Podcast
"Age of Miracles"
Hosted by Packy McCormick | Turpentine · EN
A narrative show that explores the complex industries that will play an important role in creating an abundant future for humanity. Every season, host Packy McCormick – a venture investor and writer of the popular Not Boring newsletter – brings in an expert cohost to go deep into the possibilities and challenges of making “sci-fi” dreams our reality in our lifetimes. The first season starts at the root of all progress and prosperity: unlocking 10x more clean and reliable energy by splitting and fusing atoms themselves.
Age of Miracles is part of the Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: turpentine.co
13episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Bonus: Mass Manufacturing Micro-sized Nuclear Reactors with Jordan Bramble and Julia DeWahl of Antares
Jan 20, 202400:42:44Tap to summarizeHere's our full-length interview with Jordan Bramble and our own Julia DeWahl, co-founders of Antares, where we dive deep into how Antares plans on manufacturing in mass micro-sized nuclear reactors to provide abundant energy for all.🔥 Apply to join over 400 founders and Execs in the Turpentine Network: https://hmplogxqz0y.typeform.com/to/JCkphVqjSPONSORS: RIPPLING SPEND | WEIGHTS AND BIASES | GIVEWELL | ANROKImagine total control over your company's spending with Rippling Spend, the all-in-one platform for expense reports, corporate cards, and bill pay. Visit https://www.rippling.com/turpentine for a free demo and one month free trial.Advanced training for building production-ready RAG applications. Learn from experts to overcome LLM challenges, evaluate systematically, and integrate advanced features. Includes free Cohere credits. Visit https://wandb.me/cr to start the RAG++ course today.GiveWell spends 50,000 hours every year doing deep-dives into different charitable programs to try to find the ways to do the most good for your dollar. Visit https://www.givewell.org to find out more or make a donation. Select PODCAST and enter Econ 102 at checkout to make sure they know you heard about them from us.Anrok is the enterprise-grade solution that automates sales tax compliance worldwide. Visit https://www.anrok.com/turpentine to claim your free nexus study and take control of your SaaS tax strategy.–A huge thank you to our presenting sponsors for Season 1:Range Fund Holdings: Visit https://www.rangeetfs.com or contact your financial advisor to learn more about the Range Nuclear Renaissance ETF and start investing in the future of energy.Secureframe: Get 10% off your first year of Secureframe: https://secureframe.com/packyPilot.com: Get 20% off your accounting bill for the first 6 months, go to https://pilot.com/packyClean Air Task Force https://www.catf.us/For the full list of resources referenced in this show: https://ageofmiraclesss.addpotion.com/Subscribe to Not Boring to get weekly doses of tech and business strategy, straight to your inbox: https://www.notboring.co/Follow our hosts:Packy McCormick on Twitter and LinkedInJulia DeWahl on Twitter and LinkedIn--RECOMMENDED PODCAST:Check out Modern Relationships, where Erik Torenberg interviews tech power couples and leading thinkers to explore how ambitious people actually make partnerships work. Founders Fund's Delian Asparouhov and researcher Nadia Asparouhova kick off the series with an unfiltered conversation about their relationship evolution.Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1786227593Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5hJzs0gDg6lRT6r10mdpVgYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ModernRelationshipsPod--Timestamps:(00:10) Introduction(03:50) Background story of starting Antares(05:50) Role of military applications in microreactor development(10:11) Working with DoD and commercial sector(15:28) The process of building a microreactor(20:04) On shifting from Software to Nuclear(23:06) Addressing risks in Antares(32:03) Next steps and timeline for Antares(39:18) The future of the world with abundant nuclear energyThis show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at erik@turpentine.co.Credits: Nancy Xu produced this season of Age of Miracles. Audio editor: Justin Golden. Executive producers: Amelia Salyers, Packy McCormick, and Erik Torenberg.
Transcribe →Bonus: A World with Abundant Fusion Energy with David Kirtley of Helion Energy
Jan 12, 202400:49:08Tap to summarizeHere's our full-length interview with David Kirtley, founder of Helion Energy, where we dive deep into the need for fusion as a replacement for fossil fuels.🔥 Apply to join over 400 founders and Execs in the Turpentine Network: https://hmplogxqz0y.typeform.com/to/JCkphVqjSPONSORS: RIPPLING SPEND | WEIGHTS AND BIASES | GIVEWELL | ANROKImagine total control over your company's spending with Rippling Spend, the all-in-one platform for expense reports, corporate cards, and bill pay. Visit https://www.rippling.com/turpentine for a free demo and one month free trial.Advanced training for building production-ready RAG applications. Learn from experts to overcome LLM challenges, evaluate systematically, and integrate advanced features. Includes free Cohere credits. Visit https://wandb.me/cr to start the RAG++ course today.GiveWell spends 50,000 hours every year doing deep-dives into different charitable programs to try to find the ways to do the most good for your dollar. Visit https://www.givewell.org to find out more or make a donation. Select PODCAST and enter Econ 102 at checkout to make sure they know you heard about them from us.Anrok is the enterprise-grade solution that automates sales tax compliance worldwide. Visit https://www.anrok.com/turpentine to claim your free nexus study and take control of your SaaS tax strategy.–A huge thank you to our presenting sponsors for Season 1:Range Fund Holdings: Visit https://www.rangeetfs.com or contact your financial advisor to learn more about the Range Nuclear Renaissance ETF and start investing in the future of energy.Secureframe: Get 10% off your first year of Secureframe: https://secureframe.com/packyPilot.com: Get 20% off your accounting bill for the first 6 months, go to https://pilot.com/packyClean Air Task Force https://www.catf.us/For the full list of resources referenced in this show: https://ageofmiraclesss.addpotion.com/Subscribe to Not Boring to get weekly doses of tech and business strategy, straight to your inbox: https://www.notboring.co/Follow our hosts:Packy McCormick on Twitter and LinkedInJulia DeWahl on Twitter and LinkedIn--RECOMMENDED PODCAST:Check out Modern Relationships, where Erik Torenberg interviews tech power couples and leading thinkers to explore how ambitious people actually make partnerships work. Founders Fund's Delian Asparouhov and researcher Nadia Asparouhova kick off the series with an unfiltered conversation about their relationship evolution.Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1786227593Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5hJzs0gDg6lRT6r10mdpVgYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ModernRelationshipsPod--Timestamps:(00:00) The future of energy sources in the US(03:10) Introduction to Helion Energy(08:33) Different approaches in fusion(12:21) Partnerships with Microsoft(16:16) Size and scalability of fusion reactors(20:21) Power control and regulation in fusion(25:44) Tracking progress at Helion(29:51) The market and competition in commercial fusion(34:30) Working with academia and regulatory(42:29) Challenges and risks in fusion development(44:13) The vision of abundant fusion energyThis show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at erik@turpentine.co.Credits: Nancy Xu produced this season of Age of Miracles. Audio editor: Justin Golden. Executive producers: Amelia Salyers, Packy McCormick, and Erik Torenberg.
Transcribe →Bonus: Unlocking Nuclear Power at Scale with Bret Kugelmass of Last Energy
Jan 5, 202400:47:19Tap to summarizeHere's our full-length interview with Bret Kugelmass, founder of Last Energy, where we dive deep into nuclear manufacturing and the importance of manufacturing efficiency.🔥 Apply to join over 400 founders and Execs in the Turpentine Network: https://hmplogxqz0y.typeform.com/to/JCkphVqjSPONSORS: RIPPLING SPEND | WEIGHTS AND BIASES | GIVEWELL | ANROKImagine total control over your company's spending with Rippling Spend, the all-in-one platform for expense reports, corporate cards, and bill pay. Visit https://www.rippling.com/turpentine for a free demo and one month free trial.Advanced training for building production-ready RAG applications. Learn from experts to overcome LLM challenges, evaluate systematically, and integrate advanced features. Includes free Cohere credits. Visit https://wandb.me/cr to start the RAG++ course today.GiveWell spends 50,000 hours every year doing deep-dives into different charitable programs to try to find the ways to do the most good for your dollar. Visit https://www.givewell.org to find out more or make a donation. Select PODCAST and enter Econ 102 at checkout to make sure they know you heard about them from us.Anrok is the enterprise-grade solution that automates sales tax compliance worldwide. Visit https://www.anrok.com/turpentine to claim your free nexus study and take control of your SaaS tax strategy.–A huge thank you to our presenting sponsors for Season 1:Range Fund Holdings: Visit https://www.rangeetfs.com or contact your financial advisor to learn more about the Range Nuclear Renaissance ETF and start investing in the future of energy.Secureframe: Get 10% off your first year of Secureframe: https://secureframe.com/packyPilot.com: Get 20% off your accounting bill for the first 6 months, go to https://pilot.com/packyClean Air Task Force https://www.catf.us/For the full list of resources referenced in this show: https://ageofmiraclesss.addpotion.com/Subscribe to Not Boring to get weekly doses of tech and business strategy, straight to your inbox: https://www.notboring.co/Follow our hosts:Packy McCormick on Twitter and LinkedInJulia DeWahl on Twitter and LinkedIn--RECOMMENDED PODCAST:🎙️ Unpack Pricing - Dive into the dark arts of SaaS pricing with Metronome CEO Scott Woody and tech leaders. Learn how strategic pricing drives explosive revenue growth in today's biggest companies like Snowflake, Cockroach Labs, Dropbox and more.Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1765716600Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/38DK3W1Fq1xxQalhDSueFg--Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction(04:38) Regulatory capture and the NRC(09:45) The cost of nuclear + manufacturing(18:11) The Last Energy product and manufacturing process(25:14) The future of nuclear energy(29:31) Risks and mitigation in the nuclear energy business(35:52) The limitations of wind and wolar(40:49) Gigawatt scale power(43:14) What would the world look like with abundant nuclear energy?This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at erik@turpentine.co.Credits: Nancy Xu produced this season of Age of Miracles. Audio editor: Justin Golden. Executive producers: Amelia Salyers, Packy McCormick, and Erik Torenberg.
Transcribe →Bonus: Building Nuclear for the Moon with Tyler Bernstein of Zeno Power
Dec 29, 202300:41:12Tap to summarizeWe're kicking off the first of our bonus episodes with Tyler Bernstein, founder and CEO of Zeno Power, where he shares in-depth how they're creating radioisotope power systems for lunar applications.🔥 Apply to join over 400 founders and Execs in the Turpentine Network: https://hmplogxqz0y.typeform.com/to/JCkphVqjSPONSORS: RIPPLING SPEND | WEIGHTS AND BIASES | GIVEWELL | ANROKImagine total control over your company's spending with Rippling Spend, the all-in-one platform for expense reports, corporate cards, and bill pay. Visit https://www.rippling.com/turpentine for a free demo and one month free trial.Advanced training for building production-ready RAG applications. Learn from experts to overcome LLM challenges, evaluate systematically, and integrate advanced features. Includes free Cohere credits. Visit https://wandb.me/cr to start the RAG++ course today.GiveWell spends 50,000 hours every year doing deep-dives into different charitable programs to try to find the ways to do the most good for your dollar. Visit https://www.givewell.org to find out more or make a donation. Select PODCAST and enter Econ 102 at checkout to make sure they know you heard about them from us.Anrok is the enterprise-grade solution that automates sales tax compliance worldwide. Visit https://www.anrok.com/turpentine to claim your free nexus study and take control of your SaaS tax strategy.–A huge thank you to our presenting sponsors for Season 1:Range Fund Holdings: Visit https://www.rangeetfs.com or contact your financial advisor to learn more about the Range Nuclear Renaissance ETF and start investing in the future of energy.Secureframe: Get 10% off your first year of Secureframe: https://secureframe.com/packyPilot.com: Get 20% off your accounting bill for the first 6 months, go to https://pilot.com/packyClean Air Task Force https://www.catf.us/For the full list of resources referenced in this show: https://ageofmiraclesss.addpotion.com/Subscribe to Not Boring to get weekly doses of tech and business strategy, straight to your inbox: https://www.notboring.co/Follow our hosts:Packy McCormick on Twitter and LinkedInJulia DeWahl on Twitter and LinkedInTimestamps:(00:00) Introduction(00:22) The Pie of Energy Sources in 2050(01:35) Nuclear Energy in Space(06:12) Radioisotope Power vs. Nuclear Power for Propulsion(10:54) Building Zeno Power(14:18) Economics and Regulation in Space Nuclear(20:01) Competitive Dynamics and Protecting Market Position(23:00) Challenges and Risks(25:29) Business Models and Financing(29:42) De-risking the Supply Chain(32:17) Product and Process of Zeno Power(35:22) Geopolitics and the Moon(38:48) Abundant Energy in the UniverseThis show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at erik@turpentine.co.Credits: Nancy Xu produced this season of Age of Miracles. Audio editor: Justin Golden. Executive producers: Amelia Salyers, Packy McCormick, and Erik Torenberg.
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E10: Energy for an Age of Miracles
Dec 22, 202300:37:50Tap to summarizeWe can live in an Age of Miracles, but it’s going to take a lot of work. Energy abundance is the most important thing we can work towards as a species. More than simply surviving climate change, we have the opportunity to unlock a new level of human thriving if we can successfully navigate this transition. That’s why we chose to do the first season of Age of Miracles on the energy sources of the future. In this episode of Age of Miracles, the final episode of season one, Packy and Julia reflect on the importance of energy abundance, how nuclear energy helps us unlock it, and what the future might look like when we do.Thank you to all of our guests this season for making this show possible—we're so grateful.SPONSORS: RIPPLING SPEND | WEIGHTS AND BIASES | GIVEWELL | ANROKImagine total control over your company's spending with Rippling Spend, the all-in-one platform for expense reports, corporate cards, and bill pay. Visit https://www.rippling.com/turpentine for a free demo and one month free trial.Advanced training for building production-ready RAG applications. Learn from experts to overcome LLM challenges, evaluate systematically, and integrate advanced features. Includes free Cohere credits. Visit https://wandb.me/cr to start the RAG++ course today.GiveWell spends 50,000 hours every year doing deep-dives into different charitable programs to try to find the ways to do the most good for your dollar. Visit https://www.givewell.org to find out more or make a donation. Select PODCAST and enter Econ 102 at checkout to make sure they know you heard about them from us.Anrok is the enterprise-grade solution that automates sales tax compliance worldwide. Visit https://www.anrok.com/turpentine to claim your free nexus study and take control of your SaaS tax strategy.–A huge thank you to our presenting sponsors for Season 1:Range Fund Holdings: Visit https://www.rangeetfs.com or contact your financial advisor to learn more about the Range Nuclear Renaissance ETF and start investing in the future of energy.Secureframe: Get 10% off your first year of Secureframe: https://secureframe.com/packyPilot.com: Get 20% off your accounting bill for the first 6 months, go to https://pilot.com/packyClean Air Task Force https://www.catf.us/For the full list of resources referenced in this show: https://ageofmiraclesss.addpotion.com/Timestamps:(00:00) The best way to create the future is to invent it(07:55) What can you do today?(16:09) Josh Wolfe on a future of abundance(18:29) Casey Handmer on a future of abundance(20:49) Angelica Oung on a future of abundance(23:22) Alex Epstein on a future of abundance(29:42) Final recapThis show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at erik@turpentine.co.Credits: Nancy Xu produced this season of Age of Miracles. Audio editor: Justin Golden. Video editor: Nancy Xu. Executive producers: Amelia Salyers, Packy McCormick, and Erik Torenberg.
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E9: Fusion Founders
Dec 15, 202301:15:15Tap to summarizeIn the bizarro relay marathon that is the fusion race, the baton is firmly in the hands of the startups. The outcome, to be sure, is still uncertain, but the question isn’t whether humanity will achieve commercial fusion, but which companies will, with which approaches, when?Fusion, many believe, will be one of humanity’s greatest triumphs: we will be able to generate energy in the same way that stars do, right on earth. And in this episode, Packy and Julia talk to some of the people who are most likely to make it happen.They'll answer the question of “Why now?” for fusion, and for startups in particular, dive into their business models and the economics of a fusion plant, and discuss what a rollout of fusion across the globe might look like.Thank you to this episode’s guests: David Kirtley, Sehila Gonzalez, Clay Dumas, JC Btaiche, Francesco Sciortino, Clea Kolster, Ryan Umstattd, Derek Sutherland, and Ian Hogarth.SPONSORS: RIPPLING SPEND | WEIGHTS AND BIASES | GIVEWELL | ANROKImagine total control over your company's spending with Rippling Spend, the all-in-one platform for expense reports, corporate cards, and bill pay. Visit https://www.rippling.com/turpentine for a free demo and one month free trial.Advanced training for building production-ready RAG applications. Learn from experts to overcome LLM challenges, evaluate systematically, and integrate advanced features. Includes free Cohere credits. Visit https://wandb.me/cr to start the RAG++ course today.GiveWell spends 50,000 hours every year doing deep-dives into different charitable programs to try to find the ways to do the most good for your dollar. Visit https://www.givewell.org to find out more or make a donation. Select PODCAST and enter Econ 102 at checkout to make sure they know you heard about them from us.Anrok is the enterprise-grade solution that automates sales tax compliance worldwide. Visit https://www.anrok.com/turpentine to claim your free nexus study and take control of your SaaS tax strategy.–A huge thank you to our presenting sponsors for Season 1:Range Fund Holdings: Visit https://www.rangeetfs.com or contact your financial advisor to learn more about the Range Nuclear Renaissance ETF and start investing in the future of energy.Secureframe: Get 10% off your first year of Secureframe: https://secureframe.com/packyPilot.com: Get 20% off your accounting bill for the first 6 months, go to https://pilot.com/packyClean Air Task Force https://www.catf.us/For the full list of resources referenced in this show: https://ageofmiraclesss.addpotion.com/Subscribe to Not Boring to get weekly doses of tech and business strategy, straight to your inbox: https://www.notboring.co/Follow our hosts:Packy McCormick on Twitter and LinkedInJulia DeWahl on Twitter and LinkedIn--RECOMMENDED PODCAST:📈 ECON 102 W/ NOAH SMITH - Keeping econ entertaining - Noahpinion author Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg break down business news and politics every week.Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Mos4VE3figVXleHDqfXOHApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/id1753399812https://podcasts.apple.com/id1753399812--Timestamps:(00:00) The fusion race(04:54) Why now? What changed?(10:28) Commonwealth(13:21) Fuse Energy(23:35) Proxima Fusion(31:10) Zap Energy(39:09) Helion Energy(52:30) The unit economics of a fusion plant(1:01:24) Fusion commercial rollout(1:05:03) RecapThis show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at erik@turpentine.co.Credits: Nancy Xu produced this season of Age of Miracles. Audio editor: Justin Golden. Video editor: Nancy Xu. Executive producers: Amelia Salyers, Packy McCormick, and Erik Torenberg.
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E8: The Fusion Marathon
Dec 8, 202300:55:22Tap to summarizeThere’s this joke that fusion is always 30 years away. 50 years ago, it was 30 years away. 20 years ago, it was still thirty years away. Today, though… we might be within a decade. We spent the first half of the season on nuclear fission, and the last episode on many of the other energy sources that will play a role in meeting humanity’s growing energy demands and building an Age of Miracles. All of them will be critical. But there’s a growing chorus of people who believe that if we’re going to meet the demand for 3-5x the amount of energy we use today, and do it with clean energy, we’re going to need clean energy. And that as we climb the Kardashev Scale – the framework for measuring a civilization's level of technological advancement based on the amount of energy it can use – fusion is going to be our ladder. In today's episode, we’ll cover the basics of fusion energy – what it is, how it works, why it matters, how progress is measured, and what the main approaches are. Thank you to this episode’s guests: Clay Dumas, Andrew Côté, Sehila Gonzalez, Ian Hogarth, and Ryan Umstattd.SPONSORS: RIPPLING SPEND | WEIGHTS AND BIASES | GIVEWELL | ANROKImagine total control over your company's spending with Rippling Spend, the all-in-one platform for expense reports, corporate cards, and bill pay. Visit https://www.rippling.com/turpentine for a free demo and one month free trial.Advanced training for building production-ready RAG applications. Learn from experts to overcome LLM challenges, evaluate systematically, and integrate advanced features. Includes free Cohere credits. Visit https://wandb.me/cr to start the RAG++ course today.GiveWell spends 50,000 hours every year doing deep-dives into different charitable programs to try to find the ways to do the most good for your dollar. Visit https://www.givewell.org to find out more or make a donation. Select PODCAST and enter Econ 102 at checkout to make sure they know you heard about them from us.Anrok is the enterprise-grade solution that automates sales tax compliance worldwide. Visit https://www.anrok.com/turpentine to claim your free nexus study and take control of your SaaS tax strategy.–A huge thank you to our presenting sponsors for Season 1:Range Fund Holdings: Visit https://www.rangeetfs.com or contact your financial advisor to learn more about the Range Nuclear Renaissance ETF and start investing in the future of energy.Secureframe: Get 10% off your first year of Secureframe: https://secureframe.com/packyPilot.com: Get 20% off your accounting bill for the first 6 months, go to https://pilot.com/packyClean Air Task Force https://www.catf.us/For the full list of resources referenced in this show: https://ageofmiraclesss.addpotion.com/Subscribe to Not Boring to get weekly doses of tech and business strategy, straight to your inbox: https://www.notboring.co/Follow our hosts:Packy McCormick on Twitter and LinkedInJulia DeWahl on Twitter and LinkedInRecommended podcast:📈 ECON 102 W/ NOAH SMITH - Keeping econ entertaining - Noahpinion author Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg break down business news and politics every week.Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Mos4VE3figVXleHDqfXOHApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/id1753399812https://podcasts.apple.com/id1753399812Timestamps:(00:00) The fusion race(06:55) How does fusion work?(16:02) Fusion reactor designs(20:24) History of fusion(25:02) The three approaches to plasma confinement(30:50) The tokamak(35:24) Iter(41:54) Recap(49:01) Revisiting why fusion mattersThis show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at erik@turpentine.co.
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E7: The Case For All the Other Energy Sources
Dec 1, 202301:53:13Tap to summarizePacky and Julia have spent the first five episodes of Age of Miracles diving into the past and present of nuclear fission—before jumping from the yin to the yang and covering nuclear fusion in the second half of this season, today we wanted to take a step back and talk about all the non-nuclear energy sources out there.We ask this icebreaker question to every guest we bring onto the show: "What does the pie chart of energy sources look like in the US in the year 2050?" From advocating for the widely accused fossil fuels like oil and gas, to the widely celebrated renewables like geothermal, solar, and wind, each guest brings a new perspective to the mix. In this episode, Packy and Julia hear out their cases, and afterwards, answer the infamous question themselves.Thank you to this episode’s guests: Meredith Angwin, Mark Hinaman, Alex Epstein, Casey Handmer, Noah Smith, Angelica Oung, and Eli Dourado.SPONSORS: RIPPLING SPEND | WEIGHTS AND BIASES | GIVEWELL | ANROKImagine total control over your company's spending with Rippling Spend, the all-in-one platform for expense reports, corporate cards, and bill pay. Visit https://www.rippling.com/turpentine for a free demo and one month free trial.Advanced training for building production-ready RAG applications. Learn from experts to overcome LLM challenges, evaluate systematically, and integrate advanced features. Includes free Cohere credits. Visit https://wandb.me/cr to start the RAG++ course today.GiveWell spends 50,000 hours every year doing deep-dives into different charitable programs to try to find the ways to do the most good for your dollar. Visit https://www.givewell.org to find out more or make a donation. Select PODCAST and enter Econ 102 at checkout to make sure they know you heard about them from us.Anrok is the enterprise-grade solution that automates sales tax compliance worldwide. Visit https://www.anrok.com/turpentine to claim your free nexus study and take control of your SaaS tax strategy.–A huge thank you to our presenting sponsors for Season 1:Range Fund Holdings: Visit https://www.rangeetfs.com or contact your financial advisor to learn more about the Range Nuclear Renaissance ETF and start investing in the future of energy.Secureframe: Get 10% off your first year of Secureframe: https://secureframe.com/packyPilot.com: Get 20% off your accounting bill for the first 6 months, go to https://pilot.com/packyClean Air Task Force https://www.catf.us/For the full list of resources referenced in this show: https://ageofmiraclesss.addpotion.com/Subscribe to Not Boring to get weekly doses of tech and business strategy, straight to your inbox: https://www.notboring.co/Follow our hosts:Packy McCormick on Twitter and LinkedInJulia DeWahl on Twitter and LinkedIn--Timestamps:(00:00:00) Energy in 2050(00:08:29) Fossil fuels(00:28:41) Geothermal(00:36:53) Wind(00:56:54) Understanding the grid(01:03:30) Solar(01:25:02) Batteries(01:36:06) Episode RecapThis show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at erik@turpentine.co.Credits: Nancy Xu produced this season of Age of Miracles. Audio editor: Justin Golden. Video editor: Nancy Xu. Executive producers: Amelia Salyers, Packy McCormick, and Erik Torenberg.
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E6: Nuclear Mailbag
Nov 24, 202300:59:13Tap to summarizeThis week, Packy and Julia take a break from our regularly scheduled narrative programming to look back on the past five episodes we've published focused on nuclear fission—and address news stories, feedback, and listener questions collected through this season so far.We cover: Illinois pushing back on the nuclear moratorium, Nuscale's cancelled contracts, COP 28 Why QA makes building new nuclear so difficult, solar cost curves, and more listener feedback on episodes 1-5 Investing in nuclear, nuclear waste recycling, how to create more political support for the AP1000, and more listener questions Thank you to this episode’s guests: Jim Hopf, Robert Bryce, Brett Rampal, Heather Hoff, and Paris Ortiz-Wines.SPONSORS: RIPPLING SPEND | WEIGHTS AND BIASES | GIVEWELL | ANROKImagine total control over your company's spending with Rippling Spend, the all-in-one platform for expense reports, corporate cards, and bill pay. Visit https://www.rippling.com/turpentine for a free demo and one month free trial.Advanced training for building production-ready RAG applications. Learn from experts to overcome LLM challenges, evaluate systematically, and integrate advanced features. Includes free Cohere credits. Visit https://wandb.me/cr to start the RAG++ course today.GiveWell spends 50,000 hours every year doing deep-dives into different charitable programs to try to find the ways to do the most good for your dollar. Visit https://www.givewell.org to find out more or make a donation. Select PODCAST and enter Econ 102 at checkout to make sure they know you heard about them from us.Anrok is the enterprise-grade solution that automates sales tax compliance worldwide. Visit https://www.anrok.com/turpentine to claim your free nexus study and take control of your SaaS tax strategy.–A huge thank you to our presenting sponsors for Season 1:Range Fund Holdings: Visit https://www.rangeetfs.com or contact your financial advisor to learn more about the Range Nuclear Renaissance ETF and start investing in the future of energy.Secureframe: Get 10% off your first year of Secureframe: https://secureframe.com/packyPilot.com: Get 20% off your accounting bill for the first 6 months, go to https://pilot.com/packyClean Air Task Force https://www.catf.us/For the full list of resources referenced in this show: https://ageofmiraclesss.addpotion.com/Subscribe to Not Boring to get weekly doses of tech and business strategy, straight to your inbox: https://www.notboring.co/Follow our hosts:Packy McCormick on Twitter and LinkedInJulia DeWahl on Twitter and LinkedIn--Timestamps:(00:00) Nuclear news: Illinois, Nuscale, COP 28(8:27) Nuclear-specific QA standards(15:52) Comparing and contrasting other countries' nuclear programs(20:55) The truth about solar(23:50) What sectors win with nuclear?(24:55) Investing in nuclear(29:18) Does being "eco friendly" matter if we get energy right?(33:24) Nuclear waste recycling(36:03) Leading investors in nuclear(38:19) Policy playbook to shift investments to nuclear(41:07) Arguments for nuclear waste at dinner tables(42:20) How to get more political support for the AP1000(45:25) Deeper dive into developing nuclear projects(48:46) How to get involved in nuclearThis show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at erik@turpentine.co.Credits: Nancy Xu produced this season of Age of Miracles. Audio editor: Justin Golden. Video editor: Nancy Xu. Executive producers: Amelia Salyers, Packy McCormick, and Erik Torenberg.
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E5: Fission Founders, Part 2: Designing Advanced Nuclear Reactor Startups
Nov 17, 202302:04:53Tap to summarizeLet's dive into the world of advanced nuclear startups—where founders are playing entrepreneurship on hard-mode, and navigating how to build new reactor designs, sell to new markets, and forge new regulatory pathways.This episode is the second focused on nuclear fission startup founders—while last week Packy and Julia spoke with entrepreneurs who laser-focused on the problem of manufacturing ready-made designs at scale, this new crop of founders featured are tackling a seemingly even more difficult task of creating new forms of nuclear reactors from scratch.As a16z American Dynamism partner Katherine Boyle says, "to build a successful energy startup, you have to excel at math, deep technology, storytelling, recruiting, and regulatory." Tune in as Packy and Julia spotlight five founders taking radically different paths to bringing more nuclear online—from radioisotopes on the literal moon to the novel production of hydrocarbons.Thank you to this episode’s guests: Katherine Boyle, Albert Wenger, Jake DeWitte, Isaiah Taylor, Matt Loszak, Tyler Bernstein, Jordan Bramble, Josh Wolfe, and David Ulevitch.SPONSORS: RIPPLING SPEND | WEIGHTS AND BIASES | GIVEWELL | ANROKImagine total control over your company's spending with Rippling Spend, the all-in-one platform for expense reports, corporate cards, and bill pay. Visit https://www.rippling.com/turpentine for a free demo and one month free trial.Advanced training for building production-ready RAG applications. Learn from experts to overcome LLM challenges, evaluate systematically, and integrate advanced features. Includes free Cohere credits. Visit https://wandb.me/cr to start the RAG++ course today.GiveWell spends 50,000 hours every year doing deep-dives into different charitable programs to try to find the ways to do the most good for your dollar. Visit https://www.givewell.org to find out more or make a donation. Select PODCAST and enter Econ 102 at checkout to make sure they know you heard about them from us.Anrok is the enterprise-grade solution that automates sales tax compliance worldwide. Visit https://www.anrok.com/turpentine to claim your free nexus study and take control of your SaaS tax strategy.–A huge thank you to our presenting sponsors for Season 1:Range Fund Holdings: Visit https://www.rangeetfs.com or contact your financial advisor to learn more about the Range Nuclear Renaissance ETF and start investing in the future of energy.Secureframe: Get 10% off your first year of Secureframe: https://secureframe.com/packyPilot.com: Get 20% off your accounting bill for the first 6 months, go to https://pilot.com/packyClean Air Task Force https://www.catf.us/For the full list of resources referenced in this show: https://ageofmiraclesss.addpotion.com/Subscribe to Not Boring to get weekly doses of tech and business strategy, straight to your inbox: https://www.notboring.co/--RECOMMENDED PODCAST:📈 ECON 102 W/ NOAH SMITH - Keeping econ entertaining - Noahpinion author Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg break down business news and politics every week.Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Mos4VE3figVXleHDqfXOHApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/id1753399812https://podcasts.apple.com/id1753399812--Timestamps:(00:00) What are advanced reactors?(11:58) Introducing the startup founders(14:01) Oklo(17:55) Valar Atomics(25:27) Aalo(26:41) Zeno Power(30:07) Antares(37:18) Why we need a new playbook for nuclear(48:53) Selling to new markets and customers(1:07:00) On regulation(1:30:18) Nuclear startup operations(1:46:40) The importance of design(1:52:24) The advanced nuclear startup playbookThis show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at erik@turpentine.co.
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