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Trump's latest attempt to save coal Aug 13, 2025

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In this episode, I'm joined by Frank Rambo of the Horizon Climate Initiative to discuss "uneconomic dispatch" — the costly and polluting practice of running coal plants even when cheaper, cleaner options are available. We dig into why utilities get away with this, how the Trump administration is now trying to force them to continue via bogus "reliability" claims, and why fighting this practice at the state level is a huge, bipartisan win for both the climate and consumer pocketbooks.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

What the FEOC? Aug 06, 2025

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In this episode, I'm joined by Jake Higdon and Isabel Munilla, who helped develop the original "foreign entity of concern" (FEOC) standards for the Inflation Reduction Act, which sought to encourage domestic supply chains. We explore the security risks that prompted FEOC policy, the delicate balance required to do it right, and the absolute hash that Republicans made of it in their recent budget bill, to the point that it may kill the domestic manufacturing they claim to support.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

A fireside chat with Jigar Shah Aug 01, 2025

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In this episode, recorded live back in May, I'm joined by the one and only Jigar Shah to discuss Washington state climate policy and post-IRA policy in general. Jigar argues that to build political durability, the climate movement must shift its focus from shiny tech to solving everyday cost-of-living problems and that smart finance is the real key to scaling the energy transition for everyone.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

US transit costs and how to tame them Jul 30, 2025

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I'm joined by Alon Levy of NYU's Transit Costs Project, whose work documents how expensive it is to build transit in the US relative to the rest of the world. We discuss how countries like Spain and Italy build cheaply by relying on in-house public expertise and standardized designs, while the Anglosphere is captured by a costly ideology of privatization. Levy explains how applying these lessons could make ambitious projects like high-speed rail in the Northeast not just possible but affordable.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

Ann Arbor's experiment with a new kind of utility Jul 23, 2025

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Ann Arbor voted to create a parallel, municipal electric utility that offers only distributed renewables, and Missy Stults is the woman making it real. We explore the nuts and bolts: buying existing solar for seed revenue, building microgrids in a city still served by DTE, and why DTE is — so far — more curious than threatened. If it works, the SEU could become the blueprint for every climate-ambitious town trapped in IOU territory.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

What's going on with electric boats? Jul 18, 2025

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In this episode, Arc CEO Mitch Lee explains why the jump from gas-powered boats to electric boats is even bigger, in terms of quality and user experience, than the jump from gas-powered cars to EVs. EBs are strikingly quieter, have greater torque, and require much less maintenance. Oh, and despite what Trump says, they are also much safer and less likely to strand their occupants.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

Solar+storage is so much farther along than you think Jul 16, 2025

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I chat with Kostantsa Rangelova and Dave Jones, authors of a new Ember report, who find that solar-plus-storage costs have declined so much that it can now provide baseload-level power in sunny cities for less than the cost of new nuclear or even new gas. We discuss why even energy pros are behind the curve on this, how quickly the technology is improving, and why most of the world doesn't see natural gas as a viable option the way the US does.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

Trump's big bill: How bad is it and what comes next? Jul 11, 2025

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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.volts.wtf

In this "What the F is Happening" episode, I'm joined by Jane Flegal and Jesse Jenkins to perform a wake for the Inflation Reduction Act after the passage of the GOP's "Big Beautiful Bill." We sift through the wreckage to see what was saved versus what was buried, analyze the political forces that determined the outcome, and debate the core theory of change behind the IRA — and what lessons advocates should and shouldn't learn as they chart a path forward.

A closer look at Montana's housing "miracle" Jul 09, 2025

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In this episode, I talk with Montana state senators Forrest Mandeville (R) and Ellie Boldman (D) about the bipartisan housing reforms their state has passed over the last two legislative sessions — reforms so sweeping YIMBYs have dubbed them the "Montana miracle." We discuss the unlikely coalition supporting the bills, the impact of the policies, and the generational divide that increasingly separates YIMBYs from NIMBYs. Also: why "housing is the new weed"!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

PG&E tries to prove that a big utility can innovate Jul 04, 2025

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PG&E, California's notoriously troubled utility, is trying to prove it can innovate, so I invited Quinn Nakayama, head of its new GRiD program, to explain how. We discuss its strategy of publicly outlining its problems to attract partners and its shift toward faster, more flexible interconnection for new loads like EVs and data centers.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

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