Podcasts about Oak Ridge

The Beast & the Ruler, Part 9. As our heroes explore Oakridge and meet its cast of competitors, one member of the team appears to be missing… It's all about rolling dice! “True Meta Inc.” is an actual-play table-top role-playing game podcast with a focus on story, character growth, and sweet, sweet combat. Come join us for your next adventure! Website: www.truemetainc.com/​ Social Media: @truemetainc

A nighttime Bigfoot expedition in Oakridge, Oregon takes an unexpected turn when multiple participants report mysterious lights moving through the forest. Area 58 Museum founder Priscilla Roseman-Davidson shares new information from Sasquatch Summerfest 2026, recounts her own unforgettable midnight encounter involving multiple sets of glowing eyes, and reveals why the Oakridge area continues to generate some of the most compelling Bigfoot reports in the Pacific Northwest.From Packard Creek Campground and Hills Creek Reservoir to the deep forests surrounding Oakridge, this episode explores firsthand experiences, historical reports, and the remarkable legacy of legendary Bigfoot researcher Peter Byrne. If you're fascinated by authentic witness testimony and one of America's most active Sasquatch hotspots, this is an episode you won't want to miss.Resources:Area 58 Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572788733343Area 58 Youtube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@Area58MuseumFestival information here:https://www.sasquatchsummerfest.com

Peaks to Power is back with updates in advanced computing, materials science, and flight! In this episode, find out about: 12 project awards NLR received in the Department of Energy's Genesis Mission A new collaboration with Argonne and Oak Ridge national laboratories to establish a national center for membrane technologies A recently published report evaluating the real-world potential of five emerging aviation fuels.This episode was hosted by Kerrin Jeromin and Taylor Mankle, written and produced by Allison Montroy, Hannah Halusker, and Kaitlyn Stottler, and edited by Taylor Mankle, Joe DelNero, and Brittany Falch. Graphics are by Brittnee Gayet. Our title music is written and performed by Ted Vaca and episode music by Chuck Kurnik, Jim Riley, and Mark Sanseverino of Drift BC. Peaks to Power is created by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Laboratory of the Rockies in Golden, Colorado. Email us at podcast@nlr.gov. Follow NLR on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Threads, and Facebook.  

Group Guide Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week. Acts 1:1-5 Spencer Carey Download TranscriptGood morning. My name is Spencer. I am one of the pastors here. We did it you guys. We made it through 2 Samuel. 1 and 2 Samuel.And now we're in the book of Acts. So if you're new to our church, we typically, not exclusively, but the majority of what we do is we walk through books of the Bible. And we're gonna go verse by verse, passage by passage. And we're in Acts chapter 1 today. As we begin the book of Acts, we'll be in this for the next season. We're in the first five verses of the book of Acts.That is on page 1053, 1053 in your black Bibles. The main text will be coming from the Bible. So we will hold a Bible and read that with this. There'll be other texts. They'll be on the screen. But we're gonna introduce the book of Acts because it is wise when you jump into a book to have some context for what you're actually studying.So I want to point out three things as we begin to introduce us, I think, well to understanding the book of Acts. If you grab a study Bible, like the ESV study Bible, you open it up before we start reading a book. If you're gonna study it, you're gonna see different introductory elements. And I'm gonna give you three that kind of help us frame our time together in the book of Acts. Genre, author, and purpose. So let me hit those very quickly.It's important to first know the genre because not all scripture is the same. You don't read Proverbs like you read the Psalms, like you read Genesis, like you read the Gospels, like you read the epistles, the letters in the New Testament. They are all, they come from different genres. So it's important to understand what you're reading before you jump in. The book of Acts is historical narrative. Functions like the Gospels in that way.It's historical narrative. It's a bunch of stories that tell the story of how the church began starting in the first three decades of the church is what the book of Acts and 28 chapters covers. So from around 33 AD to around 60 to 65 AD, we're gonna read a bunch of stories and teachings that shaped the church early on and that we get to be shaped by as well. So it's one of the longest books in the New Testament. The Gospel of Luke is the only book that's longer and we'll be in it for a bit. So the second thing that is helpful to know is the author.And the author is Luke. So Luke was inspired by God to write this. So let's introduce ourselves to Luke. We don't know a ton. Here's what we do know. Luke was likely Greek.Okay. He may have been Jewish, it's debated, but if he's Jewish, he's very what you would call Hellenistic, meaning he's very Greek influenced. So he's Greek. What we also can see from the letters of the New Testament is he's likely a doctor. So likely a physician like Mike Goble who was just standing here leading us in prayer.He's a doctor. It's also clear that he's an historian. He was tasked with the job of both telling an orderly account of the Gospel in Luke of Jesus Christ and his life, his ministry, his death, his resurrection and the book of Acts, which tells the story of the early church. So some will say that Paul wrote most of the New Testament. It's actually not true. When you go by word count, Luke actually was inspired to write most of the New Testament because Luke and Acts is longer than all Paul's 13 letters combined.Fun fact. Three, purpose. Okay. Why is the book of Acts and our Bibles? Why did God inspire it? Why was it so important that it became an essential part of what's called the New Testament canon?What is the official books of the New Testament? Why do we have this? That's what we get to look at today. One of the things that's clear when you read the book of Luke is that there's this foreshadowing of the inclusion of the Gentiles. So that's basically, I would assume everybody in this room that comes from a non-Jewish background.There's this foreshadowing that the Gospel is going to go to the nations and that we're going to be included. And the book of Acts is going to show us how. How we are brought into the household of faith. So we're going to see this. We're going to look at the values and the witness and the Gospel that spread all that comes out of this. We're going to look at key figures like Philip and Peter and James, the brother of Jesus Christ, and Paul.We're going to look at all of this. And when you actually, if you look at a Bible and you go to Acts, oftentimes they're going to have the subscript that we have from the earliest manuscripts that says Acts of the Apostles. And if you read that, it may lead you to believe that this book is primarily about the work of the apostles. But what we're going to see is this book is primarily about a God rescuing his people and his rescue plan for the nations. And then even more of the point, one of the things that makes Acts so unique and so essential is it gives us the most comprehensive window into the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.We're going to read a lot about the Holy Spirit. No book in the Bible mentions the Holy Spirit more than the book of Acts. It would be wrong to say that this book is only about the work of the Holy Spirit, because God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son are both present and loom large in this book. But there's no other book in the Bible that gives us a more upfront window to the work of the Holy Spirit than the book of Acts, which makes this very helpful for us as we want to be a Spirit empowered people and the season that we're in trying to be missional and planting a church. So we're very excited to be able to walk this book together.And what we're going to see today and these first few verses and what we're going to see throughout this series can be summarized in this sentence, the Holy Spirit in God's church taking Jesus to the world. That what we're going to see is the Holy Spirit in God's church taking Jesus to the world. So let me pray and then we'll walk through this introduction together. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the good news of the gospel that we just sang about, that we just prayed for, that we just recited from the Scriptures. God, I pray that you would help us be, have open eyes to see how you started your church and what it's built upon.And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, go to verse one. In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach. So let's pause there.Out the gate, there should be some questions that jump off the page. Who's Theophilus? When did you do all this, where you dealt with all the things that Jesus began and taught? And that is why understanding Acts, it's very helpful to have a working general knowledge of the book of Luke. The gospel of Luke helps us understand the book of Acts. Luke functions very much like a part one and Acts functions very much like a part two.So what I want to do a little bit today is to go to the book of Luke and to help us see a little bit of how this helps us understand Acts. I want to go to Luke chapter one. This will be on the screen. You can look up here and hold that place in Acts because we'll come back to it. Luke chapter one says, many have undertaken to draw up an account of these things that have been fulfilled among us just as they were handed down to us by those who were, who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the Word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you most excellent Theophilus so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.So this is very similar to the introduction to the book of Acts. Who is Theophilus? We don't know for sure. We know that his name means lover of God. Theo and Phyllis, those are two different Greek words to come together, lover of God. It is very likely that he was a wealthy Christian who put the money forward for Luke to do the work of gathering all these reports.It takes time and energy and effort and money to go and travel throughout all of the New Testament world and to put together what is the gospel of Luke? What is these stories that tell us about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? And we should be familiar with that concept because we know today they are investigative reporters, that they make their living, they get paid to go out and do investigative work and put together reports from Bob Woodward and his work all the way to reporters like Christopher Rufo today. They are all types of different people that get paid to put together reports.And that is what Luke was. He was an historian who got paid and traveled to go and put together this gospel of Luke that tells us about Jesus Christ. And what I appreciate about Luke is that he's not only just giving us a bunch of facts about Jesus, he does the work of organizing it into a story. So when you read it, like the other gospels, it has story arc. So most stories, the gospels, stories in the Bible and stories that you go and you watch in the movie theaters, most stories have a general story arc.There's an introduction, there's rising tension, so there's going to be some different plot things that happen. There's rising tension, there's a climax, and then there's resolution. That's the majority of stories. And when you read the gospel of Luke, there's an introduction to who Jesus Christ is. He was born. And then all of a sudden, very early, you see the rising tension as he's ministering and establishing and teaching the kingdom of God.He's got the tension with the Pharisees and the religious leaders. And there's this tension that builds all the way towards Jerusalem where Jesus Christ is crucified, where he is resurrected. And then there's this resulting action, which is the commissioning of the church. And I appreciate that because it makes reading the gospels a lot of fun. It helps us see that he's a good storyteller in pulling all these stories together for us to see. But buried in the end of the gospel of Luke, in what we just read a few minutes ago, is a bit of a cliffhanger.And I also appreciate the art of a cliffhanger. My oldest recently has gotten really into books. She loves reading. And what happens sometimes is that she'll come down tired. And she's like, I'm so frustrated because I just want to go to sleep. But every chapter, there's just this cliffhanger.And I just have to keep reading. And it's like, I love that you love reading. We're going to have to learn to live with a cliffhanger for a bit because you actually need to go to sleep. But cliffhangers do that. They kind of leave something lingering that draw you into the next part. And that's what's the genius of the end of the gospel of Luke.And I want to go back to what we read just a few minutes ago so that we can see that. You get the very end of Luke, chapter 24, verses 44 through 49. This is how the gospel of Luke ends. Then he said to them, this is on the screen, these are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Okay. That's what we call biblical theology.That's the reality that the entire Old Testament, all of it points to Jesus Christ. And he sang it. Listen, law, the prophets, Psalms, all of it points to me. Verse 45. Then he opened their minds to the scriptures, which is Jesus Christ, opening their minds to understand.46, And said to them, thus it is written that the Christ should suffer, and on the third day rise from the dead. 47, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed and is named to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things, and behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you, but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. So Jesus points to the climactic work, his death, his resurrection. And then he tells them in verse 47, really a preview of what is ahead. He nods to, you're going to go and preach.It's going to be the message of this gospel of his life, death, and resurrection. You go preach that there's going to be a call for repentance of sins. They're going to experience forgiveness that washes and covers us. This is what you're going to proclaim, and that message is going to the nations. You are going to be witnesses of this. But first, you're going to go to Jerusalem, and you're going to wait, because power is going to come from on high.Wait for the promise of the Father. It's coming, but you go into Jerusalem first, and that's like the cliff thing. Oh, wait, what? And it's like, oh, I want to know more about that. And here's the good news. You don't have to wait a year for part two of the movie to come out.You can just flip over the book of Acts, which is what we're in. So go back to verse one. Now, we have a good working knowledge of what Luke is doing in the gospel of Luke. Pick up in verse one, the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, verse two, until the day when he was taken up after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. Which just for a moment, I appreciate that what is clear is that when Jesus is teaching his disciples throughout his ministry, the Holy Spirit is present with him, teaching his followers.Verse three, he presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God. Okay, so there's a period of time between Christ's resurrection and his ascension, which is what we're going to look at next week is when he ascended to the right hand of God the Father. That period of time is 40 days. So in that 40 days, when you look and read the end of the gospels and you pick up in this part of the book of Acts, we don't get all likely of what Jesus did during that period. We can tell that he appears to them at various times.He's not with them every second, but he appears to them and what he's doing is he's preparing them. He's teaching them the kingdom of God and he's preparing them for what awaits them. He appears to them in Jerusalem. He appears to them on a mountain in Galilee. He appears to them on a lake in Galilee and he's doing the work of preparing them for what's next for the unfolding plan to reach the nation. So he's preparing them, but also what I like in this passage is it points out that he's also establishing that he is alive, that there are witnesses who have seen Christ.That's why Paul in 1 Corinthians, he points out that there are 500 people at one point that saw Jesus in the flesh. So Jesus is both preparing his church for what is ahead and establishing I am alive through all types of eyewitness accounts that we read in the scriptures. So he's in the period of preparation preparing them for what's next over that 40 days and now he's here verse 4. And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, you heard from me for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.So Jesus is getting ready to ascend, but he tells them you're going to wait. You're going to wait in Jerusalem. You're gonna wait for the promise of the Father and that's foreshadowing what we're going to see the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the church. You're gonna wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon you. Now at this point, it's very likely Jesus has taught them all about water baptism from the moment that he's baptized until now.And they should have the understanding at this point that baptism is the new covenant sign that you belong to God. But what they're going to learn is that faith does not begin with water baptism. It doesn't begin with water that faith begins with fire. That faith begins with fire that comes upon you when the Holy Spirit changes you into a new creation in Christ Jesus. When you believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, the baptism of the Holy Spirit overtakes you and changes you into someone who is new that you belong to Jesus Christ. And then you enter the waters of baptism to declare that you belong to him, which is why we as good Baptists baptize after someone is converted to Jesus Christ.That's what he's giving a nod to here at the end of this verse five. So he's telling them they need to wait. You're gonna go to Jerusalem and you're gonna wait for the Spirit to come upon you. And then you're going to begin to see this wonderful redemption plan that's going to unfold. And the rest of the book of Acts is how that plan unfolds. God in his people with them, bringing them into his mission to reach the nations.And I personally am very thankful that God brings us out of the stands and into the game so that we get to participate with our God in doing the most important eternal work there is. Around this time every year, I get excited because football is not far away. Okay. I love football. It's my favorite sport. I like other sports.Football is my favorite. I like how in August as the first game approaches, how delusional I get into thinking I will convince myself by the end of August that Lenora Sellers may be a Heisman candidate for the University of South Carolina. It's going to happen. I can convince myself of that delusion while also know I can't wait for the disappointment. It's going to be so exciting. I hold those two intention simultaneously and I get excited because I love watching the Gamecocks.I love watching us take on like blue blooded SEC programs like Kentucky and Mississippi State on the SEC Plus Network where we usually play. I just I look forward to it. I like pro football. I like watching. I'm a huge Indianapolis Colts fan. I love watching every season.I was like one time we won the Super Bowl in my entire life and I enjoy doing it. I love watching it. But let me tell you something. When I play football, I had way more fun. When I got to play football growing up, I mean Friday nights were way better than Saturday mornings in the stands. Friday nights in the field were far superior to ever watching something on TV or being there in person to watch it.No, it was a lot more rewarding, a lot more fun to be in the game playing. And what I appreciate about our God is that this wonderful redemption plan that He has given us, that He's unfolding for us, we get to participate in. That we get to wait for the power of God to come upon us and we get to be obedient to where He calls us to go. We get to see the spirit change people's lives. Guys, there's nothing more wonderful in this world than declaring the good news of Jesus Christ to someone who does not believe. And then God goes to work in their heart, brings them to faith in Jesus Christ.And then 10,000 years from now, you are standing in the presence of Christ with that brother's sister because you leveraged your life now for eternity. There is nothing more important. There's nothing more glorious. There's nothing more wonderful. And none of that happens unless the Holy Spirit is present. None of that happens unless the Spirit goes to work.We're like little kids that just want to get in the game and we're like three feet tall and we want to dunk a basketball and we can jump two inches off the ground and we're dreaming up just I want to dunk it and then we get picked up and we get to participate. And that's what the spirit does in us. He works in us in a way where we get to be a part of this, the Holy Spirit in God's church taking Jesus to the world. That's what all of this is about. And that's what we're gonna see throughout the book of Acts. The Holy Spirit in God's church taking Jesus to the world.I just want to give you a preview of what's ahead. I want us to see how this this theme of the Holy Spirit and God's church taking Jesus to the world, how it shows up all over the place. Because we'll work through Acts 1, then we'll get to Acts 2. And in Acts 2 we're gonna see at the festival of Pentecost where all the Jews are coming in to celebrate that at the right time the Holy Spirit will descend upon the church. And then Peter who, think about this, just six weeks before that was denying Jesus Christ repeatedly, stands up what we'll see at Pentecost and preaches a sermon where 3,000 plus people, their eternity has changed and the church begins.And then we're gonna watch from Acts 3 to Acts 6 as the church explodes in Jerusalem. The Spirit working in profoundly wonderful ways as people are being changed. And with that comes what Jesus promised. That if you declare the good news of Jesus Christ, you will be persecuted. You will suffer and they do. And as the church begins to declare the good news of Jesus Christ and powerful, wonderful things begin to happen, the church begins to be persecuted.And that comes to the head in Acts 7 when Stephen, a servant of Jesus Christ, is declaring the gospel and he's murdered and martyred for his faith. And then we'll see how the Spirit uses that. Because the Spirit uses that to expand the church further. When we get to Acts 8 we'll see how this plan is unfolding because they're gonna spread when they're being persecuted into Samaria, into Syria. And now the gospel is spreading. And then we'll follow this as Acts 10 to Acts 12 we'll see the finally how the Gentiles are included and how God works in that.We'll see in Acts 13 at Antioch when the church is commissioned and Paul and Barnabas are sent to go and take the gospel to Asia Minor into Europe and the gospel begins to spread from Acts 13 to Acts 20 all over from Turkey to Greece. The gospel begins to go everywhere. And then as we finish the book of Acts we're gonna see in Acts 21 to 26 when Paul is giving a defense for the gospel as being persecuted, being imprisoned, and that he uses his imprisonment for the gospel to go forward. He uses imprisonment to get the gospel to Rome. He's like I want to get to Rome. So I'm gonna be in prison and that's where I'm going.And then Acts 27 there's a shipwreck and then Acts 28 he finally gets there. And what I love about Acts 28 is when he gets there guess what there are any Christians there. That's what God does. He keeps working in lots of different people. But you keep reading this the Holy Spirit and God's church taking Jesus to the world.You keep following chapter after chapter after chapter and then all of a sudden you get to 28 you get done reading it and it just ends. It's like Luke just dropped the pen and said I'm done. It's the wildest thing. Go read through the book of Acts. I encourage you guys as we start this series go read through the whole book. And you get to the end and it's just like this isn't complete.And we know that Luke knows how to write a story because you can read the gospel of Luke and you can see such compelling story arc and how it and it just that's not we just have this rising tension and it just stops. He just quits writing and it's clearly so incomplete. It's not like any other book in the Bible just stops. And the question that should linger is why. Why? Why is it just that?And the answer is because the story isn't finished. Acts continues. The story isn't finished. The gospel is still trying. We're still taking the gospel to every tribe nation and tongue. The story isn't over.The church keeps going. Years ago there were some clever Christians that came up with a church network name called Acts 29. Which was brilliant. But it was a statement on it keeps going. That we are living and Acts continues. That the story continues.And it does. It continued in the first century as the gospel spread from North Africa to as far as Spain over to India and to Asia. The gospel spread as of the next few centuries as the church began to be further established as they were once a persecuted minority. Faith becomes a majority faith in the Roman empire. And the church begins to grow and to expand and that eventually you follow the centuries and centuries later that there were some Christians who were being persecuted for their faith by the established church of England. And they say we want to go to this new place called America.And they travel to America and that kind of starts a big wave of Christians moving and pastors moving and missionaries moving to America. And eventually you saw land in this state where they start churches from the coast up to the upstate. And eventually at around the early 1900s people came to this part of the river and they began a new church. First Baptist Church of Casey. And this church ministered for a century and then all of a sudden another church started up in the area of Mill City Church. And then a few years later we merged together as one church, Mill City Church.And the spirit is still at work taking Jesus to the world. And what I love is that if you've ever read a book, you ever watched a movie that leaves the ending ambiguous? That leaves a cliffhanger? Instead of getting frustrated, what I like to do is I like to dream a bit. I like to imagine what actually is going on and what could be. Like if you watch the movie Inception, you get to imagine does the top fall or does it keep spinning?And you get to dream a bit about what that can be. If you read a book like The Giver, you get to imagine does he make it? Did he die in the snow or did he make it to experience reality? Whatever story has this ambiguous ending that is unclear, you get to dream a little bit about what that gets to be. And when you read the book of Acts, what I want us to do is I want us to dream a little bit. When we walk through this series, I want to dream about what can be.That if the Holy Spirit is at work in the church to take Jesus to the world, then let's dream a little bit. Because I'll tell you something, we dreamed for years about doing what we just prayed about earlier. For years we dreamed about planting a church. We want to multiply this church. We want to expand to a different part of the city. And then finally God put the pieces together.And if you've been here the last six months, you remember to hear this story. And I'm excited about sending out Oak Ridge. I'm excited about our little small version of Acts continued that we get to do. I'm excited that Mike who is just standing up here and that Isaac get to head out with right now it seems like 60 of y'all counting to go and take the gospel to a very strategic place on exit 51 to reach that part of Lexington that expands all the way into Gilbert and as far as Leesville. Like I'm pumped about that. But if we do that and we go, yes, we did it.We nailed it. We accomplished it. Then we missed it. If we think we've arrived at this, if we think that Jesus Christ's blood was poured out and wrath came upon him, that he conquered death at the resurrection, that he ascended to the right hand of God the Father to be king over all of creation, that the Holy Spirit descended upon the church for just Mill City in Oak Ridge. We missed it. So we need to dream a little bit.We need to dream about what can be. Dream about how God can continue to work because we got work to do. I'm gonna put up a timeline that'll hopefully help visualize this. You can go to that slide. Christ ascended almost 2,000 years ago. Like literally we're getting close to almost literally 2,000 years ago.Okay. At some point he's promised he's going to come back. He's going to return. Now you go to the next slide. I don't know where we are in this timeline. Don't get hung up on this.If you were in the book of Revelation, it's clear that you know we don't know where we are in this timeline, but we're somewhere in the middle of this. Now this expands for thousands of years. We've got a small place in that timeline where we have work to do until he comes back. And we should dream about what that gets to be. Because here's the deal. We've talked about this and we'll keep saying this, that once we set out Oak Ridge, everyone has work to do.There's no neutrality in how this is going down in January. Oak Ridge is going out and they've got work to do. And everyone who's staying here, we have work to do. So I want you to dream. How are we going to be obedient to the call to go and make disciples? How are we going to do that in our version of the Acts-continued story?What are we going to do? I want to give you some considerations for how you should think of this. Some of you need to start taking your faith more seriously. Some of you come on Sundays and you go to a group and or hopefully both. But what it has largely been is a time for you to be filled up.And don't miss something. We want we want you to be filled up. We want you to grow in maturity. But maturity in Christ is not just consuming and being filled up. It's pouring out. That God fills us so that we might multiply ourselves into others.That we might make disciples. The great commission is to make disciples. And some of you need to press into maturity. You get the wonderful opportunity to do that. You get to go deeper into the Bible, deeper into the discipline of prayer. You get to help you have a zeal for evangelizing, for sharing the gospel with your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers.And then I hope you get people that are coming around that don't know Jesus or just new to Jesus and you get to sit with them and point them to who Jesus Christ is and say, come follow me as I follow Christ. There's no better way to use your life than for the sake of helping others know Christ. And you get to. And this next season, you get to be a disciple maker. Some of you will have the opportunity to become a leader in training in your group. And you should take it and you should want this because community groups are the means by which we advance the mission in our city.Okay. Our groups are how we reach our city and our group leaders, you can talk to them. Leading a group is wonderful, but it's also quite difficult at times because the good work that God calls us to do is difficult. That's told to us. And what you get to be as a leader in training is not only grow in knowing more of Christ and maturity, but you get to be a helpful and healthy part of your group. You get to breathe life into your group that when everyone just opts out last minute and the person who was supposed to bring the meat just says, I got the sniffles and I'm out.But you're just like, I'm okay. Well, I'm jumping in. What do you need? That you're going to be a helpful part of your group. And some of you should aspire to them. You should want that.You should want to be a leader. You should want to say, hey, come follow me as I follow Christ. And I want to follow you as you're following Christ. We should want that. There's another thing I want to point out. And when I say this, this is autobiographical.When I led a group, it's reality in my group. Now, I already told my group leader, I'm like, this isn't, this is, this is not just us. This is widespread, but I want to put up group content for a moment. All right. This is last week's group content. This is second Samuel.We have five different versions of group content that show up. It's typically this format. If you're not in a group, you should be in a group and you'll see this and it's pretty great, but there's a gospel centered section. There's a community section. There's on mission section. Something that I've noticed that happens in not just my group, but in a lot of groups is that we will love discussing the Bible.We will love getting deep. We'll get the community and everyone has updates and we'll share and we'll talk. And then all of a sudden it's like time to leave and kids are going crazy and someone hurt themselves. And, and, and, you know, because they ran into the wall or something downstairs, not a, not an adult, but a child. And then it's on mission and it's like, ah, we should do it, right? Yeah.Cool. All right. Let's go home. I'm not going to ask you to show your hands, but how many times does that get buried? That's an afterthought. And it's like that, that needs to come to the foreground.There might be weeks where it's just like, ah, you know what? I love, but let's, we're eating a meal. Let's, let's, let's share some life updates. Let's, let's have some time for this. Let's not miss this because we have friends and neighbors and coworkers who we need to understand the eternal situation that right now they are journeying towards an eternity under the wrath of God because of their sin.And the church is plan a for advancing. You are the person that God has put in their life to tell them Jesus is better, that, that eternity is real and God wants you and is for you and desires you. And it's you. And we need to remember that because what could happen when you get to a church of our size is that you can get comfortable and you can think there isn't a need, but there is. And we can't miss that for a moment. So some of you, some of us need to regain our missional hustle in this season as we dream about what we could be in this Acts continued story.Some of us, some of you need to step up and serve. We've run some Numbers that are out of retreat. We kind of looked at all this stuff. There are 58 members of our church who currently do not serve in any capacity. Now there are some folks who have very, very real legitimate excuses, members of our church who have legitimate excuses for why that cannot happen.But there's a lot that don't. And here's the problem. There's 58 members of our church right now who've set in their commitment. They're committed to serving the church, but they're not serving in any capacity. When we send out Oak Ridge, there's going to be that number drops to 54. Now that tells us a couple things.First Oak Ridge is about to go out with a bunch of people who've served for years. And what Mike and Isaac are going to tell you is guess what? There's more where that came from. You got more work to do there. But what that means for us is that we're losing a big part of our church that has served for years.Like if I put up a chart right now, which I don't have, but if I put up a chart of all the different areas that people serve in our church and I just put in bright colors all the different people who've committed to go to the Oak Ridge church plan and the next slide, after they're gone, it just gets real dark. And it's because we will have opportunities for everyone to pick up a shovel and go. And I'm excited about that. I think you should be too excited about the opportunity to step into Kid City and breathe life into it, to our kids excited to step into hospitality and into groups and a bunch of different ways and to serve and to hustle and to grind because Jesus Christ is worth it.He's worthy of our worship and our service that is worthy of the gospel going forward. We're going to have a variety of ways that we get to dream. And I want you to dream. I want you to have personal dreams where you pray about this. I hope the series of Acts opens that up for you. I've got some.I want to share one of just one that's personal to me. That I feel called to this land and in this area. All right. That wasn't always the case. At one point when I went to seminary, I was like, I'm never coming back. I said it out loud.I'm never coming back. And I came back. Let me tell you something. I love this people. I love this place. Okay.My family history, they came over like 300 years ago to Pelion and they like never left. Like Pillion, West Columbia, Casey Lexington, you draw a triangle and my people have posted up in that area for 300 years. And I personally, I want this part of the Midlands, I want the Midlands to see scores and hundreds and thousands of people come to Christ. Because there's so, I know you think there's, there's lots of people that are, there's lots of churches that there are thousands of people in and around you that do not know and are not following Jesus Christ. And what I'm also seeing is that there are a lot of churches in our area that are dying as a statistical fact.There are a lot of churches in our area that are running in the red financially, that if they lose a few members, they're losing a big part of their church. They're physically dying. They are like a roof replacement away from just, it just have to shut the doors. My personal dream right now is that I want to see men in this church aspire to the office of overseer elder pastor. I want to see men in this church who want to step up and become pastors and pastor churches in this area over the next 10 years that need to be replanted, that need to be revitalized, that need life again. And right now there's a massive pastor shortage across the country.There's a massive pastor shortage. There's a bunch of boomers who are retiring, who are dying, and it's not being filled with younger generations. So what I want to see is men in this church. I want you to pray some dangerous prayers and I want you to ask, do I need to be the kind of man of character that says, follow me as I follow Christ as I shepherd the people of God here or somewhere else? And that's my personal part of the dream. And for the next 10 years, I want to see that happen all over the city.I want 50 years from now the Midlands to look dramatically different in churches because for the next 10 years, we leveraged our time, our energy, our money, and our people to send out pastors and teams of people to go and make more disciples in this city. And I want it to go further because it's been a few years since we have sent a missionary to the foreign mission field. It's been a few years and there are unreached peoples that get the smallest amount of resources and people. And some of you need to go and you don't need to be here in five years. And some of you need to have a conversation with Ben Johnson at 1040 Hub with Tim.Where's he at? Tim Rice over there, who works with IMB. We got missions, opportunities, good Lord. I'd love to see someone go to the nations, but we're going to have to pray and we're going to have to dream and we're going to have to own our part of the Acts-continued story. So in this next season, let's dream a little bit.Let's pray some dangerous prayers. Let's let the Holy Spirit work in a way that gets us in the game. Let's be obedient even when it feels risky, even when it feels uncomfortable. Let's own our part of our very small part, but important part of the story of the Holy Spirit and His Church taking Jesus to this city and the world. Let's pray.Heavenly Father, I pray that You might work in us in this season to stir us towards faith and trusting You. And the fruit of that would show up in beautiful, eternal ways. God, that first means that in this season there are people that do not know You that need to. There are people in this room who do not know You, have not surrendered their life to You, do not see You as Lord, and they need to. And I pray that You open their eyes to who You are and a baptism of the Holy Spirit would take over their lives. God, there are folks in this room that are going, that are going with Oak Ridge, and I am so thankful for their obedience to go, to be uncomfortable, to take risks.Lord, may You bless their labor, and may there be people in the kingdom of God a thousand years from now because they were obedient to go. And God, may You stir in us. May You give us a hustle. May You empower us for the good work that You have right here and beyond for years to come. In Jesus' name, amen.Transcript

This week, it's all about Flock. Scott and Jesse talk about the surge of opposition to license-plate cameras, the growing fears of a surveillance state, and why the Sheriff's Office has for so long been our least transparent local agency. Also: why County Commission is changing its budget calendar, Commissioner Jay's failed push to repeal the wheel tax, and Oak Ridge in the running for a national "nuclear campus." Plus, the trends in early voting ahead of the Aug. 6 election. Looking ahead, they preview that election, as well as school board and City Council meetings this week. Remember to share this FREE service of Compassknox.com AND election coverage is ALSO FREE!

Every week, we cover the three biggest stories in manufacturing, and the implications they have on the industry moving forward. This week:New Balance May Donate Shuttered Factory to the Town it VacatedAbout two years ago, New Balance announced plans to close its plant in Norridgewock, Maine. The move surprised pretty much everyone because the shoemaker is known for its U.S.-based manufacturing footprint.Ammo Factory Fails to Produce Any Shells After $469M Army InvestmentAfter sending many, many shells to Ukraine, the Army tasked General Dynamics and its existing ammunition plant in Mesquite, Texas, with manufacturing 30,000 M795 High Explosive 155 mm shells each month by October 2025. But a new report said the plant hasn't produced a single shell in two years of operation.Northwestern Engineers Made a ‘Phantom' Drone That Vanishes in Plain SightEngineers at Northwestern University have created a drone that appears to vanish in plain sight after it takes flight. The Phantom Twist is a drone that uses a concept called "motion blur" — the effect that makes it seemingly impossible to see fast-spinning blades on fans or Road Runner's legs.In Case You Missed ItPairs of Glasses Are Boosting Productivity in Some Garment FactoriesOperators who received reading glasses also made fewer errors.3D-Printed, Patient-Specific Contact Lenses in Just 20 MinutesIt uses a newly developed silicone material.TRISO-X Plots Massive Advanced Nuclear Fuel Expansion in TennesseeLast week, TRISO-X announced tentative plans to create some 1,140 new jobs in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. And to email the podcast, you can reach any of us at Jeff, Anna or David@ien.com, with “Email the Podcast” in the subject line. Subscribe to our daily and weekly newsletters.

Today's True Weird Stuff - Revisiting Human Product 12 - The Man Secretly Injected With Plutonium   In 1945, Ebb Cade survived a car accident near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, only to become part of a secret experiment. Without his consent, doctors injected him with plutonium to study how radiation moved through the human body. Also known as "Human Product 12,” Cade became the first of 18 victims of one of the most disturbing human radiation experiments in American history.  

Photo: Navajo Mine is the sole supplier of the Four Corners Power Plant in New Mexico. An environmental group met in Window Rock, Ariz. Monday to argue against keeping a Navajo Nation coal mine alive. As KNAU's Chris Clements reports, critics say it would ignore a nationwide transition away from fossil fuels. Members of the group Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment (CARE), like Devon Norberto, say the permit to extend the life of the Navajo Mine by 110 years is rushed. “A lot of the concerns we heard were around that the community hadn’t been fully notified of this permit.” The tribally owned Navajo Transitional Energy Company (N-TEC) operates the Navajo Mine in northwestern New Mexico and is pushing for its expansion. Supporters of that proposal argue it is essential to the tribe's economic stability and sovereignty, but Norberto says members of Burnham Chapter, a community near where coal would be mined, were not properly consulted. “It would relocate some of the families within the leasing area that they are trying to mine at. It would force them to lose their grazing lands. It would remove them from their ancestral ties to the land.” N-TEC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A federal agency tasked with approving the mine expansion is expected to release a decision in August. The 65-year-old Hills Creek Dam and Reservoir roughly four miles east of Oakridge, Oreg. as seen on June 24, 2026. (Photo: Brian Bull / KLCC) Across the Pacific Northwest, tribes and conservationists are working to help the eel-like fish, the lamprey rebound. As KLCC's Brian Bull reports, dams have greatly diminished their numbers. Recently near Oregon's Coyote Creek, technicians with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs arrived with 100 lampreys in their truck. Aldwin Keo introduced himself and his slithering cargo. “They're filter feeders, they clean out whatever is in the sediment, that's where they stay for many years before they go out to the ocean.” A group of Native educators and students helped release the prehistoric critters into the creek. This is a practice called translocation, where adult fish are released in waterways above dams. Courtney Golts, a lamprey biologist with the tribe, says dam development has had its impact. “In the upper Willamette tributaries are areas that have been completely impassable to lamprey for decades, so these are reintroductions to areas that do not have Pacific lamprey, and as of today, they do.” The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) says lamprey once teemed in the millions through the Columbia River Basin, but only 23,000 were recorded in 2010. Jerrid Weaskus of the Nez Perce Tribe holds a lamprey before releasing it in a waterway near Hills Creek Dam on June 24, 2026. (Photo: Brian Bull / KLCC) Raymond Ellenwood Jr. is a fisheries technician with the Nez Perce Tribe. Near Oakridge, he and Jerrid Weaskus released more lamprey. The goal is to have adult lamprey stay and mate, creating little lampreys called ammocoetes. “The ammocoetes, they burrow into the sand and the substrate and they'll filter feed off the detritus in the river or stream. And what they're doing is the adults are smelling the ammocoetes, that are upriver in those river systems. They're telling them, ‘Hey that river system's good. There's good spawning habit. That's where we want to go.'” If all goes to plan, lamprey released here will start migrating to the Pacific Ocean around 2030, and come back as adults four years later. “Wanna welcome you guys to our annual lamprey celebration.” Recently in Oregon City, more than 1,200 people signed up for the annual Yakama Nation Willamette Falls Lamprey Celebration. It is a day of music, presentations, even a lunch with grilled lamprey. CRITFC's Jeremy Five Crows says they have updated their plan to include a technical document for scientists, students, and resource managers, and a policy brief for lawmakers. “The lamprey has been around 450 million years. We're closer to a T-Rex than a T-Rex was to lamprey. That's how far back they go, and so the thought of just in the past 100 years that we could drive something extinct that's been on Earth for that long, is terrible.” Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Wednesday, July 22, 2026 — Accessing the vulnerability of Indigenous communities during 2026 wildfire season

The shop's stock of outdoors gear, books, bike mechanics and knowledge has made it a mainstay on Highway 58.

Last week, TRISO-X announced tentative plans to create some 1,140 new jobs in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The company hopes to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in equipment to build a new fuel facility and R&D center at Horizon Center Industrial Park, according to the state's Department of Economic and Community Development .TRISO-X is unique in that it is the first company to receive a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build and operate a commercial-scale facility for producing high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel in the U.S. The company's parent, Maryland-based X-energy, is trying to make advanced small modular reactors, accelerate commercialization of advanced nuclear technologies and strengthen the U.S. supply chain for critical nuclear fuel.Founded and based in Oak Ridge, TRISO-X broke ground in 2022 on what was, at the time, North America's first commercial advanced nuclear fuel facility.The company said it received an $11 million economic development grant from Tennessee. TRISO-X specified that the funding will support continued development of its current campus in Oak Ridge, as well as a potential second commercial fuel facility and a dedicated R&D center. If everything goes according to plan, TRISO-X expects to have three facilities designed to establish domestic, commercial-scale manufacturing and research capabilities for the company's proprietary tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel. TRISO particle fuel is considered the most robust nuclear fuel on the planet, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The first facility, known as the TX-1, is anticipated to be the first purpose-built commercial TRISO fuel fabrication facility in the U.S. TX-1 is currently under construction.TX-2 will be a second, larger fuel fabrication facility to significantly boost capacity, with enhanced automation and production efficiency based on TX-1 operational experience. This is where the more than 1,000 new jobs would come into play. Finally, TX-L will be a dedicated fuel fabrication laboratory facility focused on fuel innovation, testing and continuous improvement of the  manufacturing processes.When completed, the campus is expected to establish one of the world's largest commercial-scale nuclear fuel fabrication campuses, with the capacity to produce enough fuel to support 55 of X-energy's Xe-100 advanced small modular reactors. That represents nearly 4.5 gigawatts of new advanced nuclear power capacity, or enough to power 3.3 million U.S. households.NuclearEnergy, #AdvancedNuclear, #SMR, #TRISO, #TRISOFuel, #Manufacturing, #Energy, #NuclearFuel, #CleanEnergy, #OakRidge, #Tennessee, #AdvancedManufacturing, #SupplyChain, #Innovation, #MadeInAmerica

Send us Fan MailA winemaker gets cut, a flagship winery gets prepped for sale, and suddenly we are not talking about tasting notes anymore. We dig into the Oakridge bombshell: David Bicknell, the winemaker many credit with changing the direction of Australian Chardonnay, is made redundant after decades shaping the Yarra Valley's most influential single-vineyard wines. The language around it matters, the emotion is real, and the business logic is confronting.From there we zoom out into the Australian wine industry crisis and the structures that helped create it. We talk Endeavour Group, Dan Murphy's, BWS, Woolworths, Coles, and the retail duopoly that has both selling power and buying power. We unpack “ghost brands”, why shelf space is everything, and how vertical integration can turn a product built on provenance and story into a price-led commodity. We also revisit the political side: ACCC scrutiny, Senate inquiry warnings, and how quickly important reform can disappear when the spotlight moves on.We do not pretend there is one simple fix, but we do land on practical actions for drinkers who want better wine and a healthier industry: check the back label, understand who is importing and controlling the brand, and buy direct from small producers when you can. If this conversation sparks a reaction, share it with a mate, subscribe for more, and leave us a review so more people can find it. Follow us on instagram @winewithmegandmeland TikTok! @winewithmegmel

Weber State junior Braylyn Bayer takes medalist honors at the Utah Women's State Am at Oakridge by one over Sunbin Seo and Nya Palmer. The 32 player match play bracket is set with matches begining early on Tuesday morning. Bayer joins the pod. Sponsored by Goldenwest Credit Union. 

The Beast & the Ruler, Part 7. An old foe from Vale's past arrives in Oakridge while the trio continues to navigate the tournament's preparations. Strategies are formed. Trust is tested. It's all about rolling dice! “True Meta Inc.” is an actual-play table-top role-playing game podcast with a focus on story, character growth, and sweet, sweet combat. Come join us for your next adventure! Website: www.truemetainc.com/ Social Media: @truemetainc

Hour 2 of SportsTalk featured John Wilkerson and Vince Ferrara talking Vols football as the latest preseason rankings list UT as #16, Vols baseball as several VFLs got drafted over the weekend while others opted out of the draft to stay and play at UT. Plus, Oak Ridge standout Malik Howard spoke with Vince about his opportunity to play at UT.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oak Ridge TE Malik Howard spoke with Vince Ferrara about his time at Oak Ridge and what he expects while playing at UT.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hour 2 of SportsTalk featured John Wilkerson and Vince Ferrara talking Vols football as the latest preseason rankings list UT as #16, Vols baseball as several VFLs got drafted over the weekend while others opted out of the draft to stay and play at UT. Plus, Oak Ridge standout Malik Howard spoke with Vince about his opportunity to play at UT.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oak Ridge TE Malik Howard spoke with Vince Ferrara about his time at Oak Ridge and what he expects while playing at UT.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deborah L. Crawford, Ph.D., is chair of the ORAU Board of Directors. In her role, she has a front-row seat in shaping the future of the company. Crawford became chair as the selection of Meghan Millwood for president and CEO was being finalized, and has served on the board for eight years. In this episode of Further Together, Crawford talks to host Michael Holtz about her role as board chair, how she has seen ORAU flourish during her tenure on the board, and the exciting days that lie ahead for ORAU and all of Oak Ridge and region because of the nuclear renaissance. She also talks about the national research enterprise as a whole, her background as an electrical engineer who moved from Glasgow, Scotland, to the United States, and how she is really an introvert at heart. Crawford is Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Tennessee and is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the full range of the university's research, innovation, and economic development programs, and raising the university's national and international reputation as a leading public research university. Crawford works with UT faculty, staff and students to strengthen the institution's contributions to research, scholarship and creative work, from the very fundamental through translation and implementation. Deeply committed to the integration of research and education, she understands that the university's research portfolio must drive innovations in its academic programs, ensuring that every Vol has learning opportunities at the very frontier of knowledge. Crawford harnesses the power of partnerships to advance UT's research ambitions, and to ensure that the institution's research outcomes make life and lives better for the citizens of Tennessee and others far beyond. She is an advocate for entrepreneurship and innovation, promoting the translation of research outcomes into new and established organizations, including new deep tech ventures incubated and accelerated in the university's programs. Learn more about Crawford here: https://orau.org/about/board/deborah-crawford.html

The Beast & the Ruler, Part 6. With six days to prepare for Alejander's deadly championship, our heroes explore the festival town of Oakridge and deal with some… simultaneous tasks. It's all about rolling dice! “True Meta Inc.” is an actual-play table-top role-playing game podcast with a focus on story, character growth, and sweet, sweet combat. Come join us for your next adventure! Website: www.truemetainc.com/​ Social Media: @truemetainc

The energy sector is continually complicated by aging power infrastructure, changing technology and competing needs from communities and industry. The Critical Infrastructure Resilience Group is here to help make sense of this complex landscape.The CIRG, a unit of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, works on national research-based solutions for maintaining energy systems and national security. Thomaz Carvalhaes and Hillary Fishler, R&D Staff Scientists at Oak Ridge, join host Alysha to discuss how they combine interdisciplinary expertise to help communities by supporting infrastructure planning, interdependencies, partnerships and governance, and risk assessment.Some of the topics in this episode include the group's Technical Assistance for States and Tribes Initiative: Grid Resilience Investment Decision-making (TASTI-GRID), the Outage Data Initiative Nationwide (ODIN), and the Enhancing Distribution Grid Anticipatory Resilience (EDGAR).Haiku:Storms test the networknew systems reshape the gridadapt and evolveLinks:Learn more about the Lab: https://www.ornl.gov/group/critical-infrastructure-resilienceGet in touch with Thomaz: www.linkedin.com/in/tcarvalh

The administration's Genesis Mission aims to build an integrated ecosystem connecting supercomputers, AI systems and emerging quantum technologies to tackle complex challenges in scientific research. Building that interconnected system requires overcoming both cultural and technical barriers, Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Gina Tourassi told GovCIO Media & Research at the SCSP AI+Expo 2026 in Washington, D.C. Tourassi, who is leading development of the American Science Cloud, discussed how researchers across the Energy Department are embracing a "One DOE" mindset to advance scientific discovery through shared infrastructure and collaboration. Tourassi also explained how AI is transforming the scientific process by enabling real-time experimentation, adaptive modeling and interoperable data sharing across research environments. She further discussed Oak Ridge's partnerships with industry cloud providers to accelerate supercomputer development as part of the Genesis Mission.

Fabian Alefeld interviews Omar Mireles, Director of Manufacture and Materials at Space Nuclear Power Corporation (Space Nukes), about his career spanning NASA, Oak Ridge, and Los Alamos and how additive manufacturing (AM) reshaped space hardware development. Omar describes early exposure to SLS prototyping, graduate work in nuclear materials and propulsion, building nuclear materials labs at NASA Marshall, and later leading AM efforts for liquid rocket engines and refractory metals.  He explains how AM accelerates iteration, enables complex geometries, part consolidation, and weight reduction, and where traditional methods still dominate depending on production rate. The conversation covers refractory metal challenges (supply chain, oxygen sensitivity, post-processing, inspection) and nuclear reactor basics, generations, and regulatory barriers to AM adoption. Omar outlines Space Nukes' goal of delivering safe, affordable, reliable power anywhere in the solar system, noting heat rejection as a key space constraint, Krusty's 2018 test heritage, potential AM roles in heat exchangers, and an aggressive ~2-year flight timeline depending on regulation and mission. 02:26 Omar Early Motivation 03:08 NASA Co-ops and First AM 07:59 Stirling Radiation Research 20:07 Refractory Metals AM Lab 21:31 Los Alamos to Space Nukes 25:14 Did AM Change Space Race 31:46 Where AM Flies Today 37:41 Rocket Engines Print vs Traditional 41:15 Refractory Alloys Challenges 46:39 Where Refractories Make Sense 47:05 Will Refractory AM Grow 49:39 NASA Metal AM Handbook Origins 56:37 How Nuclear Reactors Work 01:13:02 Additive Manufacturing in Nuclear 01:18:31 What Space Nukes Builds 01:19:36 Why Space Nuclear Power Matters 01:25:20 Why Space Needs Nukes 01:37:47 Krusty Test Proof 01:41:18 Heat Rejection Challenge 01:49:25 Timeline and First Missions 

Discover the seafaring grit that shaped a nation at the Maine Maritime Museum, where 250 years of American shipbuilding history comes alive on the banks of the Kennebec River. More than just a place to refuel, America's largest truck stop is a massive, self-contained highway metropolis that single-handedly powers the nation's supply chain while serving as a cultural sanctuary for the drivers moving our world. In this special mid-tour episode of Own the Road, Kelli and Bob Phillips map out the incredible six-month journey ahead as they continue their mission to explore 250 years of American history, culture, and jaw-dropping landscapes across all 50 states. From the cutting edge of the space age to the opulence of the Gilded Age, the second half of this itinerary is diving deep into the heartbeat of America. Hidden within the ridges of East Tennessee, Oak Ridge—the "Secret City"—stands as a monumental site of American ingenuity and ethical weight, where a city was built overnight to change the course of history and usher the world into the Atomic Age.

A nuclear reactor is under construction in Tennessee. A fuel fabrication facility has steel going vertical. And $10 billion in investment is projected to create up to 3,000 jobs across skilled trades, technical roles and professional positions in East Tennessee alone. On this episode of America's Work Force Union Podcast, Tennessee Nuclear Network Director Bill Tindal breaks down why Oak Ridge has become the national center of the nuclear energy resurgence, what trades are needed right now — from electricians and pipefitters to instrumentation technicians — and how a workforce pipeline from high school dual enrollment through community college is being built to match the demand. He also addresses how today's Generation 3 and 4 reactor designs differ from the plants that scared the public in the 1970s and 80s and why US energy demand projections through 2050 make this a generational career opportunity, not a short-term construction cycle. Visit eteconline.org to learn more about the Tennessee Nuclear Network.

More than just a place to refuel, Americas largest truck stop is a massive, self-contained highway metropolis that single-handedly powers the nations supply chain while serving as a cultural sanctuary for the drivers moving our world. In this special mid-tour episode of Own the Road, Kelli and Bob Phillips map out the incredible six-month journey ahead as they continue their mission to explore 250 years of American history, culture, and jaw-dropping landscapes across all 50 states. From the cutting edge of the space age to the opulence of the Gilded Age, the second half of this itinerary is diving deep into the heartbeat of America. Hidden within the ridges of East Tennessee, Oak Ridge—the "Secret City"—stands as a monumental site of American ingenuity and ethical weight, where a city was built overnight to change the course of history and usher the world into the Atomic Age. A monumental triumph of American grit over nature, the Hoover Dam stands as a concrete titan that tamed the Colorado River, sparking the rise of the modern West and serving as an enduring symbol of the nation's ability to engineer the impossible during its darkest hours.

Avison Young's Justin Cazana on Knoxville's office boom, nuclear-driven growth, why tertiary markets quietly survived the office crisis, and how to build a dominant local practice. The Crexi Podcast connects commercial real estate (CRE) professionals with industry insights built for smart decision-making. In each episode, we explore the latest trends, innovations and opportunities shaping commercial real estate, because we believe knowledge should move at the speed of ambition and every conversation should empower professionals to act with greater clarity and confidence. Justin Cazana is a third-generation real estate professional and principal at Avison Young in Knoxville. Before commercial real estate, he spent nearly a decade in sports broadcasting — calling minor league baseball, SEC football, and Fox Sports Net Olympic coverage — before the family business pulled him home. In this episode, Justin joins host Adam Siegel on why Knoxville's office market never really broke, what Oak Ridge and nuclear growth are doing to demand, and why investing in people is the unlock most brokers miss. Introducing Justin Cazana of Avison Young Knoxville Third-generation CRE: sweeping warehouses and dinner table deal talk From Auburn journalism to minor league baseball broadcasting Hall of Famers in the same league and why he eventually walked away Coming back to Knoxville and learning the business under his father Opening Cushman & Wakefield's Knoxville office in 2010 with seven brokers Managing people is the hardest part — and why hiring a COO changed everything The 10x mindset: what are the 20 things only you should be doing Assistants, VAs, and why every broker should view hires as investments Why they left Cushman for Avison Young in 2015 In tertiary markets, the relationship outlasts the flag every time Knoxville by the numbers: a million-person metro, 24M square feet of office Why tertiary market office never collapsed the way primary markets did Smaller tenants, local ownership, and coming back to the office faster after COVID The retention math: upgrading from Class C to Class A pays for itself How HR became the real estate decision-maker The 11-minute commute and what makes Knoxville an easy sell No income tax, four seasons, UT football, and a Cubs AA ballpark Oak Ridge, nuclear growth, and 180,000 square feet of engineering deals in one year 92% occupancy, a supply problem, and developers ready to build on lease-up Why institutional developers haven't moved in — and local developers fill the gap Downtown Knoxville: no new office building since 1992 The next three to five years: nuclear, airports, Smith & Wesson, and more   About Justin Cazana: Justin Cazana is a Principal and broker at Avison Young's Knoxville office, where he specializes in both tenant and landlord representation across office, industrial, and retail asset classes. He holds both the SIOR and CCIM designations and has deep expertise in the Knoxville market, where he has built a practice rooted in local market knowledge and client relationships. Justin's career path into commercial real estate was far from traditional. Before joining the industry, he worked in television and radio sports broadcasting, including minor league baseball, Fox Sports Net and Comcast Sports. After transitioning into commercial real estate over two decades ago, Justin played a key role in opening Cushman & Wakefield's Knoxville office and later helped lead the migration to Avison Young in 2015. Today, Justin works across most commercial asset classes but with a focus on the Knoxville market and has built a reputation as the go-to expert for understanding one of the country's fastest-growing tertiary markets. For show notes, past guests, and more CRE content, please check out Crexi's blog.Looking to stay ahead in commercial real estate? Visit Crexi to explore properties, analyze markets, and connect with opportunities nationwide. Follow Crexi:https://www.crexi.com/​ https://www.crexi.com/instagram​ https://www.crexi.com/facebook​ https://www.crexi.com/twitter​ https://www.crexi.com/linkedin​ https://www.youtube.com/crexi About Crexi:Crexi is reimagining commercial real estate with an AI-powered platform built to deliver smarter, more efficient solutions at every stage of the deal lifecycle. From real-time data and market insights with Crexi Intelligence, to targeted property marketing and seamless deal management through Crexi PRO, and a transparent, time-bound bidding experience with Crexi Auction— Crexi enables users to evaluate opportunities, maximize exposure, and close with speed and confidence. To date, Crexi has subsidized over $2.74 trillion in property value, 26 billion square feet listed, and supports a growing community of more than 23 million yearly users.

BIG RECRUITING WEEKEND for the Vols. A much-needed push for David Gabriel-Georges from Baylor (Chattanooga) as well as Oak Ridge's Malik Howard. ---------- TalkSports is LIVE Weekdays from 8-11 a.m. on Fox Sports Knoxville/ Fanrun Radio. Check Out our Socials: "@FOXSportsKnox" on Twitter/X, "FanrunSports" on Instagram and Youtube Jon- @Jon__Reed on "X" Cody- @Cody__McClure on "X" Sam- @_beard11 on "X" Bubba- @BrandonShown on "X"

In this special mid-tour episode of Own the Road, Kelli and Bob Phillips map out the incredible six-month journey ahead as they continue their mission to explore 250 years of American history, culture, and jaw-dropping landscapes across all 50 states. From the cutting edge of the space age to the opulence of the Gilded Age, the second half of this itinerary is diving deep into the heartbeat of America. Hidden within the ridges of East Tennessee, Oak Ridge—the "Secret City"—stands as a monumental site of American ingenuity and ethical weight, where a city was built overnight to change the course of history and usher the world into the Atomic Age. A monumental triumph of American grit over nature, the Hoover Dam stands as a concrete titan that tamed the Colorado River, sparking the rise of the modern West and serving as an enduring symbol of the nation's ability to engineer the impossible during its darkest hours. The Bennington Museum stands as a vital sanctuary for the American rural identity, preserving the rustic, soulful legacy of Grandma Moses—a woman who proved it's never too late to become a national icon by painting the simple, enduring beauty of the American dream.

Four-star tight end Malik Howard from just down the road in Oak Ridge, Tenn. announced his commitment to Tennessee over Notre Dame, Oregon and others during his official visit with the Vols. GoVols247's Ryan Callahan and Ben McKee react to Howard's decision to commit to Tennessee on the latest GoVols247 Podcast.

Hidden within the ridges of East Tennessee, Oak Ridge—the "Secret City"—stands as a monumental site of American ingenuity and ethical weight, where a city was built overnight to change the course of history and usher the world into the Atomic Age.

Hidden within the ridges of East Tennessee, Oak Ridge—the "Secret City"—stands as a monumental site of American ingenuity and ethical weight, where a city was built overnight to change the course of history and usher the world into the Atomic Age. A monumental triumph of American grit over nature, the Hoover Dam stands as a concrete titan that tamed the Colorado River, sparking the rise of the modern West and serving as an enduring symbol of the nation's ability to engineer the impossible during its darkest hours. The Bennington Museum stands as a vital sanctuary for the American rural identity, preserving the rustic, soulful legacy of Grandma Moses—a woman who proved it's never too late to become a national icon by painting the simple, enduring beauty of the American dream. As a unique guardian of the American story, Colma stands as a sprawling, hallowed necropolis where the "silent" population outnumbers the living a thousand to one, preserving the ancestral heritage and diverse history of the West in a landscape dedicated entirely to the legacy of those who built it.

The new Oakridge Park Mall is open and on opening day it didn't take long for Drew to find the guy we see in every mall: the dude who's fast asleep on a bench waiting for his wife to finish shopping. Kudos to that guy for being able to fall asleep in the middle of a crazy busy mall on it's opening day. What unusual place did you fall asleep? Plus: experts share tips on how to cut costs on your wedding day what do you consider a sign that you've really made it in life? more rumours about who will be at Taylor & Travis' wedding

Community members outraged as B.C's Burnaby Hospital plans remain in limbo (0:54) David Xie, spokesperson for the Burnaby Neighbourhood Watch Western Premiers meet in Alberta: will the separatism issue be on the agenda? (14:13) Ben O'Hara-Byrne, Global B.C. Legislative Reporter AI data centres in Vancouver: economic opportunity or a threat to the community? (22:28) Carmi Levy, Technology Analyst & Journalist Our Energy Future: First Nations and Energy Development (34:34) Byng Giraud, President of Sedgewick Strategies The new Oakridge mall: will luxury last in a strained economy? (50:32) David Ian Gray, Retail Analyst, and Instructor of Retail Studies at Capilano University's School of Business Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Originally released as Episode 509 on 08/27/24.Deep in Oregon's wild backcountry, one experienced outdoorsman began noticing a pattern he could no longer ignore. What started as uneasy feelings in remote forests turned into years of intense encounters involving rushed campsites, rocks thrown near tents, strange voices in the dark, massive tracks, and a towering figure seen at close range. From Oakridge to Diamond Peak Wilderness to the Three Sisters region, this episode follows a firsthand witness whose time in the woods gave him a perspective few people will ever have. Serious, grounded, and unforgettable, this is one of the most compelling Oregon encounter episodes yet.

A peaceful family camping trip at Hills Creek Reservoir became a night they will never forget. Savanna and Alex share their terrifying firsthand encounter after hearing strange owl-like calls, feeling an overwhelming sense of dread, and listening to heavy two-legged footsteps circle their tent in the darkness. What approached them at their campsite sent them packing in fear and fleeing the area before sunrise.This intense new report from Oakridge adds to the long history of unexplained activity surrounding Willamette National Forest. If you want real encounters, serious witnesses, and one of the wildest recent Oregon stories, this episode is for you.Area 58 Museum: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572788733343

Oak Ridge is at the nexus of the nuclear energy renaissance. One of the challenges is meeting the demand for the necessary workforce, and not just the scientific and technical workforce but the skilled trades workers needed to build out and operate the small modular reactors and other facilities that are coming. On Thursday, May 14, ORAU is hosting the Pathway to Trades Summit, which will convene industry, trade unions, academia, government and other key players to begin to solve for meeting this important need. Laura Hammons, strategic programs and operations manager for the ORAU STEM Accelerator and key organizer of the summit, sits down with Michael Holtz to discuss why the Summit is important, what participants can expect, and what she hopes will happen next. To learn more about the Pathway to Trades Summit or to register for this free event, visit https://orau.org/pathway-to-trades/index.html

What does real world STEM education look like in a high school where students run actual manufacturing contracts on industry-grade equipment, intern at MIT, and learn AI ethics alongside CAD? Joe Fatheree (Top 10 Global Teacher Prize, Illinois Teacher of the Year) and Dr. Mark Buckner (Smart Industry Top 50 Innovator, founder of Oak Ridge High School's iSchool and Wildcat Manufacturing) take Vicki inside a $1.25 million state grant program where 26 student-run contracts with 18 companies have produced near-net-shape metal 3D printing, augmented reality experiences, and graduates already working four to five years ahead of their college peers. This extended episode also tackles the AI conversation educators most need: where AI belongs in classrooms, where it doesn't, what neuroscience says about kids' developing brains in the attention economy, and why "just because you can does not mean you should" is the most important lesson STEM students will learn this year. In this episode, you'll learn: How Wildcat Manufacturing's profit-sharing model pays students for real client work The three pathways Oak Ridge graduates take — start a business, $100K+ workforce, or accelerate into engineering Why Mark teaches industry frameworks (Scrum, Lean, Toyota Kata, Deming) instead of "edu-ese" Where AI helps (rapid feedback, math practice) and where it harms (Grok Annie, social companionship, attention erosion) What the "Manhattan Project 2.0" frame means for AI policy and your classroom Show notes: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e933 EF Explore America STEM Tours sponsored today's show. Show students how STEM impacts the world up close and in action. Students could code robots with MassRobotics at MIT or explore marine ecosystems in Florida's coral reefs or even sit down to talk with a former spy in Washington DC. Students will learn how STEM thinking often shows up where you least expect it. Inspire your students visit efexploreamerica.com/STEM

If you take anything away from this podcast episode, Naomi Asher wants you to know you are enough, you are worthy and you have value. In this episode of Further Together, Naomi and host Michael Holtz talk about career burnout, the need for rest and recovery, and finding yourself in the process. Naomi is the author of the book, “Take to the Bed (And Bring a Cake),” about the importance of giving yourself permission to rest when life gets overwhelming (and life gets overwhelming at times), evaluate whether what you do and how you present yourself to the world aligns with who you are, and make adjustments as necessary. This conversation takes place in the context of the wide variety of career opportunities that exist in the growing nuclear energy industry in East Tennessee. Be trained in a trade, get a community college education, make a mid- to late-career shift that better aligns with your values – the possibilities are endless. Naomi is the founder and principal of The Maven Consulting. Learn more about Naomi The Maven here: https://www.naomithemaven.com/about Naomi is a long-time resident of East Tennessee. She attended Johnson University where she graduated with a double major in Music and Theology. She was hired as the Executive Director of CASA of the Tennessee Heartland in 2010. While there she expanded the geographic service area, more than doubled the budget, created an endowment and reserve as well as increased volunteer numbers by double and retention rates from 41% to 92%. Naomi served on the Tennessee CASA Board and as a Regional Coordinator which allowed her to win and administer grants for the East Region as well as create regional marketing campaigns. She graduated from King University with her MBA in Marketing in 2012. In May of 2015, she was hired as the Executive Director of the United Way of Anderson, Campbell, Morgan and Scott Counties where she increased the budget by 42% as well as the geographic service area. She revised and rebuilt the grant-making process as well as created several community initiatives. She implemented annual Community Needs Assessments and provided technical training and support to other nonprofits. She is passionate about helping others thrive. Naomi is the Founder and Principal Consultant at The Maven Consulting and Doctoral Candidate at Carolina University where she is researching Nonprofit Executive Burnout. Naomi is a graduate of the Consortium for Social Enterprise Effectiveness through the University of Tennessee, Leadership Oak Ridge, Leadership Anderson County, and East Tennessee Regional Leadership Association. She is the Chair of Explore Oak Ridge, Past-President of the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, Past-President of the Altrusa Club of Oak Ridge, a founding member of the Anderson County Young Professionals, a board member of the Oak Ridge Center for Leadership and Community Development and the Oak Ridge Land Bank. She has served as the President of the United Ways of Tennessee and as a Regional Representative on the TN CASA Association Board. In 2017 she was named the Anderson County Chamber Young Professional of the Year, was the 2018 recipient of the East Tennessee Economic Council's Postma Young Professional Medal and the 2021 Oak Ridge Chamber Young Professional of the Year. She lives and plays in Oak Ridge with her husband Ryan, dog Winnie, and 3 cats Jerome, Miley and Rhaenyra. They are a foster family with a heart for teenagers.

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update. We have three stories for you this week, a major confirms nobody is replacing DJI in the consumer market, the FCC opens public comments on drone spectrum reforms, and Oregon tells the FCC to build drone test sites in the mountains.First up this week, a major report from The Verge confirms what we have been saying for months: nobody is coming to save the consumer drone market. According to the report, massive defense contracts have absorbed almost every American company that might have built affordable consumer drones. For example, Skydio confirmed they will not return to the consumer market, and the U.S. Army recently ordered $52 million worth of their X10D tactical drones. Why build a $500 consumer drone when the Pentagon is spending millions? We did see the Antigravity A1 hit the market recently, which is an 8K 360-degree drone that sold 30,000 units shortly after launch. But Antigravity is still a Chinese company, so they face the exact same supply chain exposure. Meanwhile, the Zero Zero HoverAir Aqua is reportedly dead in the water after failing to get FCC certification before the December ban. When volunteer fire departments or Search and Rescue can't afford a $10,000 enterprise system, they rely on affordable consumer drones. As we've said time and time again, this isn't a problem we're going to feel right now… This will be a major problem in 2-3 years. Speaking of, the Federal Communications Commission has released Public Notice DA 26-314, asking our drone industry what needs to be fixed to help the United States lead the global drone race. The notice covers six policy areas, but spectrum access is the biggest one. Right now, most U.S. drones operate on unlicensed 2.4 and 5.8 gigahertz bands, which are the same crowded frequencies used by your home Wi-Fi router. The FCC is asking if the industry should shift to the licensed 5030 to 5091 megahertz band. They previously allocated a 10-megahertz block at 5040 to 5050 megahertz for direct frequency assignments, but this has sat dormant. The FCC also wants to speed up experimental licensing and address Counter-UAS rules. Currently, Section 333 of the Communications Act prohibits willful interference with radio communications, preventing any counter-drone system that jams a signal. Comments are due by May 1st. We will have to see if they can create a credible framework before current exemptions expire in 2027.And our third story, all interconnected this week, The Oregon Department of Aviation has drafted an eight-point response to the FCC public notice. But instead of just asking for abstract reforms, Oregon is telling the FCC exactly where to build new UAS innovation zones. They identified three specific test corridors in real terrain: one in the Cascades near Oakridge, another along the Columbia River Gorge, and a third in southeast Oregon. Oregon argues that testing drones in flat, controlled academic labs does not produce data that transfers to real-world conditions. For example, wildfire response or emergency medical delivery are dealing with mountain passes, line-of-sight obstructions, and weather. Oregon also backed the push toward the 5030 to 5091 megahertz band for command and control links, emphasizing that safety-critical operations cannot rely on unlicensed bands. They also asked the FCC for a simple waiver process for trusted deployment of foreign drones during this transition period. That's all this week, join us in Post Flight where we share our opinions that may or may not be suitable for YouTube, and we'll see you next week! https://dronexl.co/2026/04/06/fcc-da-26-314-drone-spectrum-licensing-public-notice/https://dronexl.co/2026/04/07/oregon-fcc-drone-dominance-test-sites/https://dronexl.co/2026/04/07/verge-dji-ban-nobody-replacing-consumer-drones/

AMSEcast launches a new series exploring America's nuclear navy and Oak Ridge's vital role in its history and future. From helping shape the legacy of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover to supplying nuclear fuel for today's fleet, Oak Ridge has long stood at the center of U.S. naval nuclear power. As the American Museum of Science and Energy prepares a new exhibit at the Wilcox K-25 Interpretive Center, this episode sets the stage. Our inaugural guest, Geoffrey deBeauclair, is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a 30-year Navy veteran who commanded a ballistic missile submarine and later led the Newport Division of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. He shares his journey into the Navy's Nuclear Power Program, the demanding training and qualification process, and what it means to command a submarine at sea. Geoff offers a rare look inside daily life underwater, from relentless drills and rotating watch schedules to crew traditions, leadership challenges, and staying connected with family during long patrols. It's a compelling introduction to the people, discipline, and mission behind America's nuclear navy.

SummaryThis episode is for anyone following the quantum utility debate or curious about how quantum computers will actually contribute to scientific discovery. Arnab Banerjee — assistant professor at Purdue, guest scientist at Oak Ridge's Quantum Science Center, and one of the most-cited experimentalists working at the intersection of quantum materials and quantum computing — walks us through his career-spanning journey from growing magnetic crystals to programming qubits.You'll hear how Banerjee's frustration with classical tools that couldn't explain his own experimental data drove him to quantum computing, why a quantum spin liquid is like the vortex that forms when you throw a stone into water, and how his team used 50 qubits on IBM's Heron chip to reproduce the spectroscopic fingerprint of a real material — KCuF3 — matching data collected at Oak Ridge and the UK's ISIS neutron source. He also offers a nuanced assessment of where different quantum computing platforms excel, drawing on hands-on experience with IBM, QuEra, and D-Wave.What you'll learnWhat a quantum spin liquid actually is and why its collective behavior — like vortices on water — could enable naturally error-protected qubitsHow neutron scattering works as a quantum probe — using the neutron's own spin and de Broglie wavelength to reveal both atomic positions and energy levels simultaneouslyWhy Banerjee's team chose to benchmark quantum simulation against known experimental data first before tackling classically intractable problemsWhat the IBM Heron benchmarking paper actually showed — reproducing spinon excitations in KCuF3, a one-dimensional Heisenberg chain, with quantitative agreement to neutron dataHow different quantum computing modalities serve different materials science problems — IBM for fast, cheap operations on 2D lattices; trapped ions for all-to-all connectivity; D-Wave and QuEra for Ising-like HamiltoniansHow close we are to quantum advantage in materials simulation — Banerjee estimates 70-90 "good enough" qubits in 2D geometry could reach classically inaccessible regimesWhy Kitaev quantum spin liquids could provide a fundamentally different path to fault tolerance — topological protection from decoherence built into the material itself, not imposed through softwareResources & linksPapers & researchBenchmarking quantum simulation with neutron-scattering experiments (March 2026) — The news hook: IBM Heron processor reproduces real neutron scattering data from KCuF3. First direct validation of quantum simulation against experimental measurements of a real material. Proximate Kitaev quantum spin liquid behaviour in a honeycomb magnet (2016) — Banerjee et al., Nature Materials. The career-defining paper providing first experimental evidence for Kitaev spin liquid behavior in alpha-RuCl3. Discover Magazine Top 100 Stories (#18). Neutron scattering in the proximate quantum spin liquid alpha-RuCl3 (2017) — Banerjee et al., Science. Comprehensive neutron scattering study revealing fractional spinon excitations. Materials for quantum technologies roadmap (2025) — Applied Physics Reviews. Banerjee's roadmap paper on the pipeline from material discovery to quantum devices.Lessons from alpha-RuCl3 for atomically thin materials (Nov 2025) — What the decade-long study of alpha-RuCl3 teaches about 2D quantum materials.Guest & lab links Quantum Spins Laboratory, Purdue University — Banerjee's research groupORNL Profile: Traversing the Unknown, Befriending Uncertainty — Oak Ridge profile on Banerjee's research philosophy Purdue News: Keck Foundation Grant for Quantum Spin Liquids — $1.2M grant to probe Majorana bound states with optical techniquesCoverage of the IBM benchmarking work - IBM Newsroom: Quantum Computer Simulates Real Magnetic Materials — IBM's announcement of the benchmarking resultNature News: Quantum simulations verified by experiments for the first time — Nature's coverage of the milestoneOrganizations & facilities - DOE Quantum Science Center at Oak Ridge — $115M National Quantum Initiative center where Banerjee is a guest scientistSpallation Neutron Source, Oak Ridge — The neutron scattering facility central to Banerjee's experimental workISIS Neutron and Muon Source, Rutherford Appleton Lab — UK facility where part of the KCuF3 data was collectedKey quotes & insights"The entire electronic industry is built around trying to avoid quantum effects as much as possible. This is the time when we need to make quantum our friend instead of our enemy.""In a quantum spin liquid, the spin directions move collectively in dancing patterns that look extremely ordered — but if you take a snapshot, the individual spins feel completely random." — On why spin liquids are like vortices in water"A spin is a qubit is a spin." — On why quantum magnets and quantum processors are fundamentally the same physics"We need to know whether what we are doing really makes sense. That's what this experiment is about." — On why benchmarking against known results must come before tackling unsolved problems"I would like to simulate the entire standard model using a quantum computer." — When asked what problem he'd throw at an unlimited quantum computer Related episodesEp 6: Better Qubits Through Material Science with Nathalie DeLeon — The materials science perspective on improving qubit quality, from diamond color centers to surface physicsEp 13: The Mysterious Majorana with Leo Kouwenhoven — The topological quantum computing vision that Kitaev materials could enable through a different routeEp 74: Majorana Qubits with Chetan Nayak — Microsoft's engineered approach to topological protection — contrast with Banerjee's materials-first pathEp 25: Material Science with Houlong Zhuang at Q2B Paris — Using quan...

Originally released as Episode 504 on 8/22/24.Jay is a gold prospector from Oregon who had a close-range encounter in the Willamette National Forest that changed the way he sees the outdoors. In 2016, while working a remote creek near Oakridge with a small group, Jay found himself alone on a steep hillside when he came face to face with something he couldn't explain.He breaks down the entire experience step by step—from the environment and positioning, to the behavior of the creature, to the split-second decisions he had to make while standing just feet away. Jay shares detailed observations about movement, body structure, and the way the encounter unfolded in real time, along with how it's affected him in the years since.This conversation gets into awareness in the wilderness, how quickly situations can shift, and what it's like when something you've only heard about suddenly becomes real.

Oakridge looks like it is getting another massive development, there's a new affordable mortgage model for the Heather Lands, more festivals are turning to the city as they struggle to survive and lots more. Redeye Collective member Ian Mass joins us with his City Beat report.

Author Michelle Shocklee discusses her novel The Women of Oak Ridge and the personal, historical, and emotional paths that led her to the story of the Secret City during the Manhattan Project. Growing up near Los Alamos and coming from a World War II family shaped her long-standing connection to the era, but a chance encounter with a reader ultimately sparked her discovery of Oak Ridge. Shocklee describes her deep research process, drawing on oral histories, archival photographs, museum resources, and firsthand accounts to authentically portray life inside a city built on secrecy. She explains how she weaves history into fiction by grounding the narrative in the lived experiences of her characters, particularly women whose wartime work reshaped their futures. The conversation highlights the challenges of secrecy, segregation, and stress faced by Oak Ridge residents, as well as the lasting impact of women entering the workforce during the war. Ultimately, Shocklee reflects on Oak Ridge as both a hidden chapter of history and a powerful source of human resilience and transformation.

The U.S. Department of Energy spends roughly $8 billion annually cleaning up nuclear waste from Manhattan Project-era sites like Hanford, Washington and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. On this episode of the Environmental Transformation Podcast, host Sean Grady sits down with Steve Moore, president and CEO of Veolia Nuclear Solutions Federal Services Group, to discuss the agency's most pressing environmental liabilities and innovative remediation technologies.Moore describes the scale of the challenge: 56 million gallons of high-level radioactive waste currently stored in above-ground tanks at Hanford alone. He explains how Veolia's patented GeoMelt vitrification technology transforms reactive metals and radioactive waste into stable glass, and discusses the company's operations of two of the largest radioactive waste landfills in the nation.The conversation covers emerging opportunities to revitalize federal sites as data centers and advanced reactor facilities, the "competetition" model where contractors collaborate on complex projects, and why the nuclear remediation field offers meaningful careers for young professionals seeking challenging environmental work.

A decommissioned coal plant in Clinton, Tennessee is on track to become the site of America's first commercial stellarator fusion reactor.In this episode, Tony Williams — Executive Sponsor of the Infinity Project at the Tennessee Valley Authority — joins us to share how TVA is partnering with Type One Energy to build a proof-of-concept fusion machine inside the retired Bull Run fossil plant, with a full-scale 400-500 megawatt power plant to follow.We toured the facility and discussed what's actually changed to make fusion viable now — from Oak Ridge's exascale supercomputer cutting year-long calculations down to a single day, to advances in manufacturing and material science. Tony breaks down the economics of fusion vs. conventional generation, why TVA chose the stellarator over the tokamak, and how the project is being de-risked through a coalition of partners including Type One Energy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the DOE, and the University of Tennessee. We also explore what it means to repurpose aging fossil infrastructure for the next generation of energy production.Hosted by Logan Jones and Alex MercerMission Critical is proudly supported by:Valent → getvalent.comAble Construction → ableconstruct.com

AI has reawakened interest in nuclear energy, but rebooting America's nuclear age will take time and face challenges. Get your tickets to OPNEXT 2026 before prices increase! Join us on April 16 in NYC for technical discussions, investor talks, and intimate conversation with the brightest minds in Bitcoin. Welcome back to The Blockspace Podcast! Today, Dr. Hashem Hashemian, President of the American Nuclear Society and CEO of AMS, joins us to talk about the massive resurgence of nuclear energy in the United States. We dive into the shift from decommissioning plants to life-extensions of up to 100 years, the economic impact of AI and data centers on power demand, and the $12 billion investment flowing into Tennessee's nuclear hub. Dr. Hashemian explains why nuclear fell out of favor and the challenges the industry faces as it gets back on its feet. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Notes: * 94 nuclear plants produce 20% of US power. * License extensions aim for 100-year lifespans. * $12B committed for nuclear fuel refining in Oak Ridge. * $100M Tennessee state funding for nuclear dev. * Global nuclear must triple for climate goals. * $1.7B Oklo recycling plant coming to Tennessee. Timestamps: 00:00 Start 05:51 Tennessee represent 07:56 State of the nuclear industry 10:42 Nuclear faded in USA 17:19 Barriers to Nuclear development 20:12 Reforming the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 27:01 Red tape 29:47 What other policies would be good? 32:41 China copying 34:17 Remaining chokepoints 38:05 States leading the charge 40:46 Are SMRs really a thing? 44:18 Why are SMRs taking so long? 46:21 Fusion? Are we still talking about this? 48:56 Recycling fuel

In this members-only episode, we bring you a preview of multiple firsthand encounters that stretch from the swamps of Florida to the forests of Oregon and the mountains of Idaho.A routine fishing trip in a remote Florida wildlife management area turns into a ground-shaking charge through thick brush… followed by a chilling clap that receives a deliberate response from deep within the swamp. A late-night drive in that same area ends with a snapped branch striking a vehicle and heavy footsteps closing in fast.We also hear about a towering figure discovered near a strange backwoods structure in Oregon, massive birds seen during wildfire season, eerie vocalizations near Hoodoo Mountain, and unexplained lights in the sky witnessed while living off-grid.These are raw, unfiltered accounts shared directly by the witnesses. The full conversations, deeper details, and everything that didn't make this preview are available exclusively to members.Note: To get this full episode (and tomorrow's episode) early and ad-free then become a supporting member over at https://www.bigfootsocietypodcast.com OR become a Youtube member by tapping the JOIN button.

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 383) — Did the Oppenheimer movie get the Manhattan Project right? Today, we'll dig into the film's portrayal of the project. From the Los Alamos we see in the movie to what we don't see in the movie such as Oak Ridge's massive factories, Hanford's plutonium production, and more that you don't ever see in the movie.Get Alice's bookAlice Lovejoy is the author of Tales of Militant Chemistry, film scholar, and a professor at the University of Minnesota. She'll join us today to unravel the true story behind the Manhattan Project in the movie.Find more of Alice's workArmy Film and the Avant GardeRemapping Cold War MediaVisit Alice's websiteFollow Alice on BlueskyFollow Alice on InstagramListen to the other BOATS episode on OppenheimerChapters00:00 Manhattan Project Overview04:50 Uranium vs. Plutonium Bombs09:45 Scale of the Project15:28 Einstein's Role20:42 Trinity Test Depiction25:04 Radiation Concerns30:51 Project's End & Legacy33:52 Post-War ImpactsSupport my workSupport my sponsorsBecome a BOATS ProducerEmail me: dan@basedonatruestorypodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today I'm joined by Leslie Schover, clinical psychologist turned novelist and author of Fission: A Novel of Atomic Heartbreak.Set during the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Fission explores love, ambition, secrecy, identity, and moral conflict at a moment when the world was being reshaped—both scientifically and emotionally.Drawing on her parents' lived experiences and her own deep understanding of relationships, Leslie brings a uniquely human lens to one of history's most consequential chapters.From Family Stories to Historical FictionFission is rooted in the stories your parents told about life in Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project. When did you first realize these personal memories could become a novel—and what shifted for you in turning family history into fiction?Atomic Power and Emotional FissionThe title Fission works on so many levels—scientific, emotional, relational. How did you think about the parallel between splitting the atom and the fractures within marriage, identity, and moral responsibility?Doris Friedman: Ambition, Identity, and ConstraintDoris is such a complex character—a young mother, a frustrated artist, a woman navigating marriage, ambition, antisemitism, and gender expectations in the 1940s. What drew you to tell the story through her eyes, and what does she represent to you?Psychology, Secrecy, and Relationships Under PressureAs a clinical psychologist, you've spent decades studying relationships, sexuality, and identity under stress. How did that background shape the way you portrayed marriage, desire, betrayal, and resilience in a world defined by secrecy and existential fear?Moral Ambivalence and LegacyBy the end of the novel, Doris and Rob are left with pride, guilt, love, and doubt—having helped save the world and also put it at risk. What questions do you hope readers sit with after finishing Fission, especially as we think about scientific progress and ethical responsibility today?As someone who returned to fiction after a long and impactful career in psychology and healthcare, what would you say to creatives who feel it may be ‘too late' to return to an earlier calling?