
About this episode
Meet Akira Tokuhiro, a Japanese Canadian nuclear engineering professor based in Ontario, Canada. He sits down to talk to us about the current and future role of nuclear as a clean energy source, Japan's response to incidents like Fukushima, and how we can move towards carbon net zero.
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0:00 Intro
0:50 Meet Akira
9:06 Interest in nuclear
19:25 Types of reactors
24:04 Working in Japan
28:36 Japan Atomic Energy Agency
30:58 Japan's reactors
33:51 Nuclear safety and earthquakes
37:12 What happened at Fukushima
39:38 Government response
44:05 How reactors are shut down
54:06 Restarting reactors
56:08 Life cycle of a nuclear plant
58:28 Problems with prolonged shutdown
1:00:50 Current public opinion
1:05:54 Nuclear's role in carbon net zero
1:14:22 Regaining confidence in nuclear
1:19:42 Developing nuclear technology
1:21:49 Expanding global nuclear energy
1:28:00 How to educate about nuclear
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