Power Hour with Alex Epstein

From Alex Epstein, host of Power Hour: On this week’s Power Hour I have a wide-ranging discussion with Chris Wright, the proud and outspoken CEO of Liberty Oilfield Services. I first met Chris when we tag-teamed in a debate against climate catastrophists back in late 2015. He, like me, came to love fossil fuels despite not coming from that industry background at all (his background was working on fusion at MIT). In the past month Chris has done two very cool things. One is that he has responded to the ESG movement with a report entitled “Bettering Human Lives” that highlights the amazing benefits of the oil and gas industry, and encourages rational thinking about climate. Chris has also been making a lot of noise with a new “Thank You, North Face” billboard and video campaign. In our discussion Chris and I cover: - Why he chose to be an entrepreneur - The response to his revolutionary ESG report - The response to his “Thank You, North Face” campaign - His role working with Mitchell Energy to bring about the shale revolution - What Chris’s activist successes can teach other energy CEOs - Chris’s plans for future activism - Our common motivations for focusing our careers on energy - How we think about criticism

2 Heinä 202155min

From Alex Epstein: An understandable reaction to my view that the world should be using more fossil fuels in the coming decades, not less, is "This is the exact opposite of what 'the experts' say. Almost every institution I trust says the expert consensus is that we need to rapidly eliminate fossil fuel use. How can you be right and they be wrong?" On this week's Power Hour (coming out this Friday) drawing on some brand-new material from my forthcoming book Fossil Future, I tackle this question head-on, explaining three ways in which experts are often wrong. When we hear claims that "the experts" are wrong, we usually associate it with the claim that most experts in a field are factually mistaken. While this certainly does happen, there are two far more common ways in which "the experts" can be wrong--both of which are at work on the issue of energy. The factual conclusions of experts can be misrepresented by those who claim to speak for all experts. And the factual conclusions of experts can be misevaluated by those who claim to speak for all experts. In this episode I will show definitively that our knowledge system is wildly irrational in its method of moral evaluation when it comes to not only fossil fuels but also other cost-effective forms of energy.

19 Kesä 202147min

Power Hour will now be every two weeks. We've got some great guests coming up!

10 Kesä 20212min

Alex Epstein interviews Dr. Patrick Michaels, climate scientist and policy expert, on how today’s climate “scientocracy”—the heavily government-funded and government-influenced field of climate science—works. While those outside the field of climate science tend to think of it as consisting of independent researchers, free to pursue the truth wherever it leads them, Michaels argues that our climate scientocracy makes this impossible. During the interview, Michaels answers questions including: - How has government transformed climate research during Michaels’s career? - How does government impact what research gets done? - How does academic research get communicated with the general public? - How do “consensus” statements come to be? For more on how government distorts science, see Dr. Michaels’s book Scientocracy.

3 Kesä 202158min

On this week's Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews Terry Etam, an energy industry veteran who is one of the savviest energy analysts today. They debunk the claim that the world is going through a rapid "energy transition" away from fossil fuels by discussing many energy realities, including: - China's fossil fueled dominance of "green energy" - China's, Russia's, and India's plan to use more fossil fuel going forward - How California is "transitioning" to more and more blackouts - How Ontario's "transition" led to skyrocketing electricity prices - How Canada's "transition" is a senseless sacrifice of Canadian prosperity and security - How the same anti-human-impact forces that oppose fossil fuels also oppose the mining necessary for solar, wind, and batteries

27 Touko 202158min

On May 19, 2021, Alex Epstein testified in front of the House Natural Resources committee and answered numerous questions. This video features his testimony and Q&A, plus the backstory of the hearing and Alex’s answers to follow-up questions by Representative Lauren Boebert.

21 Touko 20211h 6min

From Alex Epstein: “10 years ago, I recorded what is still my favorite Earth Day Power Hour with philosopher Onkar Ghate, a long-time mentor of mine. Before we recorded the episode, Onkar suggested to me that we take a positive approach, explaining how much better human beings have made the Earth. That suggestion, and much of what we discussed in that episode, has affected my thinking ever since. "This best-of-episode features a new intro by Alex, including an update on Fossil Future.

14 Touko 20211h 1min

On this week's Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews economist Ross McKitrick, famous for debunking Michael Mann's once-ubiquitous "hockey stick," about how climate science gets distorted--so that what the public hears about climate science is a wild exaggeration of what most climate scientists actually believe. McKitrick explains: - How the "hockey stick" became ubiquitous despite widespread concerns about its (in)validity. - The real track record of climate models. - Why climate economists are coming under attack for rejecting climate catastrophism. - Why climate catastrophists face a reckoning over the next 10 years. - What we can expect from the UN IPCC's upcoming AR 6. - Why we almost never discuss the benefits of fossil fuels, including their role in driving progress.

5 Touko 20211h 4min