Volts cover art

Volts

Volts

By: David Roberts
Listen for free

About this listen

 Volts is a podcast about leaving fossil fuels behind. I've been reporting on and explaining clean-energy topics for almost 20 years, and I love talking to politicians, analysts, innovators, and activists about the latest progress in the world's most important fight. (Volts is entirely subscriber-supported. Sign up!)

www.volts.wtfDavid Roberts Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • PG&E tries to prove that a big utility can innovate

    PG&E tries to prove that a big utility can innovate
    Jul 4 2025

    PG&E, California's notoriously troubled utility, is trying to prove it can innovate, so I invited Quinn Nakayama, head of its new GRiD program, to explain how. We discuss its strategy of publicly outlining its problems to attract partners and its shift toward faster, more flexible interconnection for new loads like EVs and data centers.



    This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 17 mins
  • Can data centers be good grid citizens?

    Can data centers be good grid citizens?
    Jul 2 2025

    The frantic buildout of AI data centers is threatening to overwhelm electric grids, but what if they could be part of the solution? I chat with Jeff Bladen of Verrus, a company designing data centers to be "good grid citizens" from the ground up. We discuss how their novel architecture, combining large-scale batteries with a more efficient internal power network, provides flexibility that helps utilities and allows more compute to be built with less grid impact.



    This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
    Show More Show Less
    53 mins
  • Reducing the climate impacts of food and farming

    Reducing the climate impacts of food and farming
    Jun 27 2025

    In this episode, I chat with fellow energy nerd-turned-ag-reporter Michael Grunwald about agriculture’s climate impact. We explore the folly of biofuels, the promise of meat alternatives, and the central importance of increasing yields. While we can imagine a future of energy abundance, land is a zero-sum game — no one’s making more — so the choices here are uniquely difficult and important.



    This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 20 mins

What listeners say about Volts

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.com.au reviews

Amazon Reviews
No Reviews are Available
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.