Decouple

What's A Wind Drought? Europe's Lust for the Gust

11 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Hannah Bloomfield, a Climate Risk Analytics research associate at the University of Bristol, describes an extreme weather event that affected Euro...

The James Hansen Interview

06 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this very special episode, I am joined live in Berlin by the "Godfather of Climate Science," Dr. James Hansen. Dr. James Hansen is the former direc...

Colonialism in Green

03 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Vijaya Ramachandran is tracking the lastest in eco-colonialism. Numerous countries and investment banks have blocked the financing of fossil fuels...

Let The Market Decide? A History of Government Intervention in Energy

28 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Dr. Keefer and economist Edgardo Sepulveda cover a lot of ground: • Edgardo’s new website that includes the electricity profiles ...

Darth Vader On Geoengineering

25 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Dark Lord takes a break from singing 80s parodies outside the gates of COP26 to talk to us about his love for geoengineering. For an argument agai...

Can You Dig It? Should You Dig It? All About Mining

22 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Mining underpins nearly everything in our modern lives. Essentially, if we didn't grow it, we mined it. Dr. Richard Herrington, an academic geologist ...

Indigenous Climate Action

18 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Eriel Tchekwie Deranger is a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and the Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action. Eriel critiques p...

Is African Poverty a Climate Solution?

15 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Special Decouple Studios mini-doc from inside the walls of COP26. Decouple's Jesse Freeston follows two young nuclear energy advocates, Shirly Rodrigu...

A Sober Sitdown with the German Climate Negotiators

11 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What has the Energiewende achieved, what hasn't it? An interview with the spokesperson for the German delegation to COP26, Stephan Gabriel Haufe. We d...

France’s Second Nuclear Renaissance?

10 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Keefer sits down in Glasgow with Carine de Boissezon, who is the Chief Sustainability Officer at the French electric utility Électricité de Fran...

Will the Revolution be Funded?

08 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Decouple mobile studios reports from Glasgow, Scotland, where Dr. Keefer and other pro-nuclear advocates are attending COP26, the 2021 UN Climate Chan...

Michael Shellenberger: A Heretic Among Heretics

04 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I am joined by returning guest Michael Shellenberger. We briefly discuss his new book San Fransicko, which, like his best-seller Apoc...

Its Gas or Nuclear, you Pickering

01 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this special episode, I am joined live by filmmaker Jesse Freeston on the sunny beach in front of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, which p...

Sayonara Nuclear? Japan’s Energy Transitions

26 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

I am joined by Yuriy Humber, founder of Japan NRG, to discuss Japan’s complex relationship with nuclear technology and its energy issues past and pr...

Ted Nordhaus Deconstructs Degrowth

21 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

I am joined by returning guest and co-founder of The Breakthrough Institute, Ted Nordhaus, to discuss degrowth as a proposed solution to climate chang...

Emmet Penney and the Nuclear Barbarians

18 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

I am joined by returning guest Emmet Penney to discuss his new project, Nuclear Barbarians. The project is Emmet’s own brand of nuclear advocacy, d...

How to Feed a Warming Planet

12 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In a change of pace for Decouple, I am joined by Dr. Channa Prakash for a wide-ranging discussion on crop science and agriculture. We discuss biotechn...

Europe's Winter of Discontent

09 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

I am joined again by Mark Nelson to speak on the energy shocks tearing through Europe and Asia. What are its causes, and what will its consequences be...

Illinois' Nuclear Near-Death Experience

04 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

I am joined by returning guest of Madi Czerwinski, founder of the Campaign for a Green Nuclear Deal, to reflect on the recent win for Illinois low-car...

The EU Green Taxonomy Soap Opera feat. Myrto Tripathi

27 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The EU Green Taxonomy has been a source of acrimony in the EU since it launched. It was meant as a tool to guide investment towards a "low carbon, res...

What’s up with the “Modernism” in Ecomodernism? feat. Alex Trembath

20 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week, I am joined by Alex Trembath, Deputy Director of The Breakthrough Institute, to deconstruct the “modernism” in Ecomodernism. Modernism ...

The Preconditions of France's Nuclear Buildout feat. François Perchet

13 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We are often told that we need a World War 2 level mobilization to address the looming threats of climate change. What if there is a better historical...

The Belgian Green’s Climate Own Goal feat. Rob De Schutter

10 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In 2025, Belgium will close its last two nuclear plants, which make around half of the countries power. The plan? Replace it with gas. The day after t...

Taiwan's Energy Gamble feat. Angelica Oung

06 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I am joined by Angelica Oung, an energy reporter from Taiwan, to discuss Taiwan's plan to power the island with up to 50% natural gas...

A Natural Gas Masterclass feat. Mark Nelson

30 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Natural gas occupies a strange place in the climate debate. By helping to phase out coal, it has led modest decarbonization efforts in the United Stat...

Ontario’s Climate Retreat feat. Edgardo Sepulveda

23 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the past two decades, Ontario has become a world leader in clean electricity by phasing out coal generation, which it did 90% by restarting units a...

The coming European blackouts and SMR opportunities feat. Kalev Kallemets

19 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Germany has once again embarked on a war on two fronts this time attempting to phase out its two main sources of reliable baseload power, Nuclear and ...

Assessing the Sixth IPCC report feat. Zeke Hausfather

14 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The IPCC has released its first major update in 8 years, the sixth assessment report (AR6). Zeke Hausfather, who contributed to the IPCC report and is...

Medical Isotopes? We CANDU that!: Feat James Scongack

09 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Medical isotopes make modern medicine possible. We depend on a steady supply to sterilize medical equipment, as radiation sources for oncology treatme...

SMR Economics and the Nuclear Secret Sauce feat. Tony Roulstone

03 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the West, many nuclear advocates have pinned their hopes for a nuclear renaissance on Small Modular Reactors, or SMRs. SMRs range from a potentiall...

How Radiation Affects Us feat. Dr. Douglas Boreham

26 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We live in a radioactive world. Every minute, 7,000 potentially cell-damaging radioactive releases occur in our bodies. How are we still alive? And wh...

Batteries, Energy Lysenkoism, and Geopolitics feat. Mark P. Mills

19 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Intermittent weather-dependent sources of electricity need backup storage to compensate for gaps in production. Elon Musk has promised that Solar + Po...

What Went Wrong at Vogtle? feat. Mark Nelson

12 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Vogtle was supposed to be the beginning of a nuclear renaissance. The two AP1000's at this site were the first new reactors to be built in the USA in ...

Nuclear Energy is Union Energy feat. Bob Walker

07 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Nuclear energy is only possible thanks to a highly-skilled, largely unionized workforce. In popular culture, nuclear workers have been portrayed as in...

A Good War feat. Seth Klein

02 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Seth Klein, a writer and public policy researcher, joins Dr. Keefer to discuss his book, A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency. Klei...

Fragilizing South Africa’s Grid feat. Gaopalelwe Santswere

28 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Gaopalelwe Santswere, a nuclear physicist and regulatory expert, joins Dr. Keefer to discuss the electricity sector in South Africa whose aging coal f...

Emergency Reactor feat. Zion Lights

21 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Returning guest Zion Lights, a powerhouse pro nuclear advocate whose most recent initiative has been to launch the group Emergency Reactor, joins me t...

Why Nuclear Energy Has Been a Flop feat. Jack Devanney

17 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

At its birth, nuclear energy entered a highly competitive market for electricity generation. Oil was so cheap that it was stealing market share for el...

What's happening at Taishan? feat. Mark Nelson

14 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Taishan nuclear plant in the Guangdong province of China houses two French-built EPR reactors, the first of their kind in the country. For the pas...

Small, Modular and North of 60 Feat: Jay Harris

11 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A special crosspost from the WeCANDUIt podcast. Jay Harris, an indigenous energy consultant and proponent of small modular reactor (SMR) for remote lo...

Energy Democracy and Its Discontents feat. Edgardo Sepulveda

06 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Edgardo Sepulveda, a telecoms regulatory economist, returns to the Decouple podcast to discuss energy equity and how it relates to discussions of ener...

Uranium mining past, present and future feat. Jerry Grandey

30 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Its a basic truism but every material object that we use as humans that we did not farm or harvest from the land was mined. In the developed world we ...

The Climate Crystal Ball feat. Zeke Hausfather

25 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Humanity has emitted over 1 trillion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere since the industrial revolution, raising atmospheric concentrations of CO2 from...

How to Win Friends and Influence feat. Isabelle Boemeke

22 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Isabelle Boemeke, the nuclear influencer behind Isodope, joins me again to talk about Diablo Canyon, her experience as an unconventional advocate, sta...

Saving our clean energy cathedrals in Illinois feat. Madi Czerwinski

18 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Byron and Dresden nuclear plants, which supply 30% of Illinois CO2-free energy will power down in 4 months without government intervention. These ...

Carbon Abatement Cost and the Social Cost of Carbon feat. Edgardo Sepulveda

15 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In New England it has been calculated by Reiner Khur that the carbon abatement cost of rooftop solar is 800$/ton, utility wind and solar ~300$/ton and...

Poland’s Pragmatic Environmentalists feat. Adam Blazowski

12 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Adam Blazowski is a co-founder of the Polish pragmatic environmentalist group FOTA4Climate. FOTA came together in 2018 out of frustration with the lim...

Reverse Geo-Engineering with Carbon Capture and Sequestration feat. Sean Wagner

08 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Carbon capture and storage. Loved by some, hated by others, essential to many an energy transition modeller for achieving net zero emissions. On today...

Beyond Chutzpah NGO led Climate Vandalism & Indian Point. feat Dietmar Detering and Isuru Seneviratne

04 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On May 1st at 11am in a matter of minutes New York State lost more clean energy than all of it’s solar and wind energy fleet combined. This act of c...

Mothers for Nuclear. feat Heather Hoff

01 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Heather Hoff is the co-founder of Mothers for Nuclear, and the mother of Zoe. She is a materials scientist, nuclear reactor operator and lifelong envi...

Deregulation and deep decarbonisation feat. Edgardo Sepulveda

26 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

I am joined by Edgardo Sepulveda, a telecoms regulatory economist with an interest in the electricity sector, focused on restructuring and privatizati...

Nuclear the ultimate ESG investment feat. Arthur Hyde

23 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Environment, Social, Governance investing is a paradigm that is quickly becoming a driving force for global finance. Investors are increasingly paying...

The Russian Atom feat. Mark Nelson

20 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Russia has been in the nuclear energy game now for over 75 years and its nuclear industry has bounced back to become the leading exporter of reactors ...

Fukushima & Much Ado About Tritium feat. Dr Geraldine Thomas

15 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The decision by the Japanese government to begin releasing 1.25 million tonnes of treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant site over a 10 year p...

Hydrogen Hope and/or Hype feat. James Fleay

14 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

While hydrogen fuel cells were once hyped for use in personal transportation, hydrogen is now being marketed as an energy panacea and a vital part of ...

Magical Thinking, Moore's Law, and Energy feat. Mark P Mills

11 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We live in a world transformed by big tech and exponential advances in computing. It is no surprise we hope this pattern can be repeated with an energ...

Mark Z Jacobson's Roadmap to Nowhere feat. Mike Conley

06 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Z Jacobson's roadmap is cited by politicians like AOC, Bernie Sanders, and many others as an article of faith that a 100% renewables system is ac...

Decoupling from the Naturalistic Fallacy feat. Alan Levinovitz

30 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What happens to our decision-making when we turn nature into God? Humans crave cognitive shortcuts to spare us the metabolically costly mental labour ...

Thoughtscaping at Chernobyl feat. Iida Ruishalme

24 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Biologist and science communicator Iida Ruishalme used to sing a Finnish antinuclear protest song about hiding from the Chernobyl plume in her youth. ...

Is China the Future of Nuclear Energy? feat. Francois Morin

20 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

China is currently 3rd in the world in Nuclear Energy capacity with ambitious plans to have the most reactors in the world by 2030. The Tsinghua clima...

Avocado Politics feat. Nils Gilman

16 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On the progressive side of the political spectrum, it is assumed that with an increasing acknowledgment of the reality of climate change will come def...

Can the Left & Right Come Together to Decouple? feat. Emmet Penney and James Fleay

13 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Nuclear has not always been a culture wars issue. Is there an opportunity for the Left with its concern for climate action and the Right with its trus...

Hazards, Risks and Science Communication feat. Iida Ruishalme

11 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"What man desires is not knowledge but certainty." Winston Churchill In this episode Iida Ruishalme, the brains behind "thoughtscapism" discusses scie...

10 Years Since Tohoku & Fukushima feat. Paul Blustein

05 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Tohoku earthquake which led to the Fukushima accident was the 4th most powerful earthquake in the world since modern measurement and record keepin...

At COP26 Net Zero Needs Nuclear feat. Arun Khuttan

02 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The conference of the parties (COP) is where almost every nation on earth, each with an equal vote, gathers to talk climate change and attempt to hamm...

Bill Gates vs Climate Change feat. Leigh Phillips

27 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A deep dive into Bill Gates most recent book "How to prevent a Climate Disaster" with Leigh Phillips. Bill Gates has burst onto the climate scene and ...

UK Decarbonisation: Legally Binding But Precarious feat. David Watson

26 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The UK has made a legally binding commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. Boris Johnson recently released a 10-point green plan, which included the ...

The Case for Nuclear Energy in Philippines feat. Mark Cojuangco

23 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Philippines exports its people to earn foreign exchange to, amongst other things, pay for imported fossil fuels to power the country. Families are...

Canada, Climate, CANDU & Canoes feat. Jeremy Whitlock

17 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Due to the global geopolitics of the 1940's Canada became the unlikely centre for the world's second largest nuclear research infrastructure at the en...

Trouble in Texas feat. Mark Nelson

16 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Texan grid AKA the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is a house of cards. It is an energy only, deregulated market which does not rewa...

The Other Energy Transition feat. Dr. Scott Tinker

10 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

While wealthy countries in the West are engaged in an energy transition obstensibly away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy the developing wor...

Wizards and Prophets, Ecomodernists and Environmentalists feat. Charles C Mann

06 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Just as the political spectrum is divided between left and right, thinking on environmental problem solving is similarly split into two rival camps ex...

Greenpeace selling Vegan natural gas? feat. Simon Wakter

01 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. When environmental NGO's morph into fossil fuel companies something is very wrong with environmentalism....

The Rise of Nuclear Fear feat. Spencer Weart

30 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Is part of our rejection of expertise, distrust of science and weaponization of the precautionary principle tied to how suicidally close we came to mu...

Means, Motive, Opportunity: Fossil Fueled Radiophobia feat. Rod Adams

26 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There is money to be made in Nuclear Fear. Consider this. In Japan over the last 10 years since the Fukushima accident, approximately 50 billion USD a...

The Politics of Energy Transition feat. Robert Bryce

20 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

I am joined by Robert Bryce, an American author, journalist, filmmaker and podcaster in a wide ranging discussion of the politics of the world's unfol...

The Nuclear Fusion Energy Delusion? feat. Gerrit Bruhaug

06 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Fusion is supposed to be even more powerful than fission but without the baggage. It resonates with the appeal to nature fallacy with notions of bring...

Gaia, Technology, and the Anthropocene feat. Lewis Dartnell

29 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Decouple is a show which is fundamentally about attitudes to technology and the role that decoupling technologies, so called technofixes, can play in ...

Hope, Hype, Hubris, and Deep Decarbonisation feat. Nick Touran

20 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Nick Touran is a Ph.D. nuclear engineer and advanced reactor designer who runs the science education website whatisnuclear.com. Advanced and Small Mod...

China’s Great Climate Leap Forward? feat. Seaver Wang

15 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"China will cut carbon emissions by over 65% by 2030" according to Chinese President Xi Jinping. In addition two new studies published by the leading ...

The Heterodox Anthropologist of Nuclear feat. Bret Kugelmass

08 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes an outsider's perspective can lead to startling conclusions. Bret Kugelmass is a successful tech entrepreneur turned climate activist. His e...

Doctors for Nuclear Energy feat. Dr. Anton Van Der Merwe

01 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Rudolf Virchow, one of the founders of scientific medicine, said that "Medicine is a social science, and politics is nothing more than medicine on...

Reflections on the Decouple Journey feat. Jesse Freeston

26 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The host becomes the guest as I hand over the microphone to film maker and long time friend Jesse Freeston. Jesse got the Decouple podcast rolling by ...

Campaign for a Green Nuclear Deal feat. Madi Czerwinski

20 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Campaign for a Green Nuclear Deal calls for a dramatic increase in nuclear energy to supply 50% of US electricity by 2050. Beyond being a policy p...

Ecomodernism's Arch Pragmatist feat. Ted Nordhaus

16 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Ted Nordhaus is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Breakthrough Institute, the world's first and most prominent Ecomodernist think tank. We ...

The Malthusian Spectre Haunting Environmentalism feat. Michael Shellenberger

05 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A wide ranging conversation with Michael Shellenberger exploring the Malthusian origins of environmentalism and what happened to the left as it m...

Russian Gas & Germany's War on Nuclear: EU Energy Realpolitik feat. Mark Nelson

31 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The European Union finds itself at an energy crossroads. Germany, the economic powerhouse of Europe, has been rushing to shut down its nuclear plants ...

The Nuclear New Deal feat. Emmet Penney

22 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Green New Deal has become a catch phrase but very few people, including the politicians who envoke its memory, have a solid grasp of the context a...

French Nuclear Energy & Social Solidarity feat. Myrto Tripathi

16 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In France we don't have oil but we have ideas! Myrto Tripathi is the founder and president of Voices of Nuclear. We explore the past, present and futu...

Shorting the Grid feat. Meredith Angwin

18 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Grid has been described as one of the preeminent engineering accomplishments of the 20th century and the world's largest machine. However, when pe...

Sunset on Greenpeace's Solar Village feat. Gayatri Vaidyanathan

12 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dharnai Live was Greenpeace's showcase rural electrification project that aimed to prove that solar microgrids were the way to meet rural India's powe...

Stand Up for Nuclear feat. Paris Ortiz Wines

04 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Paris is the Director of Outreach and a former analyst at Environmental Progress who oversees the organization’s outreach and engagement efforts. In...

Isodope: Isabelle Boemeke the Nuclear Influencer

29 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode Isabelle Boemeke and I talk about the ins and outs of Nuclear Advocacy with a special look at "Influencers" and the use of novel platf...

Existing Nuclear and Imaginary Nuclear feat. Mark Nelson

19 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dreams of advanced nuclear and the SMR revolution around the corner which will solve all of Nuclear's problems such as economics, safety and load foll...

Swords Into Plowshares: How to Get Rid of Nuclear Weapons feat. James Conca

10 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

On the anniversary of the Nagasaki bombing Dr James Conca returns to Decouple to talk about Nuclear Weapons, disarmament and the Megatonnes to Megawat...

Karnkraft: Sweden's Social Democratic Nuclear Climate Fix feat. John Ahlberg

03 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There is a popular misconception based upon charicatures of Mr. Burns from the Simpsons that Nuclear Energy is an evil, capitalistic and undemocratic ...

Apocalypse Never Review feat. Leigh Phillips

27 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In his most recent book, Apocalypse Never, Michael Shellenberger has stirred some major waves particularly in his promotional efforts where he recentl...

Solutions for the "Impossible" Problem of Nuclear "Waste" feat. Dr. James Conca

22 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A lively and entertaining conversation with polymath Dr. James Conca about the ultimate environmental bogeyman. Jim is a science communicator and rena...

Six Degrees of Climate Emergency feat. Mark Lynas

16 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Lynas is a science writer and author of numerous books on the environment including High Tide, Six Degrees, The God Species, Nuclear 2.0 and Seed...

Coming out as pro-nuclear feat. Zion Lights

06 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Zion Lights is a British author and environmental activist. She was a prominent spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion and the founder and editor of &n...