Aug 2018

Thinking Machines | Artificial Intelligence | S3-E1

Artificial Intelligence is no longer the stuff of science fiction. And it’s about to get much more powerful: machines that can reason, create, predict the future, even dream. AI is likely to be one of the most transformative technologies of the 21st-century.This is the first in o ... Show More

39m 49s

Oct 2018

Preventing Paralysis | Marching Towards a Cure | S4-E1

You can binge all episodes of American Innovations exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. Find Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple PodcastsBy the middle of the last century Americans lived in fear of one disease: polio. The story of the polio vaccine is not just a scientific st ... Show More

34m 41s

Nov 2018

Conquering Pain | The Frolic | S5-E1

For decades, Americans resigned themselves to gritting their teeth through the agony of surgery. And then along came an eminent surgeon, a charming swindler and his hapless mark and changed everything.You can binge all episodes of American Innovations exclusively and ad-free on W ... Show More

33m 20s

Dec 2024

#518 | Atoms For Peace | The Early Years of Nuclear Power

In part one of our mini-series on nuclear energy, we'll explore the origins of nuclear power as it emerged alongside nuclear weapons. Learn how President Eisenhower envisioned "Atoms for Peace" and how political events like the 1973 oil crisis propelled nuclear energy into the sp ... Show More

19m 8s

Jul 2022

S3 E9: An Atomic Future

What were the long-term effects of the SL-1 explosion? Nuclear power is a shrinking part of America’s energy picture; accidents and fear have tarnished it, and the old reactor fleet is reaching its end. Yet nuclear energy could provide a bulwark against the looming threat of clim ... Show More

33m 21s

May 2022

Who Killed Nuclear Energy?

Emmet Penney, creator of Nuclear Barbarians, Grid Brief, and the ex.haust podcast, walks us through the rise, fall and future prospects of nuclear power in the United States. Emmet dives deep on the historical, regulatory, political, and environmentalist forces behind nuclear ene ... Show More

1h 15m

Apr 2012

How Nuclear Weapons Work

This week, Chris and Jonathan explore one of the world's most dangerous technologies. How do nuclear weapons work? Why are uranium and plutonium important components? What’s the difference between a fission and a fusion bomb? Tune in to learn more. Learn more about ... Show More

51m 58s

May 2022

S3 E3: A New(clear) Hope

The horrifying devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki proved the destructive capabilities of nuclear power. But, in the aftermath of World War II, we started to experiment with how we could use atomic energy for good. It was the dawn of a new era in science, and, in that spirit, t ... Show More

25m 17s

Jan 2025

Nukes

In an episode first reported in 2017, we bring you a look up and down the US nuclear chain of command to find out who gets to authorize their use and who can stand in the way of Armageddon. President Richard Nixon once boasted that at any moment he could pick up a telep ... Show More

52m 27s

Jan 2024

The Manhattan Project | Chain Reaction | 1

In December 1938, a team of German physicists achieved an astonishing scientific breakthrough: they split the nucleus of a uranium atom. In the United States, news of the discovery sparked fear in the scientific community. Atomic fission could power a devastating new weapon, and ... Show More

40m 4s

Jul 2025

The bomb (part 1): were nuclear weapons inevitable?

Where did the world’s most devastating weapon come from? In a four-part series, we go behind the scenes at America's nuclear laboratories to understand how a scientific-mystery story about the ingredients of matter led to a world-changing (and second-world-war-ending) bomb less t ... Show More

44m 22s

Sep 2024

Ep15: Inside Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant | BG2 w/ Bill Gurley & Brad Gerstner

Open Source bi-weekly convo w/ Bill Gurley and Brad Gerstner on all things tech, markets, investing & capitalism. This week they sit down with Maureen Zawalick (Vice President at Diablo Canyon Power Plant) to discuss the importance of nuclear power, the history and future ... Show More

1h 18m

Dec 2022

MacroVoices #355 Mark Nelson: Understanding All Things Nuclear

In this first part of holiday special, MacroVoices welcomes nuclear engineer Mark Nelson to the show to discuss all things nuclear. Erik and Mark start with a brief history of the industry, then talk about both real and perceived problems with nuclear power, before moving on t ... Show More

2h 34m

Nuclear Energy | E = MC Squared | S2-E1