Electric Futures

We take you through the science of microgrids with UCLA’s Rajit Gadh, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and founding director of Smart Grid Energy Research Center. How does it work exactly? And is it really the technology we’ve been waiting for all along? We’ll find out.You can follow us on Instagram at ⁠⁠@usc_electricfutures⁠⁠: https://www.instagram.com/usc_electricfutures-----Electric Futures is an original podcast from the University of Southern California, hosted by me, Charles Zukoski, the Vivian Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and the former USC Provost. This series was executive produced by Allison Agsten, the director of USC’s Annenberg Center for Climate Journalism and Communication.USC Annenberg professors Mallory Carra and Megan Donis are our lead producers. Natalie Lopez and Spencer Cline are our associate producers. Rebecca Torres is our production assistant. This episode was edited and sound designed by Spencer Cline.Our cover art is by Kim Ly. All music and sound effects used with express permission under unlimited blanket license authority from Epidemic Sound. 

We’ll take you to the Shadow Mountain housing development in Menifee, California. It’s an experimental community outside of Los Angeles where 200 all-electric homes produce and store their own energy, and contribute to a community microgrid. Is this the future of new homes in California and beyond? Could this community demonstrate a better solution to fire protection?  With climate change driving more frequent incidence of extreme fire conditions, can these technologies enable safer communities?What’s life like, electrified? We hit the road to find out.You can follow us on Instagram at ⁠⁠@usc_electricfutures⁠⁠: https://www.instagram.com/usc_electricfutures-----Electric Futures is an original podcast from the University of Southern California, hosted by me, Charles Zukoski, the Vivian Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and the former USC Provost. This series was executive produced by Allison Agsten, the director of USC’s Annenberg Center for Climate Journalism and Communication.USC Annenberg professors Mallory Carra and Megan Donis are our lead producers. Natalie Lopez and Spencer Cline are our associate producers. Rebecca Torres is our production assistant. This episode was directed by Mallory Carra and Spencer Cline. It was edited and sound designed by Spencer Cline.Our cover art is by Kim Ly. All music and sound effects used with express permission under unlimited blanket license authority from Epidemic Sound. 

We talk to two expert journalists about what’s next for the U.S. Department of Energy programs and green energy during the second Trump administration. In the first half of the episode, you’ll hear the rest of my conversation with Ivan Penn from the New York Times. Then in the second, I’ll be joined by USC Journalism Professor of Professional Practice Christina Bellantoni to contextualize the politics and policies that could impact the electric future. Lastly, we’ll get an update from Kristi and Jerry in Shadow Mountain.You can follow us on Instagram at ⁠⁠@usc_electricfutures⁠⁠: Electric Futures is an original podcast from the University of Southern California, hosted by me, Charles Zukoski, the Vivian Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and the former USC Provost. This series was executive produced by Allison Agsten, the director of USC’s Annenberg Center for Climate Journalism and Communication.USC Annenberg professors Mallory Carra and Megan Donis are our lead producers. Natalie Lopez and Spencer Cline are our associate producers. Rebecca Torres is our production assistant. This episode was edited and sound designed by Spencer Cline.Our cover art is by Kim Ly. All music and sound effects used with express permission under unlimited blanket license authority from Epidemic Sound.

It’s January 20th, 2025. Donald Trump’s second term as president. He signs a slew of executive orders, including one called “Unleashing American Energy.”This order rolled back about a dozen climate change initiatives enacted by Joe Biden’s administration in 2021. Clean energy funding and programs set by 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act…were now halted.Also hanging in the balance is the Department of Energy’s projects. That includes the one we visited in Menifee during a previous episode, and two other programs we’ll explore in this episode.How do they work? Why is their role in the energy transition so important? And what’s at stake for these other communities during the second Trump Administration?You can follow us on Instagram at ⁠⁠@usc_electricfutures⁠⁠: https://www.instagram.com/usc_electricfutures-----Electric Futures is an original podcast from the University of Southern California, hosted by me, Charles Zukoski, the Vivian Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and the former USC Provost. This series was executive produced by Allison Agsten, the director of USC’s Annenberg Center for Climate Journalism and Communication.USC Annenberg professors Mallory Carra and Megan Donis are our lead producers. Natalie Lopez and Spencer Cline are our associate producers. Rebecca Torres is our production assistant. This episode was edited and sound designed by Spencer Cline.Our cover art is by Kim Ly. All music and sound effects used with express permission under unlimited blanket license authority from Epidemic Sound.

Brief description: Before fires scorched Los Angeles in January of 2025, the Electric Futures team began exploring a new neighborhood in Southern California that was built with climate disasters in mind. This community and other building projects like it generate and store their own energy, bypassing the electric grid – and blackouts. What happens now that federal support for these initiatives is starting to dry up? Can America still electrify? Our host, Chip Zukowski, finds out in Your Community, Electrified, season two of Electric Futures. Long description:The USC Annenberg Center for Climate Journalism and Communication is pleased to announce the launch of season two of Electric Futures, a podcast that focuses on the people and communities on the frontlines of the energy transition. In Your Community, Electrified, the four-episode arc dropping on June 25, 2025, host Chip Zukoski explores a new neighborhood in Southern California that was built with climate disasters in mind. This community and other building projects like it generate and store their own energy, bypassing the electric grid – and blackouts. What happens now that federal support for these initiatives has dried up? Can America still electrify? To find out, we speak to experts like: - Ivan Penn, New York Times energy correspondent- Dr. Rajit Gadh, UCLA Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and the founding director of the UCLA Smart Grid Energy Research Center- Christina Bellantoni, USC Annenberg School for Journalism Professor of Professional Practice, political pundit and former longtime political journalist and editor- Ram Narayanamurthy, Deputy Director of the Building Technologies Office at the U.S. Department of EnergyAdditional highlights include:Insights from Indiana and Washington, where we learn about other projects that bypass the grid.The science behind the electric grid, how microgrids work, and the state of grids in the U.S. Season one of the acclaimed podcast, launched in 2024, explored narratives from the Imperial Valley in Southern California, an area rich with community – and critical minerals – on the brink of an energy transformation so big, it has potential to completely change the lives of residents. Accolades for season one include:2025 LA Press Club SoCal Journalism Awards finalist, Limited Series Podcast2024 Quill Podcast Awards nominee, Best Science and Medicine PodcastCharted on the Top 50 Science Podcasts chart on Spotify and Apple PodcastsFeatured in the LA Times, La Opinion, and NPR's KCRWListeners can find both seasons of Electric Futures on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music. Follow along on Instagram at @usc_electricfutures. For further information, email [email protected].