Direct Current - An Energy.gov Podcast: Recent Episodes
U.S. Department of Energy
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 the planet, and the cutting-edge science that's driving a global energy revolution.
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 Airmen as they drop the first ever atomic bombs. Later, learn about the creation of the Department of Energy and how, along with the National Park Service, we're preserving the origins of nuclear power and weaponry.
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 weapon, the dawn of the atomic age, and how that legacy is being preserved.
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 have splashed across headlines throughout history, the frequency seems to be increasing. Interviews with Colin Zarzycki, an Assistant Professor at Penn State University, and Alan Rhoades, a research scientist with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, help us explain how climate modeling is helping scientists predict what may lie ahead.
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 international partners to get emergency shipments of electrical grid components to Ukraine — before Russian attacks plunge the country into darkness.
"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 understand it? Basically... who cares about quantum?
To find out, we got philosophical with National Lab quantum scientists Anna Grassellino and David Awschalom about their brain-bending research, the massive impacts it could have on our lives, and the joy and frustration of chasing breakthroughs that can take decades to arrive.
Also: Season 4 of Direct Current is coming soon! Subscribe today wherever you get your podcasts to get a fresh delivery of energy audio goodness in your feed when it drops in spring 2023. Don't miss it!
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 sustainability about how he got his start, his passion for clean energy, and the city's resilience efforts.
From Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's podcast "A Day in the Half-Life" comes this episode about the challenges facing scientists who transition to a new identity — and efforts to get transgender researchers proper credit for their published work.
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 electric grid and helping train the next generation of engineers.
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 tribe's traditional way of life amid a warming climate and a shift from fossil fuels to clean energy.
Our series highlighting workers in clean energy continues! Gaby Ibarra, a first-generation college student and daughter of immigrants, shares her journey into a new career helping modernize heating and cooling systems for old buildings in New York City.
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 country and scale 300-foot wind turbines for a living — and why he's sticking with wind for the long run.
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 the folks who do them — starting with Kaly Moore, construction manager at a Washington, DC, solar company.
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 and learn how DOE programs are helping reduce costs while saving water and energy.
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 images of molecules in motion. Now, a big upgrade is taking this SLAC Lab facility to the next level.
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 down with Director Jigar Shah to talk about how LPO works, and what's in store for the future of energy.
The nation's 16th Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, sat down with Direct Current to talk clean energy, climate, her "obsession" with creating millions of good-paying union jobs, and her vision for the Department of Energy.
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 the SuperCam team what it's like shooting rocks with lasers, and how it could help us find life on...
NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover is loaded with technology developed by the Department of Energy, including a nuclear battery fueled by plutonium-238. Listen as we follow the rover’s power source on its 7-year, 5,000-mile journey from lab to launch pad.
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 about security. Our guests in this episode study the risks of ever-present AI,
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 water cycle can have disastrous results. The National Labs are working to understand and predict them.
An interview with Dr. Chris Fall, Director of the Department of Energy Office of Science, about the agency’s response to COVID-19.
For hundreds of Indian tribes and native communities across the United States, energy represents many things: a lifeline, a source of income, a path to sovereignty. Learn how the Office of Indian Energy helps tribes take control of their energy destinies.
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 AI is going to revolutionize science, and welcome a new podcast to the Department of Energy family!
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 that can keep humans alive in space for years at a time. Could a miniature nuclear reactor be the answer?
Join Direct Current on a subatomic sojourn into the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), a massive international research project aiming to unlock the secrets of the neutrino and answer the question, "Why does anything exist?"
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 network, part annual gathering, part awards show — and all about empowerment.
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 AAAS Meeting in D.C. to learn how genetic research could answer big questions about these tiny organisms.
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 and learn about the folks working to turn waste into useful energy!
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 and and explore how splitting atoms could play a big role in America's clean energy future.
This episode of Direct Current is dedicated to the makers at the Energy Department — the engineers, researchers and artisans whose creations are pushing science and technology to exciting new places.
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 Current season 3 premiere, hear from Perry on everything from supercomputers to "Dancing with the Stars."
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 Plants program is helping partners across the nation find similar success.
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 light bulb came to light is a fascinating one that we think even a child could understand.
From the real science behind the Upside Down in Netflix's "Stranger Things" to the mysterious death of a U.S. president, Direct Current is pulling back the curtain on some of our deepest, darkest #EnergySecrets.
Energy is 40 and we're celebrating with a look back at four decades of #ScienceForThePeople. We talk to the Department's longest-serving employee (53 years!), revisit the agency's origins, and look to the future with the help of our official historians.
Earth, the cosmos, everything we can see with our eyes and our instruments is made up of normal matter. But all that doesn’t add up to a whole lot. It's just 15% of the mass of the universe.
The rest is an unknown, invisible… something…
Solar power is booming in the U.S. So what happens when the sun disappears during the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017? We talk to the energy experts.
And now, for something completely different… Take a drive with Direct Current as we mash up three slightly off-kilter energy stories. It might get weird, but it won’t be boring. It’s Hyper Drive Time!
The Department of Energy’s National Labs are the crown jewels of science in America. But their work is so diverse that it’s hard to cover all 17 of them in one podcast episode. So naturally, Direct Current took on that challenge.
As we head into July 4, enjoy "This Lab Is Your Lab." A song meant to highlight some of the amazing work being done across the Energy Department's system of 17 National Labs, the crown jewels of science in the United States.
The conclusion to our two part series on the Manhattan Project -- an unprecedented, U.S. government effort to beat Nazi Germany in the race to construct a nuclear weapon, the dawn of the atomic age, and how that legacy is being preserved.
Ruth Huddleston was 18 when she took a job at a secret Army facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, during World War II. It was so highly classified that no one could even tell her what she was working on. We have her story.
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 weapon, the dawn of the atomic age, and how that legacy is being preserved.
It's been seven years since the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Could a sponge developed by Argonne National Lab help stop the next big oil spill from becoming a catastrophe?
Direct Current returns next week! LISTEN TO OUR NEW TRAILER to get a little taste of what's in store for season 2. We also want to say a quick thank you to everyone who listened to the first season; we really appreciate your support and your enthusiasm.
With the current presidential administration coming to a close, we asked a very special guest to share some thoughts on his time here at the Energy Department. It’s our boss, nuclear physicist and Secretary of Energy, Dr. Ernest Moniz.
Acid rain was one of the biggest environmental problems of the 20th century. We investigate why it’s a thing of the past -- and what it can teach us for tackling climate change.
Why do holiday lights burn out all the time? We find out the answer, and do it in rhyme.
Hydropower is America's oldest and largest source of clean, renewable energy. But can it grow to meet our changing needs? Follow our hosts on a journey from hydropower's origins to the new wave of technologies that could shape its future.
Spooked by the goblins of energy inefficiency? In this episode, we talk with Josh Olsen, an “Energy Ghostbuster" from our Weatherization Program. Learn how to keep from being haunted by your energy bill and trick-or-treat yourself to energy savings.
Paul and Simon lead the way to the future of cooling, where new technologies like magnet-based air conditioning and personalized robots will transform how we fight climate change, save on energy costs and stay comfortable.
Not all acronyms are created equal. Join us on a journey into the colorful world of government "backronyms," where there's more to a name than just a jumble of letters.
How does power get to the people who use it? We explore that question and talk about the electric grid -- what it is, how it works, and what happens when the power goes out.
A word of thanks, and a sneak preview of what’s coming up on future episodes of Direct Current.
We call a "help desk" that provides clean energy policy assistance to governments worldwide, talk to Nicky Phear, who cycles across Montana teaching students about climate change, and propose a few new units of energy -- starting with a burrito.
We investigate the sneaky "soft costs" driving up the price of rooftop solar, delve into the archives for a look at the turbulent times around the Energy Department's creation, and contemplate some alternatives to the name "Direct Current."