.
#95
Nov 13, 2025 · 48 min
Perpetuating the Nuclear Lifecycle Ft. Ken Rueter (UCOR)
One of the best parts of running this podcast is the chance to learn about aspects of the nuclear industry I know little about. Today’s guest, the President and CEO of United Clean Up Oak Ridge, taught me all about remediating nuclear sites. UCOR, the DOE’s contractor for the Oak Ridge Reservation, boasts an impressive suite of expertise and logistical acumen dedicated to turning over former Manhattan Project sites for civilian and government use. Ken broke down the steps of remediation and the
#94
Oct 31, 2025 · 47 min
Texatomica ft. Reed Clay (Texas Nuclear Alliance)
Reed Clay, President of the Texas Nuclear Alliance, joined me today to talk about how Texas is gearing up for the nuclear renaissance. We discussed how he came to support nuclear by learning about waste, what has set Texas apart from other states in support nuclear, how TNA’s annual summit is shaping the national nuclear landscape, and Reed’s advice for other states that want to become nuclear hubs. Reed is a humble, hard-working guy and it was a pleasure to speak with him.
#93
Oct 10, 2025 · 39 min
Reactors by the Bargeful by Jake Jurewicz (Blue Energy)
This episode is dedicated to all of the light water reactor fans out there. Especially if you like your LWRs in water. Listen to this conversation with the co-founder and CEO of Blue Energy, Jake Jurewicz, and you'll understand what I mean. Jake is a utility industry veteran with a lifetime of experience on construction sites, so our discussion about how his new company is going to site SMRs on waterways and ship them by barge gets into all kinds of nitty gritty: management, permitting, financin
#92
Sep 26, 2025 · 53 min
Moving the World ft. Craig Fuller (Freightwaves)
Craig Fuller comes from a legacy trucking family. He’s also the CEO and founder of Freightwaves, the Bloomberg of logistics. So, Craig’s the perfect guy to write an accessible primer on supply chains, which is exactly what he’s done. He came on the show to talk about the new book, Moving the World: How the Supply Chain’s Evolution Affects Us All (which you can pre-order here!). We dig into what the Covid crisis taught us about supply chains, why reshoring makes sense both economically and strate
#91
Sep 5, 2025 · 41 min
Seafloor, Icecap, Moon ft. Tyler Bernstein of Zeno Power
Zeno Power, a cutting edge nuclear company, is making batteries powered with Strontium 90 for niche deployment cases: the moon, the arctic, and the seafloor. I got to pick Zeno cofounder and CEO Tyler Bernstein’s brain about their exciting new technology, why Zeno’s work is critical in our increasingly multipolar world, and the upsides of competing with China. This was a fascinating discussion and I think you guys are going to love it. Not long after we recorded this episode, Zeno added former N
#90
Aug 30, 2025 · 44 min
Tickling the Dragon ft. Matt Loszak of Aalo Atomics
Matt Loszak, the cofounder and CEO of Aalo Atomics, joined me to talk about Aalo’s progress rolling SMRs off the factory line. We get into Aalo’s test reactor at Idaho National Labs, a DOE path toward approving nuclear designs, how Trump’s nuclear executive orders have helped the industry, “zero power criticality,” and more.Since we recorded this episode, Aalo has closed its $100 million Series B and has officially been selected by the DOE to test the Aalo-X reactor at INL by hitting zero power
#89
Aug 15, 2025 · 45 min
TRISO Serious ft. Kurt Terrani of Standard Nuclear
There are so many exciting developments in the nuclear space, I can hardly keep up. And not just in the realm of reactors. Kurt Terrani, the CEO of Standard Nuclear, joined me to talk about his new company and its ambitions for TRISO fuel. For me, this was a major download on nuclear fuel types. Kurt’s a very knowledgable dude working with a highly experienced team. Check out Standard Nuclear on LinkedIn, Instagram, and X. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subsc
#88
Aug 1, 2025 · 44 min
Nuclear for Seven Generations ft. Scott Lathrop of Native Nuclear
On today’s episode, I spoke with Scott Lathrop, the Founder and Chief Executive Director of Native Nuclear. Like me, Scott sees nuclear power as a multi-generational infrastructure investment that serves as a sheet anchor for healthy communities and healthy economies. But he brings a distinctly native perspective to nuclear that subverts stereotypes, just like the educational work his organization is doing in tribal energy politics. I learned a lot from Scott during this interview and I know you
#87
Jul 15, 2025 · 46 min
Sounding the Depths ft. Ari Brown of Bellwether LLC
Former navy nuke Ari Brown joined me to talk about his experience in the service. For me, his story offers profound insight into what it takes to institutionalize excellence. Then we talk about his new company, Bellwether LLC, and how Ari is using his programming background and acoustic analysis skills to figure out how to fix machines in an innovative way. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians at www.nuclearbarbarians.com/subscribe
#86
Jul 1, 2025 · 47 min
No Sleep Til Fleetscale ft. Joe Klecha of The Nuclear Company
For this episode, Joe Klecha, the Chief Nuclear Officer at The Nuclear Company, joined me to talk about his background as a navy nuke, his time working on the Vogtle build, and what it takes to pull off megaprojects. Then we discuss how TNC’s recent deal with Palantir is going to unleash fleets of new nuclear power plants. I learned so much from this episode—Joe is a patriot, a leader, and a wealth of knowledge. I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I did. Get full access to Nuclear Barbarians
#85
Jun 5, 2025 · 48 min
Lone Star Nuclear ft. Andrew Kirima
On this episode, Andrew Kirima of the Texas Nuclear Alliance stops by to talk about his origins as a nuclear advocate, what’s been going on with nuclear in Texas, and how the TNA fits into the American nuclear scene.Register for the TNA Summit this October!Check out Andrew on X and LinkedIn.And also check out the other nuclear project Andrew is involved with: Exodys Energy.Nuclear Barbarians is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or
#84
May 9, 2025 · 58 min
(bonus episode) FREE PLANET ft. Aubrey Sitterson
In a special bonus episode, I speak with comic book writer Aubrey Sitterson about his new hard scifi geopolitical space opera, Free Planet. This comic has it all: energy literacy, questions of science and technology, the trials and tribulations of democracy, and some incredible layouts. I hope you guys enjoy this break from our usual programming. I encourage you to head down to your local comic shop and snatch up Issue 01, which you can read a sample of here. Also: check out Aubrey’s Substack, A
#83
May 6, 2025 · 43 min
Nuclear = Energy Security ft. Benton Arnett of NEI
Benton Arnett, Director of Markets and Policy at the Nuclear Energy Institute, joined me to talk about nuclear’s prospects today and what makes it such a boon for energy security. Benton’s a great guy with a deep knowledge base. I had a lot of fun chatting with him and learned things about the nuclear supply chain construction that surprised me!Nuclear Barbarians is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full acc

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