What if it works?
by MIT Energy Initiative
Latest episode
Energy storage is heating up
Energy storage is heating up
About this podcast
Energy powers our homes, our cars, and our lives. But the kinds of energy we use—and the ways we use it—are rapidly changing our climate. We need new and clean energy, now. MIT Energy Initiative hosts Rob Stoner and Kara Miller talk with energy experts about the science, technology, and policies that can transform our energy systems and give us a more sustainable future. Hear from those testing new ideas and working on breakthroughs in labs, industry, and government—the ones who aren’t afraid to ask, “What if it works?”
Episodes
The newest 20 of 21 episodes
- Energy storage is heating up · 34 min · Season 1 Episode 20Asegun Henry, an innovator and professor at MIT, says that energy storage is arguably the single most important technological problem we have to solve. He is developing and…
- How energy systems are shaped · 36 min · Season 1 Episode 19We rely on our energy systems to allow us to do work, travel, process information, and support all sorts of economic activity. MIT Professor Jessika Trancik helps us zoom out for…
- Unraveling DNA to transform carbon · 31 min · Season 1 Episode 18MIT professor and entrepreneur Ariel Furst is used to people underestimating what biology can do. But she is proving that DNA and microbes can help us decarbonize energy: DNA can…
- The economics of clean energy · 32 min · Season 1 Episode 17As an economist, Namrata Kala has considered how incentivization can alter human behavior and help policies succeed. She leverages this expertise to help us examine how the…
- Hydrogen beneath our feet · 37 min · Season 1 Episode 16As a clean energy source, hydrogen has shown to have a lot of potential. But when generated using fossil fuels, hydrogen production can have a large environmental impact—even if…
- Removing fossil fuels from industrial processes · 33 min · Season 1 Episode 15We talk a lot about decarbonizing cars, planes, and electricity, but about the hidden processes that are used to produce the steel in our buildings or the chemicals fertilizing…
- Turning light into electricity · 35 min · Season 1 Episode 142023 Nobel Prize winner Moungi Bawendi, a professor of chemistry at MIT, has thought a lot about how to reimagine clean energy technologies. His early work with quantum dots led…
- The race to fusion · 42 min · Season 1 Episode 13For years, the running joke was that fusion energy is always 30 years away, but today we are actually closer than ever. Dennis Whyte, a leader in fusion research, shares how…
- Adding nuclear to the mix · 43 min · Season 1 Episode 12Nuclear power has been the topic of controversy over the years, despite its current contribution of nearly 20% of the electricity generated in the United States. Jacopo…
- The reality of capturing carbon · 37 min · Season 1 Episode 11The Earth’s biological systems cannot keep up with the sheer scale of carbon that is being dumped into the atmosphere from human industrial systems, transportation, and more. So…
- The environmental impact of “stuff” · 38 min · Season 1 Episode 10All of our cars, planes, buildings, batteries are made of stuff—stuff that, when mined and manufactured, is responsible for over a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. MIT…
- Why we should care about methane · 41 min · Season 1 Episode 9Methane is the only greenhouse gas that will change the rate of warming in our lifetimes, according to MIT Professor Desirée Plata. So, why aren’t we talking about it more? Plata…
- Unconventional paths to energy efficiency · 40 min · Season 1 Episode 8Large parts of the world don’t have access to energy. So how do we encourage cleaner sources when for many people that's not the real priority? According to Amos Winter, a…
- Why do so many renewable projects stall? · 47 min · Season 1 Episode 7Larry Susskind, a professor of urban and environmental planning at MIT, often finds himself in the role of mediator between renewable energy project developers and the…
- Putting a price on carbon · 44 min · Season 1 Episode 6While the carbon tax has received a lot of negative publicity in the United States over the decades, more and more countries have been implementing carbon pricing schemes of…
- The next four years of U.S. energy · 41 min · Season 1 Episode 5President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to repeal key climate and energy legislation enacted under the Biden administration. What should we expect over the next four years and…
- Rising to the climate challenge · 45 min · Season 1 Episode 4Susan Solomon is a scientist known for her pioneering work explaining the hole in the ozone layer. And she believes that just as we solved that crucial environmental problem, we…
- How to speed up the energy transition · 34 min · Season 1 Episode 3The energy transition is happening—but why is it taking so long? We need to replace fossil fuels, but there is no one silver bullet. MIT Energy Initiative Director William Green…
- Making the case for climate optimism · 47 min · Season 1 Episode 1Climate anxiety is real—and if you are feeling it, you aren’t alone. Hosts Rob Stoner and Kara Miller are demystifying our current energy landscape, sharing what can be done and…
- Decarbonizing energy: The government’s role · 49 min · Season 1 Episode 2What is the role of government and policy in decarbonizing our energy systems? As the former U.S. Secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz helps us understand what its role has been so…
