The Power Hour

The Power Hour is a weekly podcast where host Jack Spencer invites leading energy and environment policy experts to discuss the days most pressing issues. Informative and entertaining, the Power Hour gives listeners the opportunity to be a fly on the wall for no holds barred conversations that are sure to educate as well as, just maybe, put a smile on your face. Today’s episode takes a hard look at the Senate’s newly released bipartisan permitting reform bill. Proponents say that it does away with many barriers that get in the way of building big infrastructure projects like gas and oil pipelines and large electricity transmission lines. Opponents argue that that the bill gives too much to the other side. Jack invites the nation’s preeminent right of center expert on electricity grid policy, Travis Fisher, to figure out whether the good outweighs the bad. Travis oversees energy and environment policy at the Cato Institute, has worked at the Federal Electricity Regulatory Commission, the Department of Energy, the Institute for Energy Research, and the Heritage Foundation. And for you long-time listeners, you likely recall that Travis was part of the original Power Hour team. If you like tough questions and debate, you don’t want to miss this one.

Read Travis’ recent piece on the issue here.

You can learn more about Travis here, check out his X account here, and get some of the best energy policy analysis at his Substack here.

Let us know what you think at thepowerhour@heritage.org!

Get Jack’s book, Nuclear Revolution, and our documentary about nuclear energy, Powering America. Thank you for listening and please don’t forget to subscribe and help us to spread the word.

The Power Hour is a weekly podcast where host Jack Spencer invites leading energy and environment policy experts to discuss the days most pressing issues. Informative and entertaining, the Power Hour gives listeners the opportunity to be a fly on the wall for no holds barred conversations that are sure to educate as well as, just maybe, put a smile on your face. Today’s episode dives deep into the emerging story of nuclear energy’s revival. We want to find out if the headlines reflect the reality? Join Jack for a fascinating discussion about this topic with Power Hour alum, Sean Lawrie, founding partner, Lumerra. Sean has spent a career in the nuclear industry and today works to find operational efficiencies to make nuclear more competitive. During the episode, Sean talks about lessons we can learn from past efforts to revive nuclear energy and how they can be applied today.

You can learn more about Sean here and his company Lumerra here.

Let us know what you think at thepowerhour@heritage.org!

Get Jack’s book, Nuclear Revolution, and our documentary about nuclear energy, Powering America. Thank you for listening and please don’t forget to subscribe and help us to spread the word.

The Power Hour is a weekly podcast that discusses the day’s most interesting energy and environmental policy issues with leading national experts and today that issue is data centers and energy use. The headlines are filled with energy and environment news but what is the story behind the story? Jack invites energy policy insider, Washington Times columnist, former Trump admin official, Power Hour alum, and President of MWR Strategies Mike Mckenna to discuss what’s really behind the headlines. Between his polling data and contacts, few (OK, no) people in Washington have better contacts in government and a closer eye on what the people are thinking than Mike. Mike and Jack discuss everything from global warming policy, including how the left uses the courts to advance their agenda, fuel efficiency standards, gas prices, and a host of other issues on today’s podcast. If you want to know what’s really going on with energy policy, you will want to check this one out.

You can learn more about Mike here and check out his column here.

Let us know what you think at thepowerhour@heritage.org!

Get Jack’s book, Nuclear Revolution, and our documentary about nuclear energy, Powering America. Thank you for listening and please don’t forget to subscribe and help us to spread the word.

The Power Hour is a weekly podcast that discusses the day’s most interesting energy and environmental policy issues with leading national experts and today that issue is data centers and energy use. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, everyone has an opinion on data centers. As with any discussion of national importance, the facts are quickly overtaken by opinion and rhetoric, and the result is frustration by everyone. On this episode, Jack invites Meta’s Director, Public Policy for the Executive Branch, Dustin Carmack to shine some light on the situation. Neither Jack nor Dustin shy away from the hard questions. Check out the podcast to find out what is revealed.

For an independent analysis of data center’s impact on electricity prices, check out this report by the Institute For Energy Research here.

Let us know what you think at thepowerhour@heritage.org!

Get Jack’s book, Nuclear Revolution, and our documentary about nuclear energy, Powering America. Thank you for listening and please don’t forget to subscribe and help us to spread the word.

The Power Hour is a weekly podcast that discusses the day’s most interesting energy and environmental policy issues with leading national experts. High fuel prices remain top of mind for most Americans. Whether it’s the price at the pump or at the grocery store, energy costs impact us all. Luckily, the United States is blessed with some of the most abundant energy resources in the world and one source of that energy that we often don’t think about is off our shores. Yet this energy safely and reliably helps fuel our modern economy every single day. But more could be done. Join Jack for an extraordinarily informative conversation with Erik Milito, President, National Ocean Industries Association about not only how much these resources contribute to America’s fuel supply but also how this resource could be expanded. Erik paints a fascinating picture about the resource and the broad economic impact the industry has across the nation.

You can learn more about Erik here and NOIA here.

Also check out this great report that NOIA (along with the American Petroleum Institute) just released: Expanding South-Central Gulf of America Could Deliver New Energy Supply and Strengthen Security.

And don’t forget to drop us a line at thepowerhour@heritage.org!

Get Jack’s book, Nuclear Revolution, and our documentary about nuclear energy, Powering America. Thank you for listening and please don’t forget to subscribe and help us to spread the word.

The Power Hour is a weekly podcast that discusses the day’s most interesting energy and environmental policy issues with leading national experts. Record high diesel prices are affecting all Americans as these costs increase prices throughout the economy. Some have begun calling for a ban on diesel fuel exports in response. Though tempting, such a policy shift could leave the United States worse off in the future. Join us for a special Power Hour episode with gas and oil market expert and Heritage Foundation Executive Vice President, Derrick Morgan to understand why banning diesel exports could come with significant unintended consequences. So what can be done to lower prices? Check out this special episode to find out.

See The Heritage Foundation’s statement in the ban, including quotes from Derrick, here.

And don’t forget to drop us a line at thepowerhour@heritage.org!

Get Jack’s book, Nuclear Revolution, and our documentary about nuclear energy, Powering America. Thank you for listening and please don’t forget to subscribe and help us to spread the word.

The Power Hour is a weekly podcast that discusses the day’s most interesting energy and environmental policy issues with leading national experts.

The United States is facing an energy supply crisis. Demand is soring while supply is snoring—and everyone knows why. The permitting process for any large infrastructure project simply takes too long and is too expensive, yet the political process keeps getting in the way of enacting the reforms we all understand are desperately needed. Join Jack for a fascinating conversation with the Rainey Center’s CEO and President, Sarah Hunt. Sarah explains why permitting reform is so important if the nation is going to meet this unique moment in its history and tells us how we can get those reforms finally moving. Jack and Sarah also touch on other issues as well, such as the importance of conservation policy and the proper government role in the energy sector (hint: there could be a little debate on this one). Sarah also talks about her unique story, why she started the Rainey Center, and describes the great work the organization does.

You can learn more about Sarah here and the Rainey Center here.

Please check out the great polling work done at the Rainy Center here.

And here are all of Rainy’s socials.
X: @RaineyCenter
Instagram: @raineycenter
Facebook: Rainey Center
Substack: Rainey Center
Rainey Polling

And don’t forget to drop us a line at thepowerhour@heritage.org! Get Jack’s book, Nuclear Revolution, and our documentary about nuclear energy, Powering America. Thank you for listening and please don’t forget to subscribe and help us to spread the word.

The Power Hour is a weekly podcast that discusses the day’s most interesting energy, environmental, and, as it turns out, other policy issues with leading national experts. Americans are living longer than ever before. But are we living healthier and happier? It sure seems like there has been an increase in chronic diseases, allergies, and developmental disorders. Have there been? And what is causing it? Those are the questions being asked by the Making American Healthy Again movement. Want to learn more? Then check out this week’s Power Hour where Jack talks to the Heritage Foundation’s Jennefer Galardi, Senior Policy Analyst for Restoring American Wellness in the DeVos Center, to find out what the MAHA movement is all about. Jack asks all the tough questions and Jennifer provides all the great answers.

You can check out Jennifer's podcast RAW: Restoring American Wellness here, and all of Jennifer’s insightful work here.

Let us know if you like this kind of content. We can expand in this subject with other guests and even bring Jennifer back for round two. Just let us know at thepowerhour@heritage.org!

Get Jack’s book, Nuclear Revolution, and our documentary about nuclear energy, Powering America. Thank you for listening and please don’t forget to subscribe and help us to spread the word.

The Power Hour is a weekly podcast that discusses the day’s most interesting energy and environmental policy issues with top national experts. Jack welcomes Power Hour alum, Nick Loris, President, C3 Solutions, back to the program to continue their recent conversation. This week, Jack and Nick leave the past behind and focus on what still needs to happen on energy and environment. The cover data centers, permitting reform, what states can do on nuclear energy and much, much more.

You can learn more about Nick and his great work here and check out what C3 is up to here. Make sure to sign up for C3’s great newsletter from their homepage. As always, you can join the conversation at thepowerhour@heritage.org! Thank you for listening and please don’t forget to subscribe and help us to spread the word.

The Power Hour is a weekly podcast that discusses the day’s most interesting energy and environmental policy issues with top national experts. Jack welcomes Power Hour alum, Nick Loris, President, C3 Solutions, to the program this week to discuss the many energy and environment policy victories that the conservative movement has achieved in recent months. From tackling efficiency mandates to increasing energy production to limiting subsidies—Jack and Nick discuss why American families and businesses are much better at finding solutions to the nation’s energy and environmental challenges than Washington politicians and bureaucrats could ever be. They end the conversation with a recognition that more need to be done so stay tuned for part 2 of the conversation in the weeks to come when Jack and Nick will talk about what the next steps are to secure good energy policy for years to come.

You can learn more about Nick and his great work here and check out what C3 is up to here. Make sure to sign up for C3’s great newsletter from their homepage. As always, you can join the conversation at thepowerhour@heritage.org! Thank you for listening and please don’t forget to subscribe and help us to spread the word.

The Power Hour is a weekly podcast that discusses the day’s most interesting energy and environmental policy issues with top national experts. With the conflict in the Middle East, is now really a good idea for the United States to be cooperating with Saudi Arabia on new commercial nuclear projects? Jack invites Ted Jones—The Nuclear Energy Institute’s Senior Director for National Security and International Programs—to discuss this very issue. Ted’s draws on years of experience in international commercial nuclear trade to provide insightful analysis to help us to answer this question. And Jack asks the tough questions, so you definitely want to give this one a listen if you want to know the risks and benefits of these sorts of trade deals. Check out the Nuclear Energy Institute for great information about nuclear energy. Here is a good resource to learn more details about United States-Saudi Arabia nuclear cooperation. As always, you can join the conversation at thepowerhour@heritage.org! Get Jack’s book, Nuclear Revolution, and don’t forget to check out our nuclear energy documentary, Powering America. Thank you for listening and please don’t forget to subscribe and help us to spread the word.

The Power Hour is a weekly podcast that discusses the day’s most interesting energy and environmental policy issues with leading national experts. For today’s episode, Jack invites Mark Mills, Executive Director, National Center for Energy Analytics, for an extraordinary conversation about energy policy. Mark’s technical background, policy experience, and intellect make him one of the most respected energy policy minds in the county, which becomes very apparent very early in the conversation. Though Jack and Mark cover a lot of ground, they spend much of their time talking about the prospects for nuclear energy. Do we get a little debate in this one? You will have to check it out to see.

You can learn more about Mark Mills here and about the National Center for Energy Analytics here.

Give Mark a follow on X

As always, you can join the conversation at thepowerhour@heritage.org! Get Jack’s book, Nuclear Revolution, and our documentary about nuclear energy, Powering America. Thank you for listening and please don’t forget to subscribe and help us to spread the word.

The Power Hour is a weekly podcast that discusses the day’s most interesting energy and environmental policy issues with leading experts. It is no secret that nuclear energy is gaining attention these days and that should be no surprise. It is clean, reliable, and secure. But more than that, what make nuclear unique is its flexibility and scalability. It is not tied to the same infrastructure requirements necessary for hydrocarbon based energy systems. There are no pipelines, it relies on distinct supply chains and has great potential for decentralization. This makes nuclear energy perfect for growing, emerging economies that need energy but lack the infrastructure to support traditional energy production and distribution and that is why nuclear is the perfect energy source for emerging economies in Africa. Jack hosts Dr. Lassina Zerbo, Chairman of the Rwanda Atomic Energy Board and Energy Advisor in the Office of the President to the Power Hour to discuss why Africa is primed to emerge as a leader for new nuclear energy and how the United States can play a critical role.

You can learn more about Dr. Zerbo and his impressive work here and here is a great video where Dr. Zerbo discusses the promise of nuclear energy.

As always, you can join the conversation at thepowerhour@heritage.org! Get Jack’s book, Nuclear Revolution, and our documentary about nuclear energy, Powering America. Thank you for listening and please don’t forget to subscribe and help us to spread the word.

The Power Hour is a weekly podcast that discusses the day’s most interesting energy and environmental policy issues with leading national experts. Jack invites The Heritage Foundation’s Senior Research Fellow Jason Hayes this week to talk about the recent Canadian wildfires. Aside from being a leading policy expert, Jason has worked as a forester and back woods park ranger and is the perfect person to help us to understand what is going on and why. He will tell us why fires in Canada are impacting us here in the United State, why do these seemingly out of control wildfires keep happening, and what can be done about?

You can learn more about Jason Hayes here and read a recent piece that he wrote on this issue here. As always, you can join the conversation at thepowerhour@heritage.org!

Get Jack’s book, Nuclear Revolution, and our documentary about nuclear energy, Powering America. Thank you for listening and please don’t forget to subscribe and help us to spread the word.

The Power Hour is a weekly podcast that discusses the day’s most interesting energy and environmental policy issues with leading national experts. It has been decades since an American company successfully competed to supply enriched uranium to fuel commercial power reactors. One company is trying to change that. That company is General Matter and its COO and co-founder, Lee Robinson, joins Jack this week to tell us how they are doing it. Lee is an innovator and entrepreneur and is the kind of visionary that America needs if our enthusiasm about new nuclear energy is ever going to become actual new nuclear energy. You can learn more about General Matter here and you can check out a recent interview that Lee did here.

The Power Hour is a weekly podcast that discusses the day’s most interesting energy and environmental policy issues with leading national experts. On this episode, Jack learns from Jonathan Lesser, PhD, how renewable portfolio standards and other energy mandates cause higher electricity prices and less reliable energy systems. Dr. Lesser’s decades of experience studying how power is generated, distributed, and regulated give him a unique perspective that you won’t want to miss. Currently, Dr. Lesser serves as a Senior Fellow at the National Center for Energy Analytics and President of Continental Economics. Be sure to check out Dr. Lesser’s work at the National Center for Energy Analytics and Continental Economics. As always, you can join the conversation at thepowerhour@heritage.org! Get Jack’s book, Nuclear Revolution, and our documentary about nuclear energy, Powering America. Thank you for listening and please don’t forget to subscribe and help us to spread the word.

The Power Hour is a weekly podcast that discusses the day’s most interesting energy and environmental policy issues with national experts. Jack is joined this week by his Heritage Foundation colleague, Sarah Wagoner. Sarah is an environmental policy scholar who recently wrote about Virginia’s move to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Among other issues, Sarah and Jack talk about how and why this is the exact wrong policy at the exact wrong time. You can read Sarah’s article here and see what else she is working on here. As always, you can join the conversation at thepowerhour@heritage.org! Get Jack’s book, Nuclear Revolution, and our documentary about nuclear energy, Powering America. Thank you for listening and please don’t forget to subscribe and help us to spread the word.

The Power Hour is a weekly podcast that discusses the day’s most interesting energy and environmental policy issues with national experts. Joining Jack this week is energy and environment policy legend and Power Hour alum, Myron Ebell. As you might have guessed, Jack and Myron, who is now with the American Lands Council, spend a lot of time discussing why a decentralized, free enterprise approach that puts the power in the hands of the people and localities is a better approach to solving energy and environment challenges than centralizing control in Washington, but the conversation doesn’t stop there. They discuss whether Washington’s bureaucratic regulatory regimes are broken and beyond repair, how the Left has worked for decades to normalize a bureaucracy-first approach, and if the end it nigh for global warming policy. While that is all worthwhile, the reason to you don’t want to miss this one is you need to hear how the EPA has used its authority to retroactively revoke permits and how that impacts infrastructure investment decisions. To see some of Myron’s work, check out this Youtube link. You won’t be disappointed. And you can click here to see what’s going on at the American Lands Council. And finally, you can reach out to Myron directly via email at: myrontebell@gmail.com. As always, you can join the conversation at thepowerhour@heritage.org! Get Jack’s book, Nuclear Revolution, and our documentary about nuclear energy, Powering America. Thank you for listening and please don’t forget to subscribe and help us to spread the word.

The Power Hour is a weekly podcast that discusses the day’s most interesting energy and environmental policy issues with national experts. Jack invites the real AOC, Amy O. Cooke, Always On Energy’s President and Chairman of the Board. Amy is also a Visiting Energy Fellow at the State Policy Network where she chairs SPN’s Energy Policy Working Group. Of particular interest, Jack and Amy talk about how much of the energy affordability issues we are facing today have nothing to do with increase demand and everything to do with the past bad energy policies. And Amy explains how the work being done at Always On Energy puts real numbers behind the argument. Of course, that’s just the tip of the iceberg of issues covered by Jack and Amy over the course of their conversation. You can learn more about the great work being done at Always On Energy here and SPN’s energy work here. After you listen to the Power Hour, go check Amy’s podcast PowerGab here, where she talks about energy issues and Colorado. As always, you can join the conversation at thepowerhour@heritage.org! Get Jack’s book, Nuclear Revolution, and our documentary about nuclear energy, Powering America. Thank you for listening and please don’t forget to subscribe and help us to spread the word.

The Power Hour is a weekly podcast that discusses the day’s most interesting energy and environmental policy issues with national experts. Jack has a fascinating conversation with Everstar AI CEO, Kevin Kong on today’s episode. Kevin makes a compelling argument that radical shifts in nuclear power’s underlying economics will be made possible with AI technology. Whether during the regulatory process, supply chain development, or plant construction, AI will transform how nuclear power plants are built by harnessing massive efficiencies and this, in turn, will result in lower prices. You will also get a crash course in AI technology as Jack starts the conversation by asking Kevin “what is AI?” and “how does it work?” To get the answers, you will have to listen. You can learn more about Everstr AI here and Kevin Kong here. You can reach out to Kevin on his Instagram page. As always, you can join the conversation at thepowerhour@heritage.org! Get Jack’s book, Nuclear Revolution, and our documentary about nuclear energy, Powering America. Thank you for listening and please don’t forget to subscribe and help us to spread the word.