The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott

Dr. Joe Romm says the hydrogen economy is a pipedream

In this episode I’m discussing energy, specifically hydrogen and nuclear with a leading environmentalist author. His recent book the Hype about Hydrogen (revised) highlights the seemingly intractable problems with a Hydrogen economy. He’s also publishing a whitepaper highlighting the high costs of SMRs and touting renewables as the cheapest solution. He suggests nuclear is uniquely dangerous in his assessment. I agree that any new SMRs will be costly, but the evidence suggests that nuclear is the safest energy form in lives lost per kilowatt hour. I'm looking forward to a lively discussion.
A physicist who studied physical oceanography, Dr. Joe Romm is a senior research fellow at the Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media, and writes the blog climateprogress.org. In 2009, Rolling Stone magazine named Romm to its list of "100 People Who Are Changing America", and Time magazine named him one of its "Heroes of the Environment (2009)", calling him "The Web's most influential climate-change blogger. Before that, he served at the Department of Energy in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, a $1 billion program responsible for much of the US’ clean energy and greenhouse gas research and development.
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A look at the parties and leaders in Canada's federal election

Welcome to my Canadian election review podcast. As of the time of this episode Canada is just a couple weeks away and the Rational View is here to provide you with a rundown on the major parties.  In Canada we have two major parties, the Liberals and the Conservatives who are the only parties who have ever won elections, plus a third party, the New Democrats (NDP) who usually manage to capture a smattering of seats. The last two terms were won by the Liberals under Justin Trudeau.  The most recent term has been a minority government propped up by the NDP for concessions to social programs.
The Conservatives are like Canada’s Republicans: Pro Oligarch and Pro Oil.  The Liberals are like Canada’s Democrats: Pro Corporatocracy (Status Quo) and Pro Environment. The NDP are Pro Worker and Pro Environment.
Trudeau, who’s popularity has been low after 10 years in government, has recently stepped down to be replaced by Mark Carney, former governor of the bank of Canada and the Bank of England. Carney has re-invigorated Liberal polling numbers, and is currently leading Pierre Pollievre’s Conservatives at 43% vs 39%. This was a major surprise to Conservatives who were a shoe-in until Carney announced his candidacy and flipped the script on them.
All three major parties have been putting out ads.  The Conservative ads have been trying to smear the new Liberal leader, Mark Carney, as a rich outsider who is going to bring in a carbon tax. There have been AI-generated fake pictures on social media showing Carney with Epstein and Maxwell. The Liberal ads have been comparing the Conservative Leader to Donald Trump due to sharing similar rhetoric on making Canada great again. I’m going to go through what the candidates have said about actual policies in case you are interested in that. It’s time for a Rational View.
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Why am I me and not you? An exploration of physicalism

Life is chaotic right now, people are worried, all you hear on social media is conflict and crazy.
Time to step back, relax, and go on a journey with me into philosophy of the mind. Let’s meditate a bit and disconnect from the reset of modern civilization.
Why am I seeing the world only from within Al Scott’s head? Why am I me and not you? 
Why do you wake up in the morning as you and not as someone else? Is it because you are a soul that lives in your body? 
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Why did adventurer Miles Spencer retrace the journey of Lawrence of Arabia?

Miles Spencer is a father and a mentor of tech founders. He says the similarities in those jobs are remarkable. He founded, financed, built and exited three digital media companies. Prior to that, he was a Venture Principal at Capital Express, and hosted MoneyHunt on PBS. In his spare time he is a painter and an adventurer who has hiked through the Saudi desert and lived to write a book about.  A Line in the Sand ended up an Amazon Bestseller in the Middle East.
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Is Trump responding to unfair Canadian tariffs?

Donald Trump has fawned over authoritarians and dictators and strives to emulate them. What do dictators do? They expoit weaker countries and expand their territory. Hitler had the Aunschlus where he annexed Austria, Putin has Ukraine, and Trump wants Canada and Greenland. The international community allowed Putin to take Crimea with little repercussions. Could Trump be interested in doing the same thing to Canada? What is the evidence? Do I have Trump Derangement Syndrome? Is he just joking? Is this a negotiation tactic? 
There has been a lot of fear mongering going around on social media. Canadians are hearing about leaked maps from the US showing invasion plans of Canada. US audiences are hearing horror stories about Canada’s drugs and tariffs hurting Americans. What are the facts? This is a job for The Rational View!
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Professor David Bernstein discusses attacks on civil liberties

In this episode I’m following up on a tip from a listener who suggested that I should speak with David Bernstein. David was on Michael Shermer’s podcast discussing civil liberty, free speech, and constitutional law issues. In the current situation of highly polarized public debate it is critical that we listen to both sides of the argument and don’t fall victim to bias. This is a job for The Rational View!
David E. Bernstein holds a University Professor Chair at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School. He is the author or co-author of seven books including, most recently, Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America.
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Juliana Tafur discusses bridging polarizing gaps and connecting Americans

In this episode I’m interviewing a thoughtful kindred spirit to the Rational View. Someone who has made it her mission to bridge polarizing gaps in society and work for the greater good. Please excuse my deep bass FM radio voice as I’m getting over a nasty virus.
Juliana Tafur is the director of the Greater Good Science Center’s Bridging Differences program at UC Berkeley. She is now leading a Campaign for Connection to bridge political and cultural divides using resources rooted in science. She’s spent more than a decade creating spaces–through film and mediated dialogue–to bridge differences of race/culture, politics, socioeconomic status, and more. An Obama Foundation Scholar at Columbia University, Juliana’s work combines research on the science of human connection with lived experience, making her insights both practical and deeply personal.
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An update on Project 2025 implementation and what it means for democracy

This episode is providing a rational review of events to the south in the new republican administration. There is a lot of concern on the left over the activities of Musk and Trump. There is a huge pile of propaganda that both sides are producing. What are the facts? Should we be worried?
Appearing in the Oval Office and addressing the nation whilst Trump looks on bored and confused, Musk hoists his young son on his shoulders. Lately he has not been out in public without a human shield after the recent assassination of elite health-insurance CEO Brian Thompson. What is Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE up to? Is it legal for a department to have access to the private data of citizens held by other departments? Why are Americans allowing this? Why would Musk  donate $290 million dollars of his own money to re-elect Trump? What deal was made? Why do they love Putin and Xi? Why are they abandoning Ukraine and Taiwan? Follow the money.

Dr. Anton Van Der Merwe on dangerous left wing anti-science dogmas

In this episode I’m going to play devil’s advocate and look at the flaws on the left of the political spectrum. I am always trying to challenge my biases and poke holes in my positions by listening to opposing opinions. I have been butting heads with a UK professor over social media on several issues recently as he has been posting what I would consider biased right wing positions and I have been challenging him. We are both in agreement on many issues, however, that may come as a surprise to those people on the left. This is a job for The Rational View.
Dr. Anton Van Der Merwe is a Professor of Molecular Immunology at the University of Oxford. He has been on the left his entire life from membership of the ANC, while in South Africa, to membership of the Labour Party since living in the U.K. He is also a passionate environmentalist. He has recently expressed  dismay at how the left and environmental groups have abandoned science and replaced it with dogma.
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Economist Dean Baker says the wage-productivity gap is real

In this episode I am exploring the divergence between productivity and wages in western economies since 1970.  This was covered in one of my first podcasts and is a striking failure of society that has derailed post-war successes and led to the current situation of inequity and unrest. It puts us in the strange position that robotics and AI are going to make the vast majority of the world poorer and further behind.
Dean Baker is the co-founder and a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. He has written numerous books and articles. His most recent book is Rigged: How Globalization and the Rules of the Modern Economy Were Structured to Make the Rich Richer.
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