In the 15th installment of The Atomic Exchange Podcast, co-hosts Dr. Goran Calic and Michael Tadrous reflect on a recent talk by Equinor’s Chief Economist, Eirik Wærness, delivered at the Ivey Business School. The keynote challenged prevailing energy narratives—arguing that we are not transitioning away from fossil fuels, but rather layering renewables on top. Goran and Michael dive deep into the implications for nuclear, carbon budgets, and why keeping global warming below 1.5°C may already be out of reach without unprecedented infrastructure buildout. But the episode doesn’t stop at energy. The conversation shifts into a candid discussion about Canadian politics, sparked by comparisons between Norway’s $1.7 trillion sovereign wealth fund and Canada’s failure to create anything similar. What makes resource coordination across Canadian provinces so difficult? Is political unity even possible in a federation so deeply divided along economic, linguistic, and ideological lines? And could Mark Carney be the leader to finally bridge the East-West divide? From nuclear energy math and decarbonization realism to interprovincial pipelines and election analysis, this episode is a wide-ranging exploration of how politics, policy, and engineering intersect in the climate era. Tune in for a thought-provoking exchange on sovereign wealth, strategic trade-offs, and the kind of leadership Canada needs to meet the moment.

In the 14th installment of The Atomic Exchange Podcast, co-hosts Dr. Goran Calic and Michael Tadrous dive into a newly published paper in Energy Policy titled “The Polarization of Energy Preferences: A Study on Social Acceptance of Wind and Nuclear Power in Sweden.” The study explores how public support for wind and nuclear energy is increasingly shaped not by safety or economics—but by political ideology and worldview. Goran and Michael unpack the findings, examine why nuclear tends to attract right-leaning supporters while wind appeals more to the political left, and discuss how gender and cultural values also factor into energy attitudes. They also explore broader questions about the future of energy engagement: Why are men more likely to support nuclear than women? Why do Swedes like wind power—just not in their own backyard? And what does it mean when energy decisions are driven more by identity than data? Tune in for a thoughtful discussion on politics, polarization, and the surprising ways our values shape our view of the grid.

In the 13th installment of The Atomic Exchange Podcast, co-hosts Dr. Goran Calic and Michael Tadrous dissect a newly published paper in Energy Policy titled “Atomic rivers. The (Un)sustainability of nuclear power in an age of climate change.” The authors argue that nuclear plants relying on once-through cooling are environmentally unsustainable, legally problematic, and increasingly intermittent. But do the claims hold up? Goran and Michael break down why this study falls short—from its lack of quantitative analysis and misleading language to its sweeping conclusions based on narrow case studies. They explore the broader issue of bad science in energy policy, the dangers of taking academic research at face value, and the critical difference between presenting data and pushing a narrative. They also discuss why nuclear power is still one of the most reliable energy sources on the planet, how capacity factor data contradicts the study’s claims, and what needs to change in both academic publishing and public discourse to better inform decision-making. Tune in for a deep dive into thermal discharge, capacity myths, and the growing need for scientific literacy in climate and energy conversations.