Isaac Orr: Policy Fellow at the Center of the American Experiment

Doug Sandridge has spent his entire career in the oil and gas sector, but about three  years ago, he became a staunch advocate for nuclear energy. In this episode, Sandridge explains why more than 100 hydrocarbon executives have signed onto a declaration in support of nuclear energy, the challenges facing nuclear deployment around the world, spent nuclear fuel, and why the domestic nuclear sector will need strong government backing to succeed. (Recorded February 22, 2024.)

Michelle Bloodworth is the CEO of America’s Power, a trade association representing the companies that supply fuel to and operate coal-fired power plants. In this episode, Bloodworth discusses the war on coal, the federal regulations that could shutter most of the remaining coal plants in the country, and why regulators at the state and federal levels need to be more focused on electricity reliability. (Recorded February 8, 2024.)

In his second appearance on the podcast (the first was December 6, 2022), Peter Zeihan, a geopolitical strategist and the author of four books, including most recently, The End of the World is Just the Beginning, talks about deglobalization, demographics, and why he still believes “the American system will thrive.” In addition, he discusses the catastrophic decline of Germany’s industrial sector, the “exorbitant privilege” the U.S. dollar has as the world’s reserve currency, and why, in his view, China is facing “national oblivion.” (Recorded February 22, 2024.)

In his second appearance on the podcast (the first was in February 2022,) Brent Bennett, policy director for Life:Powered, an initiative of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, talks about his recent report on electric vehicles and the challenges facing the Texas electric grid, three years after Winter Storm Uri. Bennett explains why climate activists have an almost religious attachment to EVs, why wind and solar are “holy fuels,” the problems with batteries, and why policymakers should think of electricity not as a commodity, but a service. (Recorded January 30, 2024.)

Edgardo Sepulveda is a Toronto-based economist who studies telecommunications and electricity markets. In this episode, Edgardo explains why the U.S. nuclear sector is shrinking in states with deregulated electricity markets, the need to align “patient capital” with societal goods, why nuclear energy needs strong government support,  and why Ontario is leading the world in the nuclear renaissance. (Recorded February 2, 2024.) 

In his third appearance on the podcast (his most recent was May 31, 2022), Emmet Penney, the editor of Grid Brief, and host of the Nuclear Barbarians podcast, talks about “environmental apocalypticism,” the staggering complexity of America’s electric grid, and why writing about electricity and energy has been intellectually humbling. (Recorded January 17, 2024.) 

In her sixth appearance on the podcast (her last appearance was January 13, 2023), I welcome back Meredith Angwin, the author of the 2020 book Shorting the Grid: The Hidden Fragility of Our Electric Grid. In this episode, Meredith discusses the physical and the policy grids, why no one is responsible for electricity reliability, and why facts are finally “intruding on the narrative” about decarbonization and the electric grid. (This episode was recorded on January 16, 2024.) 

Isaac Orr researches and writes about environmental issues, mining, and energy for the Center of the American Experiment, a Minnesota-based think tank. In his fourth appearance on the podcast (his last was on March 7, 2023), Orr talks about the staggering cost of decarbonization mandates, why the EPA’s proposed greenhouse gas rule could result in blackouts across middle America, the impact of higher interest rates are having on renewable-energy projects, and the widening divide between urban and rural voters. (Recorded on December 4, 2023.) 

Rep. Dan Crenshaw is a Republican who represents Texas’ 2nd Congressional District. In this episode, Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, talks about the divisions in Congress, the soaring federal deficit, military spending, and why what gives him hope is that “it’s really hard to screw up America. People have been trying, lots of idiots have been trying, for 250 years, but we have a remarkably stable constitution.” (Recorded December 12, 2023.)

Ruy Teixeira is the author or co-author of ten books and a prolific writer on politics in America. In this episode, Teixeira, who identifies as a Democrat, talks about Joe Manchin’s retirement from the U.S. Senate, the 2024 presidential election, why he thinks Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee, how his party got captured by climate change activists and “cultural radicalism,” and what the party needs to do to restore its appeal to working-class voters. (Recorded November 10, 2023.)