Power Hour with Alex Epstein

Alex Epstein interviews Joe Craft, CEO of Alliance Resource Partners, America’s most successful coal company, on the causes of and solutions to America’s and the world’s energy crisis. They cover: - Why and how most of today’s global energy crisis could have been prevented. - How government financial regulators have pressured financial institutions to stop lending to fossil fuels. - Why coal prices, long the most stable of all energy prices, have skyrocketed. - The connection between energy and freedom.

On this week’s Power Hour, Alex Epstein has a wide-ranging conversation with oil expert Michael Lynch about Lynch’s latest paper on how political and social forces threaten to drive oil production away from the US and toward the Middle East.

On this week's Power Hour, Alex Epstein is joined by Michael Shellenberger, author of the bestselling Apocalypse Never and San Fransicko, to discuss Shellenberger's rising influence and, more broadly, the growing influence of "energy humanists." Some of the topics covered in this free-flowing discussion are: - What caused Shellenberger to be more open in challenging climate catastrophism? - The strong pushback Shellenberger got from donors for challenging the liberal orthodoxy around renewables and climate catastrophe. - How to use Twitter effectively. - How to avoid Twitter addiction. - The commonalities among the "woke" movement and the modern environmental movement. - The ESG movement's "success" in driving up oil and gasoline prices. - The importance of having a positive, alternative vision and policy when defending against attacks on civilization. - The role of government in a pro-nuclear movement.

From Alex Epstein, host of Power Hour: This week's Power Hour is a best-of episode, featuring a now prophetic interview with energy economist Michael Lynch. In February of this year, there were many prominent claims that post-pandemic demand for oil would quickly decline and fade. I thought these claims were based on farcical reasoning, and to counter them I invited one of my favorite energy economists, Michael Lynch, to challenge the idea of "peak oil demand." Early in the podcast he said: "In the past couple of years, people have started talking about peak oil demand. And the pandemic has increased the idea that it’s imminent or even passed. You’ve had a few companies like BP and Shell that have scenarios that show a near-term peak in oil demand. And it’s kind of the flavor of the day. “And the problem is, most of the talk is very superficial." I think you'll find it valuable to hear Lynch's and my arguments against popular predictions about energy, as we have since been vindicated.

On April 27th, physicist Steve Koonin, who worked in the Obama Administration’s Department of Energy, published a challenge to climate catastrophism called “Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, what It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters.” While the climate catastrophe movement usually ignores criticisms, Koonin’s scientific standing, plus the fact that the book became a major bestseller, made this harder to do. Unfortunately, climate catastrophists have still tried their best to ignore Koonin’s arguments, and when they have engaged him it is through scientific smearing—such as an attack in Scientific American that consisted largely of ad hominems and attacking summaries of his book by a Washington Post columnist. On this week’s episode of Power Hour, Steve Koonin joins Alex Epstein to discuss not only the smears but much of what has been happening in the climate conversation over the last 5 months, including: - The recent IPCC report—including the curious absence of key graphs, the use of "attribution studies," and the methodology used to make climate models "hotter" even though they have typically over predicted warming in the past. - The media’s exaggerated portrayal of the recent IPCC report. - The positive reaction to Koonin’s book. - What scientists have told Koonin behind the scenes. - Koonin’s upcoming debates.

On this episode of Power Hour, Alex Epstein shares what he's learned over the 18 months working with elected officials on how to create concise, retainable messaging, including: - How to link concise, retainable messages together. - What are the most important topics to cover? - The 8 types of messaging he uses most. - How to join Epstein's Energy Champions group.

On this Best-of Power Hour, Alex Epstein takes us back to the first ever episode of Power Hour, featuring energy expert Robert Bryce. Alex will be appearing on Robert’s Power Hungry podcast the week of August 2nd. Listen to this episode, then Robert’s podcast, to see how the two have evolved over the last decade.