ATOMICALLY SPEAKING | Reliability Is National Security: A Conversation with Deputy Secretary of Energy James P. Danly

ATOMICALLY SPEAKING | Reliability Is National Security: A Conversation with Deputy Secretary of Energy James P. Danly

In this episode, NENSC Co-Chair Daniel Poneman sits down with James P. Danly — Deputy Secretary of Energy, former FERC Commissioner, and Army veteran — for a conversation on why a reliable grid is a national security asset and what it will take to rebuild American nuclear capability from the ground up. Danly discusses how DOE is implementing the nuclear executive orders, the role of the Reactor Pilot Program in moving first-of-a-kind reactors from paper to operation, why restoring domestic uranium enrichment matters for everything from commercial markets to naval fuel and the deterrent, and how the United States can become the preferred nuclear partner for countries choosing between American technology and offers from Russia and China. It's a direct look at the fuel cycle, the National Labs, and the concrete results that will tell us America has regained its nuclear leadership.

ATOMICALLY SPEAKING | The Physics of American Nuclear Leadership: A Conversation with Congressman Bill Foster

In this episode, NENSC Co-Chair Daniel Poneman sits down with Congressman Bill Foster — particle physicist, former Fermilab scientist, and the only PhD physicist serving in Congress — for a conversation on what technical rigor brings to the biggest questions in nuclear policy. Co-chair of the bipartisan House Advanced Nuclear Caucus, Foster discusses how the politics of nuclear energy have shifted, where the United States can win the global export race against Russia and China, why the national laboratories are a strategic asset worth fully leveraging, and how to think clearly about Iran's nuclear program and the future of the advanced reactor fuel cycle. It's a clear-eyed, science-grounded look at what it will take for America to lead in a new nuclear era.

ATOMICALLY SPEAKING | From Atoms for Peace to the New Nuclear Era: A Conversation with Susan Eisenhower

In this episode, NENSC Co-Chair Daniel Poneman sits down with Susan Eisenhower — national security strategist, acclaimed author of How Ike Led, and granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower — for a wide-ranging conversation spanning more than seventy years of nuclear history, from her grandfather's landmark Atoms for Peace address to the demands of today's nuclear moment. Drawing on decades advising on nuclear policy, energy, and U.S.–Russia relations, Eisenhower makes the case for nuclear as the 24/7 answer to surging electricity and AI-driven demand, explains why American leadership and global engagement are central to managing proliferation risks, and offers candid lessons on how the industry can finally tell its story to the public. The result is a clear-eyed look at the strategic vision — and the focus — it will take for the United States to lead the new nuclear era.

ATOMICALLY SPEAKING | Regulating at Scale & Speed: A Conversation with Ho Nieh, Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

In this episode, NENSC Co-Chair Daniel Poneman sits down with Ho Nieh — Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission — at a defining moment for the agency and for American nuclear energy. The conversation explores how the NRC is implementing the ADVANCE Act and EO 14300, what a more risk-informed regulatory framework means in practice, and why getting this right will determine whether nuclear can be deployed at scale across America.

Two Sides of the Coin: A Conversation with Jay Tilden and Chris Ploch, NENSC’s New Leadership Team

In this episode, NENSC Co-Chair Daniel Poneman sits down with Jay Tilden and Chris Ploch — the Coalition's newly appointed Executive Director and Deputy Director — to explore how DOE's twin missions of national nuclear security and civilian energy must work in concert, why a domestic uranium enrichment capability is both a security and economic imperative, and what listeners can expect from NENSC in the months ahead.