Opponents say it's a risky and expensive operation that leaves future generations with a bill

in terms of radioactive waste. Proponents say it's a technology that can generate unparalleled

quantities of carbon-free energy with a tiny land footprint. Whichever side of the debate

you lean towards, nuclear energy is perhaps unique in that particularly on the left,

proponents and opponents seem to be at log-aheads on even the most basic considerations,

and there are a lot of them. From expense to safety and from security to the time scales involved

in construction. This is even before we think about the place of nuclear power within the

society in which we live. The ticking clock posed by fossil fuels, the viability of a fully

renewable grid, and the question of nuclear energy's relationship to the nuclear weapons industry,

let alone the question of the society we want to live in. Should energy generation be centralized

or decentralized? Should energy ever depend on mining for minerals? And what exactly do we owe

future generations? Beyond the most technical considerations, what makes this debate so

complicated on the left is that it cuts across political intuitions, political traditions,

and some might argue political aesthetics. As we know, we absolutely must transition away from

our reliance on burning fossil fuels. And in Britain at least, the announcement of a new raft of

support for the creation of nuclear power stations has put the question of nuclear energy firmly

back on the agenda. My name is Craig Gent, head of operations at Navara Media,

and to discuss this topic today on Navara FM, we have the pleasure of being joined by Matthew T. Huber

and Andrea Vetter. Matt is a professor of geography at Syracuse University in the United States,

an author of climate change as class war, building socialism on a warming planet. And Andrea is

a transformation researcher, activist, and journalist in Germany, and co-author of the future

is degrowth, a guide to a world beyond capitalism. Both books are available from Versa. Andrea,

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