Volts is a podcast about leaving fossil fuels behind. I've been reporting on and explaining clean-energy topics for almost 20 years, and I love talking to polit...
In this episode, I speak with Malcolm Woolf and Connor Nelson about hydropower's underappreciated role in America's clean energy landscape. While providing most of our energy storage and thus supporting solar and wind deployments, hydropower faces significant challenges, with a decade-long relicensing processes and inadequate market compensation. We discuss why preserving and expanding this reliable, clean firm energy source is crucial as we transition to renewables. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
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1:02:51
Can we avoid the enshittification of clean-energy tech?
In this episode, I chat with author Cory Doctorow about "enshittification," his viral term for how digital platforms and smart technologies inevitably get worse over time. We explore how monopoly power, aggressive IP protections, and lax privacy law enable companies to capture and exploit users — and what that might mean for the clean energy transition as our homes and vehicles become increasingly software-dependent. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
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1:37:15
Climate change and insurance: a growing fustercluck
In this episode, I talk with Kate Gordon, CEO of California Forward, about how climate change is breaking the insurance industry. We discuss why insurers are fleeing high-risk states, the limitations of government backstops, and the looming political and financial crisis as communities face hard choices about where people can safely live. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
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1:06:48
Checking in on local and state climate races
In this episode, I talk with Caroline Spears of Climate Cabinet about the results of the state and local climate races her organization tracked in 2024. We discuss the importance of these often-overlooked state and local races for climate progress, the challenges of the current political information environment, and Climate Cabinet's strategy for building power at the state level through 2030 and beyond. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
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55:12
Electrifying big trucks
In this episode, I talk with Ray Minjares of ICCT and Jacqueline Torres of Forum Mobility about the electrification of heavy trucks, from drayage at ports to long-haul big rigs. We dig into charging challenges, innovative financing models, and the massive pollution cuts possible by transitioning fleets. Electric trucks are here — but they need the right policies and partnerships to scale. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
Volts is a podcast about leaving fossil fuels behind. I've been reporting on and explaining clean-energy topics for almost 20 years, and I love talking to politicians, analysts, innovators, and activists about the latest progress in the world's most important fight. (Volts is entirely subscriber-supported. Sign up!) www.volts.wtf
USA