Warm Rivers, Cool Reactors, and What the Data Really Says
In the 32nd installment of The Atomic Exchange Podcast, co-hosts Dr. Goran Calic and Michael Tadrous open with weekend notes and then roll into another Good Science vs Bad Science. They unpack their new working paper, "Cooling Under Fire" (now on SSRN), a response to “Atomic Rivers,” asking whether inland, water-cooled nuclear can stay reliable in a warming world. They quantify heat/drought curtailments (rare and small), separate planned, regulatory derates from true technical limits, and contrast nuclear’s steady capacity factors with wind/solar variability. They note that only a minority of plants use once-through river cooling, walk through technical fixes, and discuss when warmer outflow can help or harm local biota. The takeaway: modest adaptations keep output resilient, and policy should judge options on apples-to-apples grid realities. So, tune in for a clear, numbers-first tour of nuclear’s thermal resilience.
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33:14
AI’s Power Diet, Canada’s Nuclear Upside, and the Picks and Shovels to Build It
In the 31st installment of The Atomic Exchange Podcast, co-hosts Dr. Goran Calic and Michael Tadrous open with quick updates and note that "Cooling Under Fire" is now on SSRN. They touch on peer-review norms, then dive into another Business of Nuclear episode: this time a winners-and-losers scan. Goran maps the U.S. AI load surge from 30 TWh in 2000 to 600 TWh by 2028, led by Virginia, Texas, and California, and flags utilities set for major buildout (Dominion, Sempra) and OEMs with momentum (Westinghouse, GE Hitachi, NuScale). Michael zooms in on Canada, highlighting likely beneficiaries such as BWX Technologies, Cameco/Westinghouse, AtkinsRéalis, and CAE for workforce training, with potential long-run share pressure on gas and some renewables developers. They compare workforce bottlenecks, bridging trades into nuclear, and why Canada’s uranium base and CANDU cycle provide unusual supply security. The episode closes with a simple lens on AI power: more wires, more concrete, more reactors, and a grid ready for 24/7 demand. Tune in for a concise, numbers-first tour of AI-era electricity and the companies most likely to win or fall behind as nuclear scales.
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49:38
AI Demos, Workforce Math, and Answering Nuclear’s Critics
In the 30th installment of The Atomic Exchange Podcast, co-hosts Dr. Goran Calic and Michael Tadrous open with lab updates: early demos of their custom AI for the Canadian nuclear sector with McMaster Nuclear Operations & Facilities and Ontario Power Generation (OPG), plus a check-in on a new workforce input–output model and paper on what it would take to triple Canada’s nuclear capacity by 2050. They also pause to explain what the lab actually studies at the intersection of nuclear, economics, and policy. Then they run another Good Science vs Bad Science segment, taking apart an anti-nuclear op-ed. Point by point they test claims about build times, costs, and LCOE sources, add firming and financing where it belongs, and compare real-world grids like France and Germany. They look at mining risks across uranium, solar, wind, and hydro, clarify what “meltdown” rates really mean, and show how waste is stored and tracked. The takeaway is simple: fix execution and timelines, keep existing plants running where safe, and judge technologies on apples-to-apples numbers that reflect how power systems actually work. Tune in for another thoughtful discussion on all things nuclear.
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54:47
Golf Cutbacks, Tabletop Therapy, and Dominion’s Offshore Wind Math
In the 29th installment of The Atomic Exchange Podcast, co-hosts Dr. Goran Calic and Michael Tadrous start with Goran's recent “less golf, more miniatures” lifestyle change, trading four-hour rounds for meditative tabletop painting and a quick riff on career phases and moderation. Then they dig into Dominion’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project: 2.6 GW across 176 turbines with a $10.7B headline that feels like “almost three gigawatts” until you factor capacity (about 42% on average, weaker in summer), a 30-year life, and the firming needed when wind drops. Goran walks through the real planner math, including financing and why firming can add roughly $40 per MWh now and rise as renewables grow. They compare CVOW to Vogtle 3 & 4, noting the $32B “nuclear cost” hides interest on an overnight cost near $12.5B, and that faster builds and realistic risk pricing can bring firm nuclear to about $150 per MWh, under wind once firming and financing are counted. They also hit incentives and politics, regulated-utility pass-throughs, AI data centers that can’t curtail, and the unglamorous risks of offshore hardware, from corrosion to cut cables, in a country with just one new jack-up vessel. A candid, numbers-first episode on speed to grid versus longevity, and why Dominion’s short-run choice may still leave a long-run gap that nuclear can fill.
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Supply-Chain Bottlenecks, Codification Creep, and Mission-Driven Incentives
In the 28th installment of The Atomic Exchange Podcast, co-hosts Dr. Goran Calic and Michael Tadrous welcome their first ever guest, Scott MacKinnon, Senior Director of Logistics & Supply-Chain Network Integration at EtherLog°. Scott recounts how Goran’s McMaster talk on “why standardization can slow nuclear builds” sparked a pub-side debate that now becomes a full episode on logistics. The trio unpack codification creep, ask why 75 % of craft labour often waits idle, and probe whether just-in-time delivery really fits multi-gigawatt projects or if local buffers and “zero-trust” micro-measurement are safer bets. They model a hypothetical four-unit program, debate which chokepoint (reactor pressure vessels, grid gear or regulatory sign-offs) most threatens a schedule, and swap ideas for Apollo-style medals, pain-and-gain contracts, and 100 % completion bonuses to turn nuclear megaprojects into a true mission. Tune in for supply-chain stories, systems thinking, and a fresh lens on how logistics could shave years (and billions) off the next reactor build.
The Atomic Exchange Podcast is your gateway to the world of nuclear energy and beyond. Join Dr. Goran Calic, a business school professor at McMaster University, and Michael Tadrous, his research assistant and co-host, as they spark engaging, dynamic conversations on the latest developments in nuclear science, energy policy, and global innovation. With compelling discussions and authentic perspectives, Atomic Exchange is the fusion of news, ideas, and dialogue you’ve been waiting for.
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