Join us for an energizing conversation with Secretary Jennifer Granholm, focused on the Department of Energy’s 2023 accomplishments and the progress of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. From shaping the future of transportation to creating thousands of good-paying clean energy jobs. With historic investments in our electric grid to deliver reliable, affordable, clean power to all Americans, including in rural and underserved communities. DOE is focused on a just clean energy...

70 years ago, President Dwight D. Eisenhower went before the United Nations and delivered a speech unlike anything the world had ever heard. The president spoke in sweeping terms about the terrible destructive power of new atomic weapons. But he also had a message for the assembly, one with a more optimistic tone: Join us in harnessing the power of the atom for good — not evil. From the dawn of the atomic age, nuclear power branched into two distinct paths: nuclear energy, and nuclear...

The first of two episodes, we’re going under the hood to take a look at something these EVs all share in common — a battery. Where do they come from? How do they work? And how the U.S. is working to meet the demand for millions of batteries for EVs, grid storage, and more.

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...

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.

It zaps. It snaps. It scans. It even dusts! SuperCam is the NASA Mars Perseverance Rover’s multitalented “Swiss Army Knife” of planetary science. In this episode, we hear from the Los Alamos National Laboratory team behind SuperCam about what it’s like to shoot lasers at rocks on Mars — and how it could help us find hard evidence of ancient extraterrestrial life on the Red Planet.

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.

NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover is loaded with technology developed by the Department of Energy and our National Labs, including a nuclear battery fueled by plutonium-238. In this episode, Direct Current follows the rover’s power source on its incredible seven-year, 5,000-mile journey from the lab to the 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,