Ep. 180 - Nuclear Power, AI, and the Race to Build America’s Energy Future w/Kevin Kong

In this episode of the Federal Newswire Lunch Hour Podcast, host Andrew Langer speaks with Kevin Kong, founder and CEO of Everstar, about why America’s energy future depends on nuclear power — and why the time to move is now. Kong explains Everstar’s mission to use AI to accelerate nuclear deployment by tackling one of the industry’s biggest bottlenecks: the permitting, compliance, and regulatory process. He argues that nuclear is the only energy source that is dense, reliable, and clean enough to power the next great leap in human progress — including the massive electricity demands coming from AI, data centers, advanced industry, and future economic growth. The conversation explores why America has fallen behind in nuclear development, how decades of regulatory buildup have made projects too expensive and too slow, and why China is rapidly pulling ahead by building reactors at scale. Kong makes the case that the United States needs a full national push — across government, industry, and manufacturing — to rebuild domestic nuclear capacity and reclaim leadership in the technologies that will shape the next century. The discussion also covers: • Why AI demand is making grid expansion an urgent national priority • How advanced reactors, small modular reactors, and microreactors could change deployment • Why existing U.S. reactors may be the fastest source of additional nuclear power • The role of permitting reform, NRC reform, DOE pathways, and congressional action • Why nuclear export capability is also a geopolitical competition with China and Russia • How America can return to being a nation of builders, engineers, and energy abundance This is a wide-ranging conversation about nuclear innovation, regulatory reform, energy security, AI infrastructure, and why America cannot afford to keep falling behind. 00:00 — Introduction and Kevin Kong joins the podcast 01:20 — Everstar’s mission and why nuclear matters 02:27 — Energy abundance and the next leap for humanity 03:06 — Why modern nuclear is safer than people think 05:19 — AI, data centers, and exploding electricity demand 08:11 — Small modular reactors and microreactors explained 10:56 — The fastest path: more power from existing reactors 11:51 — How Everstar uses AI to tackle regulatory bottlenecks 13:09 — The paperwork problem and why nuclear takes so long 15:50 — Risk, regulation, and the politics of nuclear power 19:38 — Why younger generations are more pro-nuclear 21:40 — China, Korea, and the global nuclear export race 25:57 — DOE, NRC, and what government needs to fix 29:03 — Why America needs a full national nuclear push 33:22 — Kevin Kong’s background and what drives his work 36:30 — Where to follow Everstar and closing thoughts Follow us on social mediaX: @TheLunchHourPodInstagram: the_lunchhour_podLinkedIn: Lunch Hour PodcastTikTok: lunchhourpod Find more at Washington SignalYour source for policy, national security, and investigative journalism.https://washingtonsignal.com/