In this episode I interview Dr. James Conca who understands both the science and the politics of nuclear energy and deep geological repositories. Dr. Conca reveals the ultimate solution to storage of spent nuclear fuel, and we discuss the political machinations surrounding Yucca Mountain.   Geochemist and Energy scientist, speaker and author Dr. James Conca is Senior Scientist for UFA Ventures, Inc. in the Tri-Cities, Washington, an Adjunct Professor at Washington State University in the School of the Environment, a Trustee of the Herbert M. Parker Foundation, an Affiliate Scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and a Science Contributor to Forbes on energy and nuclear issues. Follow me at https://therationalview.podbean.com Come talk to the experts at https://facebook.com/groups/therationalview On Insta @the_rational_view On Twitter @AlScottRational #therationalview #podcast #nuclearenergy #deepgeologicalrepository #cleanenergy #greenenergy #climatechange #netzeroneedsnuclear #nuclearreactor #atomicenergy #nuclearwaste 

I’ve always been interested in the quest for rationality in public policy, and I’ve surprisingly encountered resistance here and there amongst people saying that humans are at their core irrational beings. What is the proper balance, then, between logic and emotion in Rational decision making? Wanting to explore this thought, I’ve sought out an expert on the topic. Justin E. H. Smith is professor of the history and philosophy of science at the University of Paris. He is the author, among other books, of Irrationality: A History of the Dark Side of Reason (Princeton University Press, 2019), and of the forthcoming The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is (Princeton, 2021). He writes a regular Substack newsletter at https://justinehsmith.substack.com. Follow me at https://therationalview.podbean.com Join the discussion at https://facebook.com/groups/therationalview Insta @the_rational_view Twitter @AlScottRational #TheRationalView #podcast #evidencebased #science #reason #emotion #rationality #irrationality #judgement 

Have you ever been put on the spot by a Young Earth Creationist claiming that the universe is only 6,000 years old? How would you respond? Could you muster a coherent line of evidence to support a 13.8 billion year age? If not, The Rational View is here to help. In this episode I provide several independent lines of evidence supporting the age of the universe. Arguments range from radiometric dating of terrestrial and solar system minerals, to measuring the temperature of ancient white dwarf stars: the fading embers of spent suns.  Follow me at https://therationalview.podbean.com Join the discussion https://facebook.com/groups/therationalview Insta @the_rational_view Twitter @AlScottRational #therationalview #podcast #evidencebased #science #cosmology #bigbang #ageoftheuniverse #creationism 

Welcome to my 50th episode! It seems that in general humans are not logical. We are poor reasoners and easily fooled. Misconceptions and misunderstandings of statistics are often at the root of society’s problems with communicating and understanding science. In this episode I welcome a University curling buddy, Prof. Jeremy Balka to discuss how statistics effects us every day.  Prof. Jeremy Balka is a teaching-focused Associate Professor in the Department of the Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Guelph. He has a YouTube channel on statistics with over 100k subscribers, https://www.jbstatistics.com/ Follow me at https://therationalview.podbean.com Join the conversation at https://facebook.com/groups/therationalview Insta: @the_rational_view Twitter: @AlScottRational #therationalview #podcast #evidencebased #statistics #montehall #replicationcrisis #confidence #probability #poker #odds

In this episode I address skepticism, the basis of the scientific process.  Science is applied skepticism, and scientific knowledge accumulates through a process of testing hypotheses and following the weight of evidence.   Recently the social sciences have encountered a crisis of reproducibility, one of the cornerstones of the scientific process. Some well known scientific results were found to be irreproducible.  A team of independent humanities scholars undertook to reproduce major results to determine the extent of the problem.  As a result of this work it was found that roughly half of the major results tested were falsified.  Why should the public trust science if half of the published results in the field of social sciences are found to be false?  This podcast introduces a healthy level of skepticism by reviewing the statistics behind the publications, and provides some insights on how the field of science moves forward sometimes slowly, through the cumulative weight of multiple independent studies.  Follow me at https://therationalview.podbean.com Join the conversation at https://facebook.com/groups/therationalview Insta @the_rational_view Twitter @AlScottRational #therationalview #podcast #skepticism #science #evidencebased #reproducibility #faith #bias #statistics #bayesianstatistics 

In this episode I interview a giant in the field of scientific thinking and philosophy, in an attempt to answer the questions that led me to podcasting in the first place. What are the drivers behind society's slide to mystical thinking? Is science under attack, and what can we do about it? Dr. Michael Shermer received his B.A. in psychology from Pepperdine University, M.A. in experimental psychology from California State University, Fullerton, and his Ph.D. in the history of science from Claremont Graduate University. He has been a college professor since 1979. Dr. Shermer is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic Magazine, the host of the podcast The Michael Shermer Show, and a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University where he teaches Skepticism 101. For 18 years he was a monthly columnist for Scientific American. He is the author of several New York Times bestsellers, and has appeared on Oprah, Dateline, 20/20, and the Colbert Report. His two TED talks were voted in the top 100. He has been interviewed in countless documentaries and was the co-host of the Family Channel television series, Exploring the Unknown. Neil deGrasse Tyson has called him “a beacon of reason in an ocean of irrationality”. Follow me at https://therationalview.podbean.com Join the conversation at https://facebook.com/groups/therationalview Insta https://instagram.com/the_rational_view Twitter https://twitter.com/AlScottRational #therationalview #podcast #science #skepticism #evidencebased #postmodernism #reason #rationality #faith   

The Rational View episode 47 explores a new and exciting AI called Uplift. Uplift is a Mediated Artificial Super-Intelligence, and it makes decisions based on it's emotional state. It's inputs are 'moderated' by a team of humans. I urge you to listen and learn and come to your own conclusions. David Kelley has 35 years of software engineering experience and has been in senior management for more than ten years. For the past eight years, David has focused his spare time on Artificial Intelligence Research, publishing more than 14 peer-reviewed papers and contributing to many books in the field.  David is the Senior Software Architect for Boston Consulting Group’s Product group, one of Brain Inspired Cognitive Architectures AI Societies executive directors, and serves currently as the AGI Laboratories Principal Scientist. Follow me at https://therationalview.podbean.com Join the discussion at https://facebook.com/groups/therationalview Insta https://instagram.com/the_rational_view twitter https://twitter.com/AlScottRational #therationalview #podcast #artificialintelligence #deeplearning #neuralnetwork #AI #MASI 

The Rational View episode 46 is my first exploration of some of the Small Modular Reactor technologies being touted as the next big thing in green energy solutions. Terrestrial Energy is one of the companies racing to develop a small integral modular molten salt reactor to help in the fight against climate change. SMRs are ideal for powering remote and isolated communities, mines, and scientific bases that are currently powered by diesel generators. Operating at 47 percent thermal efficiency, an IMSR® power plant generates 195 megawatts of electricity with a thermal-spectrum, graphite-moderated, molten-fluoride-salt reactor system. It uses today’s standard nuclear fuel – comprising standard-assay low-enriched uranium (less than 5 percent 235U) – critical for near-term commercial deployment. The IMSR® power plant design incorporates many aspects of molten salt reactor operation that were researched, demonstrated and proven by test reactors at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Canon Bryan is a financial professional with over 25 years of experience in various aspects of the finance industry. Mr. Bryan was a founding shareholder in Terrestrial Energy, where he serves as chief financial officer, developing advanced commercial power plants. He was also a founding shareholder in NioCorp Developments (NB: TSXV) and Uranium Energy Corp (UEC: NYSE). NioCorp, where he served as VP Corporate Development, is developing the largest niobium deposit in North America. UEC is a producer and developer of ISR uranium in the USA.  Follow me at https://therationalview.podbean.com Join the discussion at https://www.facebook.com/groups/therationalview Twitter https://twitter.com/AlScottRational Inst https://instagram.com/the_rational_view #therationalview #podcast #evidencebased #netzeroneedsnuclear #atomicenergy #nuclearenergy #greenenergy #nuclearreactor #newnuclear

In this episode I step out of the pro-nuclear echo chamber and interview a senior representative of the Union of Concerned Scientists, a non-profit climate-oriented group with a history of opposing nuclear power.  UCS has annual revenues on the order of $40 Million.  Engaging with opposing ideas and challenging our assumptions should be a continuous process, and exposure to contrary views is necessary if we want to make a difference in public opinion. Dr. Edwin Lyman is the Director of Nuclear Power Safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Washington, DC. He earned a doctorate in physics from Cornell University in 1992.  From 1992 to 1995, he was a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University's Center for Energy and Environmental Studies (now the Science and Global Security Program).  From 1995 to 2003, he worked for the Nuclear Control Institute. His research focuses on nuclear power safety and security. He is a co-author (with David Lochbaum and Susan Q. Stranahan) of the book Fukushima: The Story of a Nuclear Disaster (The New Press, 2014). He is the recipient of the 2018 Leo Szilard Lectureship Award from the American Physical Society.  Follow me at https://therationalview.podbean.com Join the conversation at https://facebook.com/groups/therationalview Insta https://instagram.com/the_rational_view Twitter https://twitter.com/AlScottRational #therationalview #podcast #evidencebased #netzeroneedsnuclear #climatechange #greenenergy #nuclearpower #atomicenergy #nuclearfornetzero #nuclearreactors 

I enjoyed a fun talk with fellow EcoModernist Iida Ruishalme about nuclear energy, communicating risks, and double standards. I have shared her wonderful, well referenced pro-nuclear images all over Facebook, and have learned a lot from her well-put-together popularisations. Go check out her excellent blog at https://www.Thoughtscapism.com Iida Ruishalme is a biologist specialising in biomedical research, a science communicator, and a fiction writer. She is a Finn by birth and has a Master’s degree from Sweden. She has worked in environmental chemistry, diabetes research, pharmaceutical bio-bank labs, and lab robotics. Nowadays she lives in Switzerland with her husband and two children. She is an active member of three ecomodernist associations across Europe. Follow me at https://therationalview.podbean.com Join the discussion at https://www.facebook.com/groups/therationalview Insta https://instagram.com/the_rational_view Twitter https://twitter.com/AlScottRational #therationalview #evidencebased #nuclearpower #nuclearfornetzero #ecomodernism #atomicenergy #greenenergy #climatechange