Michael Shellenberger: How China Gained Control of Solar—And Why It Matters

American Thought Leaders

The Epoch Times

Government, News, Politics

4.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 1 June 2025

⏱️ 76 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

“It’s now been revealed that the Chinese—who manufacture virtually all of our solar panels, both in the United States and Europe—have been installing cellular radios inside the inverters, which can act as kill switches,” says Michael Shellenberger, an investigative journalist, author, founder of Public, and CBR Chair of Politics, Censorship, and Free Speech at the University of Austin.

Shellenberger is the author of the books “San Fransicko” and “Apocalypse Never.”

In this wide-ranging interview, we dive into key vulnerabilities in America’s energy grid, how Trump is transforming America’s energy future, the current status of the “censorship industrial complex,” as Shellenberger describes it, and his continued fight for government transparency, including around unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs).

Two years on from the publication of the Twitter Files—in which Shellenberger played a key role—where are things now?

Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's now been revealed that the Chinese who manufacture virtually all of our solar panels,
0:05.5	they have been installing cellular radios inside the inverters, which can act as kill switches.
0:15.4	In this episode, I'm sitting down with Michael Schellenberger, investigative journalist, author,
0:20.3	and CPR chair of politics censorship and free speech at the University of Austin. down with Michael Schellenberger, investigative journalist, author, and CPR Chair of Politics
0:21.8	Censorship and Free Speech at the University of Austin. He's the author of San Francisco and
0:27.3	Apocalypse Never. We dive into America's energy revolution, vulnerabilities in the grid,
0:33.1	and the current status of the censorship industrial complex. We saw an enormous amount of programming of people.
0:40.7	The most extreme example of it was this idea that Biden was fine.
0:44.1	Well, now the media is falling all over itself
0:46.2	to talk about how, oh, they were deceived.
0:48.6	This is American Thought Leaders, and I'm Yanya Kellogg.
0:53.5	Michael Schellenberger, so good to have you back on American Thought Leaders.
0:56.5	Great to be with you.
0:57.5	I can't help but notice that not a few days ago, as we're filming right now, on the 23rd
1:04.1	of May, President Trump signed four executive orders related to nuclear energy.
1:09.5	When we first met, I was interviewing you about Apocalypse Never.
1:13.6	And I know how serious you are about energy density of fuel and so forth.
1:20.6	So what's your reaction to this?
1:23.6	I'm thrilled.
1:24.6	I mean, it's long overdue.
1:26.6	I think he probably needs to go further and create a whole separate government agency, separate from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which has done a good job regulating a particular technology, which is the water-cooled reactors. But the technology is so complex and the staff there and the regulations
1:46.2	they have are so focused on this one technology, they're probably, in my view, going
	...

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