logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2022
29m 20s

Precious joules: a fusion-energy result

The Economist
About this episode

Scientists have reported a long-awaited nuclear-fusion breakthrough, using lasers to ignite hydrogen-isotope fuel in a self-sustaining burn. But that marks just one step on a long, uncertain road to clean fusion energy. Same-sex marriage in America is now protected by legislation, in a compromise that could provide a template for future culture-war clashes. And the uncertain future of Darjeeling teas.

Help us make the show better: take our listener survey at http://economist.com/intelligencesurvey

For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Yesterday
Fed alert: can Trump fire a governor?
What does Donald Trump’s attempt to sack Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve governor, mean for the institution’s independence? Uruguay may soon legalise assisted dying. And why shooting clubs – and other community associations – are thriving in Germany. Listen to what matters most, fro ... Show More
23m 28s
Aug 26
Grand theft global: the business of street crime
Car and phone theft were once the preserve of petty crooks in London. Now they underpin a vast and spreading international criminal network. Why you should consider consulting a new oracle for making big life decisions: an economist. And the cult of the private chef.Listen to wha ... Show More
19m 37s
Aug 25
That warm buzzy feeling: malaria and climate change
As temperatures climb, mosquitoes will migrate to places where natural resistance to malaria is lower. More and more severe natural disasters will make for more breeding grounds. How to stop a deadly disease getting deadlier? In China’s cut-throat food-delivery war, absolutely no ... Show More
24m 43s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2022
Precious joules: a fusion-energy result
Scientists have reported a long-awaited nuclear-fusion breakthrough, using lasers to ignite hydrogen-isotope fuel in a self-sustaining burn. But that marks just one step on a long, uncertain road to clean fusion energy. Same-sex marriage in America is now protected by legislation ... Show More
29m 20s
Mar 2023
Babbage: The race for nuclear fusion goes private
Imagine a power source that produces hardly any waste and is carbon-free. That’s the tantalising promise of controlled nuclear fusion, which physicists have been trying to achieve for 70 years. It is a simulacrum of the process that powers the sun, colliding atomic nuclei of vari ... Show More
44m 29s
Feb 2023
End-Gulfed: Preparing for a post-oil future
The petrostates of the Gulf are modernising their economies, growing more tolerant and liberalising their social contracts as they prepare for a world run on fewer hydrocarbons—but who will be left behind? A Chinese maker of electric vehicles prepares to steal a march on Tesla. A ... Show More
23m 28s
Dec 2021
Checks and Balance: Nuclear option
Nuclear is responsible for nearly 20% of America’s power generation and about half of its clean energy. It’s greener than fossil fuels and more reliable than renewables. Yet safety fears remain and plants are being closed. Will the climate crisis force America to reconsider nucle ... Show More
42m 26s
Dec 2022
The World Ahead 2023: Fuelling the future
Europe faces a painful energy crunch this winter, as it tries to make do with less Russian gas. Will this crisis “accelerate the green-energy transition”—and what role can companies and consumers play in reducing consumption? Host Tom Standage asks The Economist's environment edi ... Show More
24m 18s
Jun 2022
Babbage: How to go green amid an energy crisis
The energy shock threatens to derail action on climate change. Which technologies will enable the green transition, while ensuring energy security, too? Vijay Vaitheeswaran, The Economist's global energy & climate innovation editor, describes the pathway to a decarbonised future. ... Show More
37m 34s
May 2020
The Future of Green Energy
As the world looks to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, there’s hope in the growing renewable energy market. In this episode of Heat of the Moment, Daniel Schrag, the director of Harvard University’s Center for the Environment, speaks to host John Sutter about the benefits of re ... Show More
30m 33s
Oct 2023
Babbage: How to avoid a battery shortage
In the coming decades, electric vehicles will dominate the roads and renewables will provide energy to homes. But for the green transition to be successful, unprecedented amounts of energy storage is needed. Batteries will be used everywhere—from powering electric vehicles, to pr ... Show More
44m 44s
Dec 2022
Can nuclear fusion save the world?
After decades of attempts, scientists have finally created a nuclear fusion reaction in a lab. On today’s show, what this breakthrough means for the future of energy. Read more: Last week, the Energy Department announced that for the first time, scientists have been able to produ ... Show More
20m 36s