
Power Hour with Alex Epstein
Every week on Power Hour energy philosopher Alex Epstein breaks down today's top energy, environmental, and climate issues.
Latest episodes

Apr 9, 2020 • 56min
Green Energy vs. Recovery, Obama’s Climate Fixation vs. Pandemic Preparedness
On this week's Power Hour I cover 3 big topics:
1: Why green energy mandates would be a death blow to economic recovery
Many political officials are pushing for various green energy mandates, such as the Wind Production Tax Credit, to be part of “phase 4” of the COVID-19 response. In the first segment of this week’s Power Hour I explain why the worst thing we can do at this stage is dramatically increase the price of energy, which would have the “death blow” effects of 1) decreasing American productivity and 2) increasing consumer prices.
I offer a very different approach, energy freedom—including the decriminalization of nuclear energy.
2: Obama draws exactly the wrong lesson on pandemic preparedness
Former President Barack Obama recently tweeted the following to great acclaim.
"We've seen all too terribly the consequences of those who denied warnings of a pandemic. We can't afford any more consequences of climate denial. All of us, especially young people, have to demand better of our government at every level and vote this fall."
On the second segment of this week’s Power Hour I explain why this is the wrong lesson, and look at how Obama’s and others’ “climate change fixation” took their eye off pandemic response and other urgent priorities.
3: What is our COVID-19 goal?
In the final segment of this week’s Power Hour, I ask: What is our COVID-19 goal? Is it to eradicate COVID-19 or to manage it? In my view most political officials keep switching between these two goals, leading to mass confusion and unnecessary destruction. I make the case that given the reality of COVID-19 today our goal should definitely be intelligent management and that the eradication goal is doing incredible unnecessary harm.

Apr 1, 2020 • 2h 20min
COVID-19 filters, intellectual persuasion, a new Robert Bryce interview, and more
With in-depth interviews of experts on controversies such as “green energy,” offshore drilling, “energy independence,” fossil fuels, etc, Power Hour seeks to help listeners get clear on these complex but vital issues. Every episode features a new guest, an extended interview/discussion, and a closing segment with my takeaways from the discussion.

Mar 26, 2020 • 1h 36min
Don’t stop living, live smarter: a path forward on COVID-19
On this week’s Power Hour I explain why I’ve jumped into the COVID-19 policy debate and why I believe bad thinking methods are driving leading predictions and policies. Then I offer a first draft of a path forward, which I call “Don’t Stop Living, Live Smarter." The six key steps are:
Step 1: Acknowledge the difficult reality we are in.
Step 2: Recognize that an indefinite universal lockdown is both impractical and immoral.
Step 3: Massively increase testing and transparency
Step 4: Liberate American ingenuity to massively increase treatment ability
Step 5: Help the highly vulnerable minority protect themselves.
Step 6: Go back to work (and school) with virus-prevention best-practices.

Mar 18, 2020 • 60min
4 ideas about COVID-19 you won’t hear anywhere else
With in-depth interviews of experts on controversies such as “green energy,” offshore drilling, “energy independence,” fossil fuels, etc, Power Hour seeks to help listeners get clear on these complex but vital issues. Every episode features a new guest, an extended interview/discussion, and a closing segment with my takeaways from the discussion.

Mar 11, 2020 • 56min
Thoughts on the Oil Price Crash and the ESG Chess Game
With in-depth interviews of experts on controversies such as “green energy,” offshore drilling, “energy independence,” fossil fuels, etc, Power Hour seeks to help listeners get clear on these complex but vital issues. Every episode features a new guest, an extended interview/discussion, and a closing segment with my takeaways from the discussion.

Mar 7, 2020 • 1h 3min
Best of Power Hour: Richard Salsman on waste and pollution
With in-depth interviews of experts on controversies such as “green energy,” offshore drilling, “energy independence,” fossil fuels, etc, Power Hour seeks to help listeners get clear on these complex but vital issues. Every episode features a new guest, an extended interview/discussion, and a closing segment with my takeaways from the discussion.

Feb 26, 2020 • 1h 2min
Best of Power Hour: Robert Bradley on our energy resources
With in-depth interviews of experts on controversies such as “green energy,” offshore drilling, “energy independence,” fossil fuels, etc, Power Hour seeks to help listeners get clear on these complex but vital issues. Every episode features a new guest, an extended interview/discussion, and a closing segment with my takeaways from the discussion.

Feb 19, 2020 • 1h 20min
Best of Power Hour: Dr. Denis Rancourt on the true physics of CO2
With in-depth interviews of experts on controversies such as “green energy,” offshore drilling, “energy independence,” fossil fuels, etc, Power Hour seeks to help listeners get clear on these complex but vital issues. Every episode features a new guest, an extended interview/discussion, and a closing segment with my takeaways from the discussion.

Feb 12, 2020 • 60min
Best of Power Hour: Dr. Amesh Adalja on the threat of infectious diseases
With in-depth interviews of experts on controversies such as “green energy,” offshore drilling, “energy independence,” fossil fuels, etc, Power Hour seeks to help listeners get clear on these complex but vital issues. Every episode features a new guest, an extended interview/discussion, and a closing segment with my takeaways from the discussion.

Feb 5, 2020 • 1h
Best of Power Hour: Jude Clemente on energy poverty and America’s energy opportunity
With in-depth interviews of experts on controversies such as “green energy,” offshore drilling, “energy independence,” fossil fuels, etc, Power Hour seeks to help listeners get clear on these complex but vital issues. Every episode features a new guest, an extended interview/discussion, and a closing segment with my takeaways from the discussion.