Nuclear Hotseat Hosted By Libbe Halevy

SPECIAL: Full coverage of the trial of the Four Grandmothers, whose Mother's Day protest at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station got them arrested for attempting to plant flowers on the Entergy property. Interviews with Cape Cod Downwinders co-founder Diane Turco; a first-time activist, 71-year-old Mary Conathan; and attorney Bruce Taub. PLUS: Halloween is scary - and what's scarier than nuclear? A whole bunch of activists weigh in on their worst nuclear fears - BWAAAAHAHAHA...

INTERVIEWS: Don Hancock of Southwest Research and Information Center provides another sterling update on the fan restart at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site in Carlsbad, NM; and One from the Vault, Nuclear Hotseat #7 from July 26, 2011 - interview w/Jon Solomon, VP of Purchasing for Eden Foods, on the food safety protocol the company put in place in the days immediately after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster began. NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: Nuclear tourism to New Mexico - take the kids! PLUS: Stunner! NRC's MacFarlane announces retirement from Commission 4 years early; Gundersen says Fukushima surrounded by gamma radiation haze as cesium and strontium 90 levels in the water continue to skyrocket - Japan radiation release now seen to be almost four times worse than Chernobyl; Dr. Caldicott now will be allowed to testify in trial of The Four Grandmothers for trespass while planting protest flowers at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant on Mother's Day; Special report from Frieze Art Show as "Ambivalent?

INTERVIEWS: Two looks across the Pacific at the fate of the USS Ronald Reagan after being hit with the heaviest of Fukushima's radiation: Mr. Masahiko Gotu on legal actions to prevent the US and Japanese government's plans to home port the Reagan in Yokusuka; and southern California veteran activist Carol Jahnkow with the background on the history of nuclear ships in San Diego, where the Reagan is currently docked, and the dangers posed by our atomic fleet. NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: Did the Japanese government actually think the cities currently storing contaminated waste would be willing to extend their commitment past the originally promised three years??? PLUS: Typhoon Vongfong threatens Fukushima Daiichi with record rain, storm surges and possible tornadoes as last week's Typhoon Phanfone caused radiation surges of up to 10 times previous records; California's "top energy cop" Michael Peevey resigns from Public Utilities Commission... but not before he still gets a chance to swing San Onofre decision in f

INTERVIEW: Dr. Helen Caldicott - Nobel Peace Prize nominee, founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility, pediatrician, veteran anti-nuclear activist and author, discusses her latest book, "Crisis Without End." NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: When your nuclear reactor has cracks in its core, just say you expected them and now expect some more and everyone steps away from their panic - oy! PLUS: Did the explosion near the Parchin military facility near Tehran in Iran have anything to do with their nuclear program? Typhoon Phanfone triggers alarms at Fukushima Units 1 & 3 with new water leaks; Congress wakes up and joins Native American tribe in opposing Ontario's proposed nuclear waste dump less than a mile from the shores of Lake Huron; Judge upholds 20-year ban on new uranium mines near Grand Canyon; DOE misses deadline to start pumping nuke waste from leaking Hanford storage tank, so Washington state gives 'em another 18 months! And given the radiation rates among reindeer in Norway, Rudolph won't be the onl

INTERVIEWS: Southwest Radiation Leak Update: What's really happening at WIPP and WCS? Don Hancock of Southwest Resource and Information Center corrects some misinformation and brings us up to date on the real info regarding the problems at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico, while Karen Hadden of SEED Coalition in Texas enumerates the problems with the waste that couldn't go to WIPP that ended up at Waste Control Specialists (WCS) in Andrews, Texas. NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: Radioactive soup as conceptual art? Mmm, mmm good (or not)! PLUS: fuel rods losing uranium pellets at North Anna, hot spots found on ocean floor within 25 kilometers/15 miles of Fukushima, Exelon asks Illinois for a mere $580 million to keep its nuclear reactors running and Pakistan wants a larger place at the nuclear table - what could go wrong?

INTERVIEWS: Special report on last Sunday's massive Climate Change March in New York City with Michael Mariotte, President of NIRS; graphic designer Gail Payne; and long time Boston activist Dr. Sheila Parks. NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: the nuke industry itself decodes what bankers hear when the industry speaks. It's a guidebook for our presentations to anyone in the financial world that undermines the nukers! PLUS: new leak suspected at WIPP; more Fukushima water woes; and Japanese Prime MInister Abe-baby says Japan's closed nuclear reactors will not be reopened "unless safety is restored 100%!" And considering that's not possible, if he keeps his word they will never be started again. (Japanese escape clause: define "safety")

INTERVIEW SHOW: Beverly Findlay-Kaneko, Nuclear Hotseat's "boots on the ground" in Japan, on the recent death of Japanese broadcaster Masaki Iwaji - suicide or something more sinister? Beverly weighs in with exclusive information on that story, plus reports on the impact of Japan's right-wing militarization push on the anti-nuclear movement and her time spent on retreat in the mountains with mothers and children from Fukushima. Then award-winning journalist Karl Grossman fills us in on Nukes in Space and the recent breakthroughs in solar-powered interplanetary flight.

INTERVIEW: Nancy Burton, founder of the Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone, on the horrifying history of Connecticut's aging Millstone nuclear power station, on the ongoing dangers posed by owner/operator Dominion Resources' bottom line approach to safety, and the unreported radiation release that happened during the double-reactor shutdown on May 25, 2014. NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: The international nuclear industry is so screwed up, it qualifies. I wouldn't buy a used car from these idiots. PLUS: New Mexico's Environment Department Secretary accuses the US Department of Energy of blocking the state's probe of the Feb. 14 accident and radiation leak at the WIPP site in Carlsbad; radiation found in US west coast meat, fish, milk, vegetation... in 2011 and 2012 and they're just getting around to telling us now; Greenpeace activists on trial in France for proving their security's a joke by breaking in and getting 20 activists atop one of the containment buildings; India doesn't get its nuke deal w/Japan,

INTERVIEWS: Kevin Kamps of Beyond Nuclear explains the recent outrageous decisions by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to lift all delays in reactor license extensions and proposed new builds, along with now-former-Commissioner Magwood's blatant conflict of interest; and Don Hancock of Southwest Information and Research Center updates us on the WIPP Valentine's Day radiation leak, including EPA findings on deficiencies and errors in radiation monitoring data. NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: Do we really have to import nuclear waste from other countries? Indeed, we do... PLUS: TEPCO OOPS - 800+ pound console falls into Fukushima Unit 3 spent fuel pool during an operation to remove debris from Unit 3 spent fuel pool; 104 children now diagnosed with thyroid Cancer in Fukushima; harrowing testimony by former Fukushima Chief, the late Masao Yoshida, released to the public in Japanese and English; Millstone May 25 dual emergency shutdowns DID release radiation despite Dominion's claims to the contrary; and German activ

SPECIAL REPORT: San Diego Federal Court hearing in the $1 billion lawsuit by the sailors of the USS Reagan vs. Tokyo Electric Power Company based on their exposure to lethal levels of radiation following the start of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Interviews with attorneys Charles Bonner and Paul Garner, USS Reagan sailor Steve Simmons, and his wife, Summer Simmons. NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: Does the nuclear industry actually pay its trolls to remove Dr. Ian Fairlie's article from academic databases? It seems that it does... PLUS: 6 months after WIPP Valentine's Day accident, EPA, admits to mistakes in air monitoring for radiation; NRC admits hackers succeeded in breaking into security at US nuclear power plants -- twice; Japan admits that multiple fuel cores ejected from Fukushima reactors, releasing inhalable radioactive dust particles; TEPCO official wept in Prime Minister Kan's officen about Fukushima being "beyond our control"... but no one told the US Navy so it could keep USS Reagan sailors sa

INTERVIEW: Dr. Ian Fairlie on his correlation of more than 60 studies on the impact of nuclear reactors on children who live within 3 miles of a nuclear reactor -- and which shows a 37% increase in leukemia rates in kids 5 and under. NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: Grand Hyatt Fukuoka's "Fukushima Supporter Chef" feeds fresh, local, irradiated produce to the hotel's guests. PLUS: Japanese government accused of "crimes against humanity" in its refusal to evacuate children from Fukushima; French nuclear safety group calls Fukushima "comparable to the most contaminated areas around the Chernobyl accident;" safety violations found at Waterford, Connecticut's Millstone NPP; South Korea and Australia both desperate to find storage for nuclear waste; and nuke industry targets bank boards of directors to skew support for their future funding - oy!

INTERVIEW: Kumar Sundaram, India's "Nuclear Gandhi," on his recent trip to Japan to raise awareness of the pending deal for Japan to sell nuclear technology to India. MINI-INTERVIEW: Beverly Kerr, Associate Director of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, comments on last week's Numnutz of the Week about the scuttled Oak Ridge Nat'l Lab plans to offer Southern accent reduction classes at $805/person. NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: the NRC wants to join the fun on Facebook! "Friends?" PLUS: Water, radioactive water everywhere and TEPCO hasn't a plan or a clue; Thyroid cancer rates way up in Fukushima children despite government officials trying to squelch the info; Chernobyl nesting sarcophagi; Top PR companies refuse to work with climate deniers - now when will they take that stance on nukes?

INTERVIEWS: Dr. Catherine Thomasson, Executive Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility - Hiroshima Day interview on the current state of nuclear weapons and the dangers they still represent; and award-winning journalist Karl Grossman on recent developments in solar space propulsion technology that gives lie to the nuclear industry's claims that only nukes can power inter-planetary exploration. NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: C'mon down to Oak Ridge, y'all! PLUS: Government confirms 1,750 USS Reagan sailors to date have unusual health developments; WIPP plant gets new monitors in anticipation of possible additional radiation leaks; too much radiation to comprehend in Japan; and a new report by Joe Mangano and Dr. Janette Sherman confirms that radiation illnesses spiked after Fukushima. We all knew it; they just had to prove it, and they did.

INTERVIEWS: USS Reagan veteran Steve Simmons, an interviewee on Nuclear Hotseat #159, offers a well reasoned and deeply felt response to the US military's recent report that denied Fukushima radiation could have anything to do with Steve's and 111 other sailors' catastrophic illnesses. Joseph Mangano, Executive Director of Radiation and Public Health Project, offers an epidemiological analysis of that report, pointing out its historic similarity to other times the US government downplayed nuclear dangers. NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: If the officers in charge of arming and firing US nuclear missiles can't pass their tests, the Air Force has the answer: change the way they're graded! PLUS: More animal species in collapse; shots fired at Braidwood NPP in Illinois; and the Great (Ice) Wall Of Japan? No ice, no dice!

INTERVIEW: Alex Rosen, a German pediatrician who is Vice President of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War in Germany and a former Vice chair of the International IPPNW Board of Directors. He uses that organization's recently published Critical Analysis of the UNSCEAR radiation report on Fukushima to decode its flawed methodology and demolish its credibility. NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK - kids "education" program from Fukushima City government, "Let's Build a Radiation Resistant Body!" contains nothing but measures guaranteed to expose the kids to more radiation. Why does Japan so hate its children? PLUS: WIPP management gets a monetary bonus for "excellence" five days before radleak shuts it down, possibly forever; PM Abe-baby vows to reopen nukes in Japan "by some means or another;" and three separate US nuclear facilities inspire another "DUCK! and Cover" report.

INTERVIEWS: Don Hancock of Southwest Research and Information Center again updates us on the latest problems at the WIPP nuclear waste repository in Carlsbad, NM; Scott Portzline of Three Mile Island Alert helps us understand the flawed nature of the NRC's computer progra to analyze potential nuclear accident consequences; and our Voices from Japan series presents filmmaker Yumiko Hayakawa talking about TEPCO censorship against her film, "A Woman from Fukushima."

Interview: Steve Simmons, who was aboard the USS Ronald Reagan when it went through the radiation plume from Fukushima Daiichi, gives a candid interview about what it was like aboard the ship as life-changing decisions got made, his declining health and frustrations with a governmental health system that refused to consider radiation as the cause of his illnesses and denied an accurate diagnosis. Powerful information in advance of the next hearing in the lawsuit against TEPCO for medical damages to our military personnel. PLUS: Anti-nuclear news, Numnutz of the Week and the new Ma Nature report.

INTERVIEWS: Donna Gilmore of San Onofre Safety breaks down the dangers of inferior dry casks for storage of San Onofre's waste for high burn-up fuel. Breaking News report from Three Mile Island Alert's Scott Portzline on a new cyber-threat to US energy companies, including nukes. When is an NRC "Unusual Event" not an Unusual Event? When it's Numnutz of the Week! PLUS: Rad levels up at WIPP; Fukushima radiation release into ocean now dwarfs Chernobyl's releases on land and at sea; Japan accidentally nuke-free for the summer; and if you're flying, watch out that those sweet treats they serve weren't manufactured in Fukushima!

INTERVIEW: Nuclear engineer Ernie Goitein offers clear explanations of engineering problems w/aging nuclear plants and provides a new insight as to how nukes directly impact global warming. Then Tim Judson, Executive Director of Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS). PLUS: Fort Calhoun NPP faces flooding from the Missouri River... again; call for NRC Commissioner Magwood to resign in conflict of interest case; cow showing possible radiation-created "dots" brought to Tokyo in protest by Fukushima Prefecture farmers; Aboriginal people in Australia force proposed Muckaty nuke dump out of business; Russia cracks down on anti-nuke activists; and Prime Minister "Numnutz" Abe-baby now wants foreign experts to help with Fukushima "decommissioning," just not OUR experts.

Nuclear Hotseat celebrates three years of weekly production with a brief look back at where it all began. Plus a featured interview w/Don Hancock of Southwest Research and Information Center on the continuing situation at the WIPP site in Carlsbad, NM, site of the February 14 plutonium leak. AND: Fukushima children's thyroid cancer cases increasing, ice wall around reactors refuses to freeze, Pacific Ocean continues ecological catastrophe as more species collapse, Greenpeace say French renewables cheaper than nukes by 2019, and what makes Pakistan smarter than the US? HINT: it's not the cheese...