The Rational View podcast with Dr. Al Scott

In this episode I'm interviewing a nuclear energy educator with a series of informative videos on LinkedIn. He works to address radiophobia and provides an evidence-based assessment of nuclear fission and the many polarized debates surrounding its safety. 
Dr. Robert Hayes is an Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering at North Carolina State University. He holds a joint faculty appointment with Savannah River National Laboratory and serves as an Associate Editor for the journal Radiation Physics and Chemistry.  Dr. Hayes is a licensed Professional Engineer in Nuclear Engineering, a Certified Health Physicist (CHP) through the American Board of Health Physics, and a Fellow of both the Health Physics Society (HPS) and the American Physical Society (APS). He has extensive experience in federal radiological emergency response, serving over a decade at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant for the geological disposal of transuranic waste.
Currently, Dr. Hayes is an advisor to the DOE-NNSA Advisory Committee on Nuclear Security and serves on the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) committee responsible for nuclear engineering licensure. In addition to his academic and research contributions, he is actively engaged in public communication on radiological risk, particularly in the realm of nuclear waste management.

In this episode I look at the economic system we find ourselves in, and try to peel away some of the fictions that we've bought into.  If money isn't linked to a gold standard, is it worth what we think it is? Is the GDP an accurate representation of productivity? Are we being played by the financial system?
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In this episode, have you ever felt that there is too much injustice in the world and you just can’t respond to it all? Have you ever found yourself making a compromise with your ethics just to make it through the day? I think we all have. My guest today has written a book looking at these tradeoffs. Hopefully it will help us all to be able to make moral choices and address the guilt we feel at not being able to help everyone.
David Thesmar is the Franco Modigliani Professor of Financial Economics and professor of finance at the MIT Sloan School of Management. In 2007, he was named “France’s Best Young Economist” by Le Monde. With Augustin Landier, he writes a regular column for the French daily newspaper Les Echos. He just co-authored a book, ‘The Price of our Values: the economic limits of a moral life’.
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In this episode I’m digging into a growing industrial segment that mines waste for precious metals. Often discarded systems contain higher precious metals fractions than the original ore they are mined from. Discarded computers and electronics, and in this case, catalytic converters can be recycled and thereby mitigate new mining operations and their environmental impact.
Don Weatherbee, CEO of Regenx Tech, is a visionary in the clean tech sector, driving innovation in sustainable precious metal recovery. Under his leadership, Regenx Tech has transitioned from pilot projects to full-scale operations, including the opening of the flagship facility in Greeneville, Tennessee. Don’s collaborative approach and strategic partnerships, such as with Davis Recycling, have propelled Regenx as a leader in environmentally friendly extraction of platinum and palladium.
A passionate advocate for the circular economy, Don champions recycling innovation and sustainable practices in the mining industry. His work exemplifies a commitment to reducing environmental impact, advancing industry ESG standards, and shaping a greener future.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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