Shelly continues her stay in Tbilisi, Georgia and speaks to two Physicists, Giorgia Japaridz (Illia State Univ.) and Revaz Shanidze (Tbilisi State Univ). They discuss what life as a physicist was like under Soviet rule and after Georgian indep

Adventures in Nuclear Risk Reduction - Georgia Pt 1

Feb 27th, 2024 58m 3s

Spend time with Shelly and two guest as she travels to Tbilsi, Georgia. First she discusses storytelling and Georgian’s atomic Odyssey with Shorena Lortkipanidze from the Civil Council on Defense and Security (Tbilsi, Georgia). Next, Mariam Cha

The new face of the nuclear nerd - Miss America (2023) Grace Stanke

Jan 30th, 2024 40m 16s

Start the New Year off with a bang. Join Shelly & Miss America 2023, nuclear engineer, and fellow Badger Grace Stanke to discuss a range of topics.

Understanding Edward Teller with Istvan Hargittai

Nov 28th, 2023 58m 33s

What makes Edward Teller tick? Find out with physical chemist and author Istvan Hargittai on this episode.

For the love of lasers with Donna Strickland

Oct 31st, 2023 42m

Physics Nobel Laureate Donna Strickland talks about all things lasers, how lasers relate to nuclear physics, and explains why she had to pay the long-distance bill to Sweden.

Are radiation limits based on a lie? with Ed Calabrese

Sep 26th, 2023 50m 15s

Meet Dr. Ed Calabrese, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, School of Public Health & Health Sciences. Ed has spent years diving into the history of dose response and the Nobel Prize awarded t

How to identify Manhattan Project Plutonium with Cody Folden

Aug 29th, 2023 48m 48s

How can you find the age of Plutonium? Why is it important? What are the applications? Find out the answer to these questions and more on this episode of My Nuclear Life when Cody Folden joins Shelly Lesher to discuss his paper in the Journal o

Trying to stay alive at the Diefenbunker with Nathan Radke & Lee Kuhnle

Jul 25th, 2023 1h 4m

My Nuclear Life and The Uncover Up visit the Diefenbunker: Canada's Cold War Museum. Join Shelly, Nathan, and Lee as they journey 75 feet underground to compare how the Canadian Government planned to prepare for their survival versus the Civil

J. Robert Oppenheimer with Kai Bird

Jun 27th, 2023 1h 3m

Get ready for the summer movie by joining Oppenheimer biographer Kai Bird (author of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer) as he discusses Oppie's life and science.

The 3rd Nuclear Age with Ankit Panda

May 30th, 2023 50m 33s

What is the 3rd Nuclear Age? Wait, what about the 1st and 2nd? Join Shelly as she speaks to Stanton Senior Fellow Ankit Panda about how the world is grabbling with nuclear proliferation and what challenges we face.

The Origin of the Elements with Artemis Spyrou

Apr 25th, 2023 40m 30s

Chemical elements make up the matter we observe in the universe but how did they form? How did scientists figure this out and what is left to learn? Artemis Spyrou joins Shelly to discuss the evolution of the elements and the nuclear processes

NIF fusion was a breakthrough, but what kind? with Bob Rosner

Mar 28th, 2023 43m 38s

In December 2022, Lawrence Livermore's National Ignition Facility (NIF) achieved ignition. Join Shelly as she speaks with Bob Rosner about what this milestone means to Stockpile Stewardship and to physics. Also - learn how cool it is to focus 1

Witnessing the Starfish Prime nuclear test with Jim Burkhart

Feb 28th, 2023 39m 20s

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to witness an above-ground nuclear weapons test? Shelly is joined by Jim Burkhart who was stationed on the Johnston Atoll in 1962 when the largest nuclear test in outer space was conducted. He will

Solving the solar neutrino problem with Nobel Laureate Art McDonald

Jan 31st, 2023 51m 30s

From his beginnings as a nuclear physicist to his Nobel Prize-winning work on neutrinos, Arthur McDonald sits down with Shelly Lesher in the studio. Visit us at: mynuclearlife.comPatreon: www.patreon.com/mynuclearlifeemail us

Is this the year NORAD shoots down Santa? With Martin Pfeiffer

Dec 24th, 2022 32m 5s

Martin Pfeiffer aka @nuclearanthro joins Shelly to discuss the origin story of NORAD Tracks Santa and why it matters. Not suitable for children and may contain foul language.Visit us at: mynuclearlife.comPatreon: www.patreon.com/mynuclear

Mom, I'm scared, come pick me up! Students speak out.

Dec 15th, 2022 50m 38s

Young scientists from the Division of Nuclear Physics (DNP) Conference react to the nuclear weapon talks which opened the conference. Hear their thoughts about the role nuclear scientists play in the future of nuclear policy and disarmament.

US Nuclear Weapons and the Nuclear Posture Review with Steve Fetter

Nov 29th, 2022 38m 18s

With all the talk of nuclear weapons in Europe, learn about the US nuclear weapon triad with Dr. Steve Fetter. Recorded live during a nuclear physics conference, Drs. Fetter and Lesher discuss the US Nuclear Posture Review, the US Nuclear Tria

Inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone with Dominik & Lara from ChernobylX

Oct 25th, 2022 48m 40s

In this episode, we take you inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone with Dominik Orfanus founder of ChernobylX and lead tour guide, Lara Graldina. What is it like inside the "Zone"? Who lives there? What can you do to help? This and more on Episod

The Baby Tooth Study 2.0 with Marc Weisskopf

Sep 27th, 2022 58m 37s

The St. Louis Baby Tooth Study has been reimagined. Using the original teeth collected from the children of the 1950s and 1960s Marc Weisskopf and his colleagues at Harvard are seeking to find new answers from old teeth. Shout out to Taz & Mook

St. Louis Baby Tooth Survey with Nina Gilden Seavey

Aug 30th, 2022 34m 17s

Nina Gilden Seavey discusses how the St. Louis Baby Tooth Survey helped persuade U.S. President Kennedy to sign the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty which ended above-ground nuclear weapons testing in the US, UK, and the Soviet Union. In the pro

What if a nuclear engineer was elected US President? with Jonathan Alter

Jul 26th, 2022 40m 22s

He was and served as the 39th President of the USA. But before his career in politics, Jimmy Carter was a Navy Nuke under Gen. Rickover. What did he do in the Navy? How did this time in the Nuclear Navy shape his policies? What would happen i

How did the U.S. Government plan for nuclear war without you? with Garrett Graff

Jun 28th, 2022 42m 58s

Underground nuclear bunkers, the birth of FEMA, secret government plans for the end of the world, and more in this episode. Garrett Graff discusses his book Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government’s Secret Plan to Save Itself -- While the

Exploring the end of the world with nuclear literature and Daniel Cordle

May 31st, 2022 53m 13s

This episode explores how we, as humans, grapple with the end of the world through nuclear literature including fiction, nonfiction, poems, etc. How do we grapple with the "end" if it is caused by humans and how do we explain nuclear events to

Shipbuilding with the precision of a watchmaker - ITER with Michael Loughlin

Apr 26th, 2022 41m 39s

The history of fusion as a source of energy is discussed along with past and current projects. Is a fusion power plant still decades away? Visit us at: mynuclearlife.comPatreon: www.patreon.com/mynuclearlifeemail us

Can Wargaming teach ethics? With John Emery

Mar 29th, 2022 1h 8m

What is a war game? How did they shape our understanding of the Cold War? Did the mathematicians or social scientists win the war of the COW game? Learn about issues surrounding wargaming at RAND and elsewhere as Shelly & John dive deep into t