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Naked Nuclear

Naked Nuclear

Danielle Allen 56 Episodes Jun 22, 2026

Ever wondered how nuclear energy works or what advanced nuclear technology really means? Naked Nuclear breaks down complex topics like nuclear reactors, fuel types, and emerging technologies into simple, accessible conversations. Whether you're a curious beginner or an energy enthusiast, we make the science behind nuclear power easy to understand so you can launch your career in the clean energy future. Tune in to strip down the fascinating world of nuclear energy—one atom at a time.

Episodes

After-Pop! Wait... Should We Recycle Used Nuclear Fuel? The History, Economics, and Proliferation concerns Jun 22, 2026 00:14:01 Ed McGinnis said something in our last episode that's hard to shake: 96% of the energy in spent nuclear fuel has never been touched. The physics checks out. But what happens when countries actually try to get that energy back?This After Pop digs into the history of nuclear fuel recycling, not the theory, but the track record. France, the UK, Japan. Staggering sums of money. Complicated results
It's Not Actually Waste: How CURIO is Tackling the Nuclear Waste Problem with Ed McGinnis Jun 15, 2026 00:41:34 Imagine filling up your car at a gas station in Washington, DC, and heading toward Richmond. Twenty miles down the road, you pull over, call a tow truck, and scrap the car, with 96% of the fuel still in the tank. That's what we do with nuclear fuel in the United States right now.Ed McGinnis is the CEO of Curio and a former senior official at the U.S. Department of Energy. He's spent decade
After-Pop! Megawatts Thermal vs Electric? Jun 8, 2026 00:11:17 Dr. John Zino stood in front of a room of engineers, technicians, and career-changers and told them a nuclear reactor is "just boiling water." Jaws dropped. Really? That's it?Well, yes. And also, that little word "just" is hiding one of the most elegant chains in all of engineering.In this After Pop explainer, we follow a single uranium atom from the moment it splits to the
Inside the BWRX-300 with Dr. John Zino | "We're just boiling water!" Jun 1, 2026 00:37:36 What does it actually look like to spend nearly 40 years inside the nuclear industry, from submarine shielding to the Department of Energy to the cutting edge of small modular reactor design?Dr. John Zino is a Chief Consulting Engineer at GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy and an Associate Teaching Professor at NC State University. In this episode, he breaks down the BWRX-300 — a 10th-generation bo
How to Build the Internet’s Best Nuclear Guide with Nick Touran Apr 24, 2026 00:54:01 What does it take to explain one of the most misunderstood technologies on Earth?This Final Friday on Naked Nuclear, Danielle sits down with Nick Touran for a new Follow Them Friday episode.Nick is the founder of What Is Nuclear, one of the internet’s most respected resources for understanding nuclear energy, reactor technology, fuel cycles, history, and policy in plain English. In a world drownin
The 41-Hour Pour: When a Nuclear Plant Begins to Exist Apr 6, 2026 00:08:25 At 2:13 AM in Waynesboro, Georgia, crews were already deep into a process they couldn’t stop.For 41 continuous hours, concrete flowed into the basemat of Vogtle Unit 4, the foundation that would anchor one of the newest nuclear reactors in the United States.This episode breaks down:What a nuclear basemat actually isWhy concrete is part of the safety systemThe physics of heat, cracking, and radiati
Why Build Nuclear When We Have Solar? Mar 30, 2026 00:13:37 I Asked If Solar Could Power California… and It Got ComplicatedWhat started as a simple question turned into a full-blown debate: If solar panels and batteries are getting so good…why does California still need nuclear energy?In this episode, we break down what actually keeps the lights on — beyond headlines, hot takes, and LinkedIn comment wars.What You’ll LearnWhy “more solar” doesn’t automatica
Change Your Mind on Climate Change: Why Energy is Life with Zion Lights Mar 27, 2026 00:59:19 What happens when an environmentalist changes their mind about nuclear energy?In this episode of Naked Nuclear, Danielle sits down with Zion Lights, environmental advocate, award-winning science communicator, and author of Energy Is Life to unpack one of the most important (and uncomfortable) shifts happening in climate conversations today.Zion shares her journey from anti-nuclear activism to beco
Raised by the Reactor: How a 19 year-old Laborer Became a Nuclear Welder Mar 9, 2026 00:39:42 When people talk about building nuclear power plants, the conversation usually centers on policy, engineering, and billion-dollar infrastructure.But reactors aren’t built in conference rooms.They’re built by craft workers.In this episode of Naked Nuclear, Danielle sits down with nuclear welder Tyree McCall, who started his career at Plant Vogtle Units 3 & 4 at just nineteen years old. What beg
After-Pop! What is an EPC & Why You Should Care? Mar 2, 2026 00:09:30 What an EPC Actually Does: Engineering, Procurement, and Construction ExplainedWhat does it actually take to build a nuclear power plant?In this After-Pop! episode of Naked Nuclear, Danielle breaks down one of the most important, and least explained, parts of major infrastructure projects: the EPC contractor.EPC stands for Engineering, Procurement, and Construction, and companies operating in this
Built By Bechtel: How to Build Advanced Nuclear with Ahmet Tokpinar Feb 23, 2026 00:49:09 Nuclear power is often described as essential for climate goals, grid reliability, and energy security.But here’s the real question:Can we actually build it safely, on time, and on budget?In this episode of Naked Nuclear, Danielle Allen sits down with Ahmet Tokpinar, Principal Vice President and General Manager of Nuclear Power at Bechtel, to unpack the boots-on-the-ground reality of building nucl
Island Energy Super Heroes: How one Jamaican PhD Student is Transforming Energy Literacy Dec 15, 2025 00:36:14 What happens when a nuclear engineering PhD student realizes that the book she needed as a child… doesn’t exist?She writes it.In this episode of Naked Nuclear, Danielle sits down with Zola Hind, Jamaican-born computer scientist turned nuclear engineering researcher at Bangor University — and author of Island Energy Superhero: A Kids’ Guide to Energies in the Caribbean.From visualizing nuclear fuel

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