Direct Current - An Energy.gov Podcast
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Direct Current - An Energy.gov Podcast
Direct Current is a podcast about energy -- the kind that lights our homes, powers our lives and shapes our world. From the U.S. Department of Energy's digital team in Washington, D.C., Direct Current brings you fresh, insightful stories of how we generate and use electricity, what that means for th...
Recent Episodes
62 episodesS5 E4: Science Powered by Exascale
What is exascale computing? Why does it matter? To find out, we connected with the computing experts at DOE's national laboratories. Join us as we dis...
S5 E3: The Next Generation Science of Pandemics
The COVID-19 pandemic serves as a stark reminder that, despite our great achievements, we are still bound by the laws of our own biology. And while th...
S5 E2: Fully Charged: How Batteries Are Combating the Climate Crisis, Part 2
The second of two episodes, we’re going under the hood to take a look at something these EVs all share in common — a battery. Where do they come from?...
S5 E1: Fully Charged: How Batteries Are Combating the Climate Crisis, Part 1 (REBROADCAST)
The first of two episodes, we’re going under the hood to take a look at something these EVs all share in common — a battery. Where do they come from?...
S4 E5: End of Year Chat with Secretary Jennifer Granholm
Join us for an energizing conversation with Secretary Jennifer Granholm, focused on the Department of Energy’s 2023 accomplishments and the progress o...
S4 E4: 70 Years of Atoms for Peace
70 years ago, President Dwight D. Eisenhower went before the United Nations and delivered a speech unlike anything the world had ever heard. The presi...
S4 E3: Fully Charged: How Batteries Are Combating the Climate Crisis, Part 1
The first of two episodes, we’re going under the hood to take a look at something these EVs all share in common — a battery. Where do they come from?...
The Manhattan Project, Part 2 (REBROADCAST)
The conclusion of our two part story on the Manhattan Project. We take you to the Trinity site where the first bomb was tested and then follow the Air...
The Manhattan Project, Part 1 (REBROADCAST)
The first of two episodes that tell the story of an unprecedented, U.S. government effort to beat Nazi Germany in the race to construct a nuclear weap...
S4 E2: The Extremes of Weather in a Changing Climate
In this second episode of season 4 of Direct Current, we dive into a topic that’s been in the news a lot lately: extreme weather. While intense storms...
S4 E1: Keeping the Lights on in Ukraine
Season 4 of Direct Current opens with a race against the clock, as the Department of Energy and National Labs join forces with industry and internatio...
Who Cares About Quantum? (Season 4 Teaser)
"Quantum" is everywhere these days — in the news, on TV, in the titles of blockbuster action films — but what even is it? Why is it important to under...
People Powered: Chris Castro, Director of Sustainability
For years, Chris Castro worked tirelessly to bring a brighter future to the city of Orlando, Florida. We heard from the (now-former) director of susta...
People Powered: Conrad Flowers, Lead Interconnection Engineer
Conrad Flowers wanted a more fulfilling career, so he followed his passion and took a job in solar energy. Now he’s connecting solar farms to the elec...
People Powered: AlexAnna Salmon, Village Council President
AlexAnna Salmon is a fierce advocate for her home, a remote Alaskan town called Igiugig. As village council president, she's working to preserve her t...
People Powered: Gaby Ibarra, Building Energy Analyst
Our series highlighting workers in clean energy continues! Gaby Ibarra, a first-generation college student and daughter of immigrants, shares her jour...
People Powered: Michael Flores, Wind Technician
In the latest episode of "People Powered," our new series on clean energy careers, wind technician Michael Flores shares what it's like to travel the...
People Powered: Kaly Moore, Solar Construction Manager
Presenting "People Powered," a new series on clean energy careers! There are millions of good-paying jobs in energy, and we'll be introducing you to t...
Brewing Up Energy Savings
Contained within a single glass of beer is hundreds of hours of labor and vast amounts of resources. Join us as we go inside a popular craft brewery a...
LCLS-II: Brighter, Faster, Smaller
Stretching nearly two miles under a freeway in Palo Alto, CA, the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) is a huge X-ray laser with the power to capture i...
LPO's New Look: A Conversation with Jigar Shah
With $40 billion in lending authority, the Loan Programs Office is one of the Energy Department's most powerful clean energy investment tools. We sat...
Getting to Know Secretary Granholm
The nation's 16th Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, sat down with Direct Current to talk clean energy, climate, her "obsession" with creating mi...
Mars 2020, Part 2: SuperCam Does It All
Developed by Los Alamos National Lab, SuperCam is the scientific “Swiss Army Knife” for NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover. In this episode, we hear from...
Mars 2020, Part 1: Powered by Plutonium
NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover is loaded with technology developed by the Department of Energy, including a nuclear battery fueled by plutonium-238. L...
AI: Safer, Smarter, More Secure (Live at AAAS)
Artificial intelligence is all around us — even if we don’t realize it — and the rapid spread of AI technologies into our lives raises big questions a...
The Future of Water & Wildfire (Live at AAAS)
COVID-19 is dominating the headlines, but the pandemic isn’t the only threat to human health. Water is an essential part of life, but changes in the w...
National Labs Respond to COVID-19
An interview with Dr. Chris Fall, Director of the Department of Energy Office of Science, about the agency’s response to COVID-19.
Tribal Energy: Powering Self-Determination
For hundreds of Indian tribes and native communities across the United States, energy represents many things: a lifeline, a source of income, a path t...
AI: This Is Just the Beginning
Artificial intelligence is all over the news, but what's all the hype really about? We travel to Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee to find out how A...
S3 E8: KRUSTY in Spaaace!
50 years after Apollo 11 made history, NASA is getting ready to send astronauts back to the Moon, then on to Mars. We're going to need a power supply...
S3 E7: DUNE: The Neutrinos Must Flow
Join Direct Current on a subatomic sojourn into the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), a massive international research project aiming to un...
S3 E6: Women in Power: The C3E Story
Direct Current - An Energy.gov Podcast talks to the women who are leading a clean energy revolution, with a little help from C3E. It's part support ne...
S3 E5: Microbiomes! Live at AAAS
There's an invisible world of microbes living all around us that we're only just beginning to understand. We talked to two DOE scientists at the 2019...
S3 E4: This Episode Stinks
Grease. Gunk. Sludge. Where most people see a nasty nuisance, these scientists see powerful potential. Join us as we wade into the world of bioenergy...
S3 E3: Nuclear Energy: Fact, Fiction, Future
Nuclear energy gets a bad rap on "The Simpsons," but there's a lot more to the story. In this episode of Direct Current, we separate fact from fiction...
S3 E2: Makers
This episode of Direct Current is dedicated to the makers at the Energy Department — the engineers, researchers and artisans whose creations are pushi...
S3 E1: Sitting Down with Secretary Perry
You know Rick Perry as the current Secretary of Energy and former Texas governor, but did you know he once played drums with ZZ Top? On the Direct Cur...
S2 E9: Power Couple
A pair of energy detectives is hunting down waste and saving money at two big U.S. manufacturing companies. Hear their story, and learn how our Better...
S2 E8: Holiday Lights, Redux
We're keeping the season merry and bright with a show about data and holiday lights!
SHORT CIRCUIT | History of the Light Bulb
One of the most ubiquitous items in the world is an item you can probably see from wherever you’re listening… the light bulb. The story of how the lig...