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Volts

Volts is a podcast about leaving fossil fuels behind. I’ve been reporting on and explaining clean-energy topics for almost 20 years, and I love talking to politicians, analysts, innovators, and activists about the latest progress in the world’s most important fight. (Volts is entirely subscriber-supported. Sign up!)

www.volts.wtf

Copyright: © David Roberts

Latest Episodes:

Lessons from a life in progressive PR Nov 11, 2022

Show notes

David Fenton has just released a new book — The Activist's Media Handbook: Lessons from Fifty Years as a Progressive Agitator — that is a combination biography, photo journal, and accounting of lessons learned in the PR business. He tells the stories of his numerous campaigns over the years (alongside pages and pages of vivid images) and tries to boil down what works to capture media attention and advance progressive causes, and what doesn't. I chat with him about it.

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

Germany's current energy situation & its past energy choices Nov 09, 2022

Show notes

The Ukraine war has seen Germany's supply of methane gas from Russia cut off. Energy prices have spiked as it scrambles to make up the deficit. Some people have taken this to mean that Germany was wrong to move away from fossil fuels as quickly as it has. Others have said it shows that Germany needs to double down on its transition to renewables. To get a better sense of Germany's current situation and what it says about the choices it has made on energy, I contacted Professor Claudia Kemfert, one of Germany's top energy analysts.

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

Coal plants are still getting financed, despite pledges otherwise Nov 02, 2022

Show notes

Despite well-meaning pledges to the contrary from a wide array of countries, banks, and other institutions, new coal plants are still getting financed, putting global climate targets further out of reach. I talk with Ted Nace of Global Energy Monitor and Paddy McCully of Reclaim Finance about the channels through which coal funding is passing -- and how to close them.

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 to think about deep-sea mining for clean-energy minerals Oct 26, 2022

Show notes

The transition to clean energy is going to radically increase demand for a key set of minerals, many of which are mined today in social & environmentally destructive ways. In recent years, attention has turned to the floor of the Pacific Ocean, where those minerals are found in abundance. I talk with journalist Daniel Ackerman about the opportunities & dangers of deep-sea mining.

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

Why social change is so excruciatingly difficult Oct 24, 2022

Show notes

When we look across the broad sweep of human history, what needs explaining is not times of rebellion and upheaval, but the much more common periods of unjust rule facing little resistance. Why do people so often internalize the ideologies upholding systems under which they suffer? Why do they fail to fight back? Psychologist John Jost has an answer. I talked it over with him.

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

Making sure electric vehicles help rather than hurt electricity grids Oct 19, 2022

Show notes

The massive coming surge of electric vehicles (EVs) could destabilize the grid -- or, if properly managed, become a crucial tool to maintain grid stability as more renewable energy comes online. The key is getting EVs to communicate with the grid, and vice versa. Amanda Myers Wisser and Smriti Mishra of WeaveGrid are working on that. We chat about how it's going.

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

Making it easier to build distributed energy in the places where it's most needed Oct 14, 2022

Show notes

Emerging economies represent huge potential demand for distributed energy (solar power and microgrids) but to date the markets have been too fragmented to attract large-scale investment. A company called Odyssey has set out to create a platform that can standardize and de-risk these markets so big money can move in. I talk with the CEO.

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

Me, talking about my story and my takes on perennial climate debates Oct 10, 2022

Show notes

I was recently a guest on My Climate Journey, a podcast that features various climate types discussing how they got where they are and how they currently think about the climate crisis. Host Jason Jacobs and I had a fun conversation about my road into journalism and how my views on various perennial climate debates — optimism versus pessimism, green growth versus degrowth, technocracy versus spiritual change — have changed over the years.

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

Puerto Rico's electricity crisis Oct 05, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, lawyer and activist Ruth Santiago discusses Puerto Rico's latest electricity crisis, as the island struggles to restore power in the wake of Hurricane Fiona. In the wake of Hurricane Maria five years ago, the grid was privatized, but the promised rebuilding still hasn't occurred. Santiago covers what's gone wrong and what can be done.

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

The extraordinary potential value of enhanced geothermal power Sep 30, 2022

Show notes

Geothermal power has conventionally been viewed as a baseload, always-on resource, like nuclear. But new research suggests it could play a much more dynamic & valuable role on the grid than that -- and expand much faster & farther than previously estimated. I chat with one the co-authors.

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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