High Energy Planet - All Episodes - Energy for Growth Hub

Latest Episodes

Episode #26 Kate Steel: On a Mission for Universal Energy Access

December 4 | 36 min

Kate Steel, co-founder and CEO of Nithio, a start-up focused on financing clean energy companies and informing climate investments in Africa. In this episode, Kate talks with Katie and Rose about how we can fund universal energy access, the off-grid sector and its trajectory, and what she learned from launching Nithio.

Episode #25 Joel Nana: There Is No One-Size-Fits-All Energy Transition

November 13 | 37 min

Joel Nana, program manager at Sustainable Energy Africa and Hub fellow, joins the show to talk about climate action planning, the importance of energy planning at a subnational level, and Africa’s solar revolution.

Episode #24 The High Energy Rewind: Season 3 Highlights with Katie and Rose

August 16 | 39 min

Welcome to the last episode of Season 3! Hosts Rose Mutiso and Katie Auth sit down together to revisit their favorite moments from the past season. They share standout clips from this season’s interviews, highlighting conversations with this season’s guests on everything from Nigeria’s net zero model to the importance of humility. Listen in to relive the laughter, lessons, and unforgettable conversations of this season of High Energy Planet.

Episode #23 Benjamin Attia: Why We Want Climate Finance to Be Boring

July 10 | 35 min

Benjamin Attia, energy transition researcher, energy systems modeler, and long-time Hub fellow, joins the show to talk about his career as a professional researcher, explain why blended finance is more than a buzzword, and help us nerd out on climate finance.

Episode #22 Sheila Herrling: Culture Is Everything

April 10 | 40 min

Sheila Herrling, the Energy for Growth Hub’s first Board Chair and expert in international development, US foreign policy, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy joins Rose and Katie for this episode of High Energy Planet. This episode explores challenges in development finance, why supporting diverse entrepreneurship is critical to creating change, and how Sheila approaches building organizational culture.

Episode #21 Murefu Barasa: Everyone Has a Role in the Energy Transition

March 13 | 43 min

Murefu Barasa, founder and managing partner at EED Advisory, comes on the show to discuss starting one of the only Pan-African energy consulting firms, how the energy sector has changed for the better (and worse) in the last decade, and the differences between the energy transition in Africa and the US.

Episode #20 Hannah Ritchie: From Climate Anxiety to Data-Driven Optimism

February 21 | 36 min

Hannah Ritchie, Deputy Editor and Lead Researcher at Our World in Data, joins Rose and Katie to explore why ending energy poverty is a top strategy for adapting to climate change, the role of scientists in activism, and the importance of data quality and availability. Hannah’s book, Not the End of the World, is out now.

Episode #19: Ask Me Anything with Katie and Rose

February 7 | 53 min

Welcome to our first ever Ask Me Anything episode! Hosts Katie Auth and Rose Mutiso sit down together to answer listeners’ questions on topics including Kenya’s role as an African clean energy leader, advice for young professionals working in energy, dream music festival lineups, and much more.

Episode #18 Tisha Schuller: Bridging Divides On Our Path To Decarbonization

January 17 | 38 min

Tisha Schuller, founder & CEO of Adamantine Energy, joins the show for a conversation on her unique perspective as an oil & gas expert working towards decarbonization, how to build trust and common ground in high-conflict situations, and why a soft heart is a super power.

Episode #17 Habiba Ahut Daggash: The Energy Transition Needs New Ideas

December 14 | 33 min

Habiba Ahut Daggash, Senior Associate with the Africa Energy Program at the Rocky Mountain Institute, discusses Nigeria’s energy transition, how climate change is more than a scientific problem, and why we need new ideas to approach development and energy poverty.

Episode #16 Tim McDonnell: Reporting on Climate and Energy With Empathy

November 29 | 29 min

Tim McDonnell, Climate & Energy Editor at Semafor, joins Rose and Katie for a conversation about his approach to climate reporting for varied audiences, the role of renewables in Ukraine’s energy security, and how he went from geotagging rattlesnakes to reporting on all things climate and energy.

Episode #15 Vijaya Ramachandran: Every Country Has the Right to Its Own Energy Choices

November 15 | 30 min

To kick off Season 3, Vijaya Ramachandran, Director for Energy and Development at the Breakthrough Institute, explains what sparked her interest in energy, talks rich country hypocrisy, and demystifies climate finance.

Episode #14 Ashvin Dayal: We Need to Redefine Energy & Development Progress

May 10 | 31 min

Dayal, Senior Vice President of Power & Climate and The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet at The Rockefeller Foundation, discusses how he got into working on energy, why he believes in raising the definition of energy access, and the power of philanthropy.

Episode #13 Moussa Blimpo: Energy is Not the Answer to Everything

April 21 | 35 mins

Blimpo, Senior Fellow at the University of Toronto’s Munk’s School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, discusses his experiences turning policy into real-world impact, his evolving views on dominant development narratives, and what climate justice means to him.

Episode #12 Uzodinma Iweala: Climate Justice Demands New African Narratives

April 6 | 39 mins

Iweala, CEO of The Africa Center, discusses the experiences and identities that led him to narrative work, how narratives are formed and how we can shape them in the development and climate justice realm, and what his definition of climate justice means for Africa.

Episode #11 Jay Taneja: Using Machine Learning to Inform Energy Access Solutions

March 23 | 29 mins

Taneja, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, discusses his work on creatively accessing data in data-poor environments, the challenges in electrification via grid connections, and his work as an engineer and professor in the development sector.

Episode #10 Katie Hill: The First Pillar of Decarbonization Needs to be Green Growth

March 8 | 26 mins

Hill, Partner & Associate Director at Boston Consulting Group, talks about the future of African cities, the imperative for green growth in low-income countries on the global path to net zero, and her outlook on scaling enterprise and service delivery in Africa.

Episode #9 Sudeshna Ghosh Banerjee: Decarbonization is a Very Long Game

February 28| 30 mins

Banerjee, practice manager in the Energy and Extractives Global Practice at the World Bank Group, talks with Katie and Rose about whether net zero makes sense for Africa, what development organizations get wrong about energy access & women, and why hydrogen could be the next solar.

Episode #8 Damilola Ogunbiyi: Putting People at the Center of Energy Transitions

January 31 | 29 mins

The CEO of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) on whether the international community is failing on SDG7, what she thinks net zero means for Africa & how she challenges the stereotype of what an African leader looks like.

Episode #7 Rebekah Shirley Lukera: Small Island Nations are Hypervisible & Hyper Invisible

July 6 | 26 mins

The director of research, data & innovation for WRI Africa talks with Katie & Rose about climate justice and building resilient energy infrastructure in small island developing states, why climate finance pledges don’t always translate to reality, obstacles to electrical vehicle uptake in Africa, and Nairobi’s reggae scene.

Episode #6: Arvind Subramanian: We Have to Fight Carbon Imperialism

June 21 | 33 mins

The former chief economic advisor to India’s government on how climate policy has become disconnected from energy needs of poorer countries, the politics of India’s electrical tariffs and why he thinks renewable energy has yet to be proven economically viable there.

Episode #5 Ken Caldeira: Let’s Align Self-Interest with Global Climate Interest

June 7 | 28 mins

One of the world’s most visionary climate scientists tells Katie & Rose why he thinks nuclear energy is key to quelling climate change and delivering prosperity to the developing world, why he’s gone all-positive on Twitter, why considering solar geoengineering won’t stop us from addressing climate change, and what he learned from pumping crocodile stomachs as a grad student.

Episode #4 Mimi Alemayehou: Climate Justice Means Africa Needs More Energy Investment

May 24 | 26 mins

The former OPIC, African Development Bank and Black Rhino Group official tells Katie & Rose why she’s frustrated with energy and climate finance double standards for Africa, how she would advise President Biden on climate & Africa, & why it’s unethical to argue Africa must stay poor to reduce climate change impacts. Plus: Katie tells Rose why she’s Amped Up about Richard Branson’s Global Cooling Prize.