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Why the 21st Century is Broken and How to Fix It


GRIDLOCKED is a mixed-format docuseries podcast covering key solutions to many of the world's fundamental challenges. Each season focuses on a major intersection of obstacles in the way of human progress, promoting an improved public discourse as we look to move forward.

In Season 1, we dive deep into the energy gridlock. We explore the realities of renewable energy, the limitations and challenges of the energy grid, dispel nuclear myths, and highlight approaches and technologies that fix the gridlock of today and tomorrow.


CONTRIBUTORS & PANELISTS


norman-foster

NORMAN FOSTER

  • World-Renowned Architect
  • Founder of Foster + Partners
  • President of the Norman Foster Foundation
dava-newman

DAVA NEWMAN

  • MIT Media Lab Director
  • Apollo Professor of Astronautics
  • Former NASA Deputy Administrator
jacopo-buongiorno

JACOPO BUONGIORNO

  • Professor, Department of Nuclear Science & Engineering, MIT
  • Director, Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems
kristin-zaitz

KRISTIN ZAITZ

  • Co-Founder, Mothers for Nuclear

  • Design and Project Engineering, PG&E

kerry-emanuel

KERRY EMANUEL

  • Leading Meteorologist and Climate Scientist

  • Professor Emeritus, MIT

pia-malaney

PIA MALANEY

  • Renowned Economist
  • Co-Founder and Director of The Center for Innovation, Growth and Society
  • Senior Economist at the Institute for New Economic Thinking
joshuea-goldstein

JOSHUA S. GOLDSTEIN

  • Co-Writer, Oliver Stone's 'Nuclear Now'

  • Co-Author, A Bright Future

  • Professor Emeritus, American University

staffan-qvist

STAFFAN QVIST

  • CEO, Quantified Carbon

  • Managing Director, Deepsense

  • Co-Author, A Bright Future

charlyne-smith

CHARLYNE SMITH, PhD

  • Nuclear Engineer and Nuclear Materials Scientist

  • Senior Nuclear Energy Analyst, BTI

  • Prime Minister National Youth Awardee, Jamaica

rob-freda

ROB FREDA

  • Strategist and Designer

  • Co-Founder Advanced Nuclear Production Experts Group (MIT CANES)

  • CTO and Founder GenH and V Squared Wind

guillermo trotti

GUILLERMO TROTTI

  • Internationally Recognized Industrial Designer

  • President, Trotti & Associates

  • Co-Founder, Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture

isabelle-boemeke

ISABELLE BOEMEKE

  • Founder and Executive Director of Save Clean Energy

  • Creator of Online Persona, Isodope

  • TED Talk Speaker


HOSTS


roalke

ROLAKE OJO

  • Podcast Presenter

  • Brand Strategist & Designer

mark-1

MARK HAVENNER

  • Podcast Director

  • Co-Founder, Renovata

nick

NICK O'HARA

  • Podcast Producer & Writer

  • Co-Founder, Renovata


LISTEN


EPISODE 1: INTRODUCING GRIDLOCKED

This episode introduces Gridlocked, the new docuseries podcast exploring ‘why the 21st Century is broken and how to fix it.’

April 19, 2023

EPISODE 2: SPACESHIP EARTH

This episode, Spaceship Earth, introduces listeners to the current worldwide energy context, focusing on the climate emergency against the backdrop of increasing global energy demand.

May 12, 2023

EPISODE 3: THE ECONOMIST AND THE ENGINEER

Our first discussion episode, The Economist and the Engineer, features Pia Malaney, senior economist at the Institute for New Economic Thinking and co-founder of the Center for Innovation, Growth and Society, and Kristin Zaitz, civil engineer and co-founder, Mothers for Nuclear.

May 26, 2023

EPISODE 4: RUNNING INTO REALITY

This episode, Running into Reality, delves into some key considerations in contemporary energy policy that most commentators hide away from. We question whether renewables are really such a good idea, and why it is that fossil fuel companies are among renewables’ biggest cheerleaders.

June 9, 2023

EPISODE 5: THE PROBLEM SOLVER

In the podcast’s second panel discussion show, Gridlocked host Rolake Ojo is joined by special guest Staffan Qvist, CEO of tech consultancy, QuantifiedCarbon, and Gridlocked writer and producer, Nick O’Hara. The panel builds on some of the key issues raised in the previous Running into Reality episode of Gridlocked, addressing key issues on how to build a clean energy future.

June 23, 2023

EPISODE 6: AND NOW FOR NUCLEAR

This episode, And Now for Nuclear, covers the reasons why many of us continue to oppose nuclear energy, despite the fact that it is the only energy source that is both clean and reliable, and can be deployed at large, strategic scale.

July 7, 2023

EPISODE 7: THE ADVOCATE AND THE PROFESSOR

In the podcast's third panel discussion show, Gridlocked writer and producer Nick O'Hara is joined by Save Clean Energy founder and exec director, Isabelle Boemeke, and MIT professor of nuclear science and engineering Jacopo Buongiorno. The panel builds on many of the issues raised in the previous And Now for Nuclear episode of Gridlocked, addressing key considerations of nuclear energy and the role it can play in helping us ‘solve’ climate change.

August 1, 2023

EPISODE 8: INFLECTION POINT

This episode, Inflection Point, discusses how advanced energy technologies – including small modular and micro nuclear reactors, together with renewables – can enable us to ‘turn the corner’ on climate change.

Podcast host Rolake Ojo is joined by Gridlocked creators Nick O’Hara and Mark Havenner who, through presenting a mixture of guest expert contribution alongside their own narration, introduce listeners to some of the key issues in unlocking a clean energy future.

September 7, 2023

EPISODE 9: THE SCIENTISTS

In the podcast’s fourth panel discussion show, Gridlocked writer and producer Nick O’Hara is joined by Kerry Emanuel, professor emeritus of meteorology and co-founder of the MIT Lorenz Center; and Jacopo Buongiorno, MIT professor of nuclear science and engineering and director of the Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems. The panel builds on many of the issues raised in the previous Inflection Point episode of Gridlocked, addressing key considerations of how to decarbonize societies and combat climate change.

September 20, 2023

EPISODE 10: TOMORROW'S WORLD

This episode, Tomorrow’s World, discusses how a path to combatting climate change can be made possible through the linchpin of dense and clean energy – an abundance of it, supplied through new and advanced energy technologies.

Podcast host Rolake Ojo is joined by Gridlocked creators Nick O’Hara and Mark Havenner who, through presenting a mixture of guest expert contribution alongside their own narration, introduce listeners to some of the key issues in breaking the ‘gridlock’ to a clean energy future.

October 13, 2023


NEWS


Nuclear Barbarians Podcast

Nuclear Barbarians Podcast

September 16, 2023

Mothers For Nuclear

Mothers For Nuclear: Inflection Point

September 7, 2023

Salon Article

Salon: Abandoning Nuclear Power Was a Mistake

July 16, 2023

salon2

Salon: Why Big Oil Loves Renewables

June 18, 2023

Titans of Nuclear

Titans of Nuclear Podcast

June 19, 2023

salon3

Salon: We Abandoned Nuclear Power

May 20, 2023