Episodes

  • Energy storage is heating up

    Energy storage is heating up
    Nov 19 2025
    Asegun Henry, an innovator and professor at MIT, says that energy storage is arguably the single most important technological problem we have to solve. He is developing and commercializing a new type of battery based on thermal energy conversion instead of the conventional electro-chemical reaction—a battery that’s been dubbed, “sun in a box.” He shares what it takes for a new technology to compete in today’s market and how his technology might be the gamechanger we need to decarbonize the power grid. What if it works? is a production of the MIT Energy Initiative. This episode was hosted by Rob Stoner and Kara Miller. Transcript and show notes at energy.mit.edu/podcasts
    Show More Show Less
    37 mins
  • How energy systems are shaped

    How energy systems are shaped
    Jul 16 2025
    We rely on our energy systems to allow us to do work, travel, process information, and support all sorts of economic activity. MIT Professor Jessika Trancik helps us zoom out for a big picture view of how energy systems are shaped and where there is opportunity to innovate. What if it works? is a production of the MIT Energy Initiative. This episode was hosted by Rob Stoner and Kara Miller. Transcript and show notes at energy.mit.edu/podcasts
    Show More Show Less
    40 mins
  • Unraveling DNA to transform carbon

    Unraveling DNA to transform carbon
    Jun 4 2025
    MIT professor and entrepreneur Ariel Furst is used to people underestimating what biology can do. But she is proving that DNA and microbes can help us decarbonize energy: DNA can be harnessed to transform carbon into useful products and in her words, “microbes are the coolest,”—they can be engineered for use in all kinds of recycling. Furst shares how sometimes the simple (and even microscopic) solutions can have big results. What if it works? is a production of the MIT Energy Initiative. This episode was hosted by Rob Stoner and Kara Miller. Transcript and show notes at energy.mit.edu/podcasts
    Show More Show Less
    34 mins
  • The economics of clean energy

    The economics of clean energy
    May 21 2025
    As an economist, Namrata Kala has considered how incentivization can alter human behavior and help policies succeed. She leverages this expertise to help us examine how the world's most populous country, India, is thinking about clean energy and the implications of electrification on its energy demand. She also explores how economics, as well as U.S. policy shifts, might affect their trajectory. What if it works? is a production of the MIT Energy Initiative. This episode was hosted by Rob Stoner and Kara Miller. Transcript and show notes at energy.mit.edu/podcasts
    Show More Show Less
    35 mins
  • Hydrogen beneath our feet

    Hydrogen beneath our feet
    May 7 2025
    As a clean energy source, hydrogen has shown to have a lot of potential. But when generated using fossil fuels, hydrogen production can have a large environmental impact—even if the energy source itself doesn’t generate emissions. So, what if we can get readily available hydrogen from the ground instead? Brad Hager, a professor of earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences at MIT, explores the potential of geologic hydrogen, looks at some of the possible pitfalls, and asks what it might take to get more companies invested in it. What if it works? is a production of the MIT Energy Initiative. This episode was hosted by Rob Stoner and Kara Miller. Transcript and show notes at energy.mit.edu/podcasts
    Show More Show Less
    40 mins
  • Removing fossil fuels from industrial processes

    Removing fossil fuels from industrial processes
    Apr 23 2025
    We talk a lot about decarbonizing cars, planes, and electricity, but about the hidden processes that are used to produce the steel in our buildings or the chemicals fertilizing our food? Yogi Surendranath, a chemist and chemical engineer at MIT, explores the surprisingly carbon-intensive processes behind so much of the things making up our world and considers ways to remove fossil fuels from the equation to make a real dent in deep decarbonization. What if it works? is a production of the MIT Energy Initiative. This episode was hosted by Rob Stoner and Kara Miller. Transcript and show notes at energy.mit.edu/podcasts
    Show More Show Less
    37 mins
  • Turning light into electricity

    Turning light into electricity
    Apr 9 2025
    2023 Nobel Prize winner Moungi Bawendi, a professor of chemistry at MIT, has thought a lot about how to reimagine clean energy technologies. His early work with quantum dots led to more energy-efficient lighting, televisions, and solar cells. Bawendi helps explain the energy of light and shares how we can transform that light into electricity with energy-efficiency in mind. What if it works? is a production of the MIT Energy Initiative. This episode was hosted by Rob Stoner and Kara Miller. Transcript and show notes at energy.mit.edu/podcasts
    Show More Show Less
    38 mins
  • The race to fusion

    The race to fusion
    Mar 26 2025
    For years, the running joke was that fusion energy is always 30 years away, but today we are actually closer than ever. Dennis Whyte, a leader in fusion research, shares how MIT’s fusion program has started the move from the lab to market, and explains how unlocking commercial fusion could be a gamechanger for our energy system. What if it works? is a production of the MIT Energy Initiative. This episode was hosted by Rob Stoner and Kara Miller. Transcript and show notes at energy.mit.edu/podcasts
    Show More Show Less
    46 mins