⚡ “1st Pod in a Nuclear Reactor” — Inside Oklo’s Cancer-Fighting, Waste-Killing Reactor

September 18, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Inside a nuclear reactor, the water in the pool above the core is so pure and so effective at blocking radiation that you could swim in it. That is just one of the counterintuitive facts Jacob DeWitt, co-founder and CEO of Oklo, shares while standing next to the company’s newly critical reactor in Lockhart, Texas — the first podcast ever recorded inside an operating nuclear facility. DeWitt, an MIT-trained nuclear engineer and former Florida Gator walk-on football player, is building a company that aims to un-cancel the most canceled technology in America by making reactors that are tiny, beautiful, and capable of eating nuclear waste.

What a nuclear reactor actually is

DeWitt starts with the basics. A nuclear reactor is a machine that sustains a controlled chain reaction. When an atom of uranium splits, it releases two or three neutrons, which go on to split other atoms. If the number of splits stays constant from one generation to the next, the reactor is “critical” — it is on, producing steady heat. That heat, generated by the kinetic energy of the splitting atoms depositing into the surrounding material, is transferred by a coolant, which then boils water into steam. The steam spins a turbine, and the turbine spins magnets inside a generator to produce electricity.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:02) **Episode Introduction & Setting** - Nick and Jack introduce the episode as their best interview yet, recorded inside a nuclear reactor in Texas.
2 (00:57) **Guest Introduction: Jacob DeWitt** - The hosts welcome the co-founder and CEO of Oklo, setting up his background and the stakes of the interview.
3 (03:18) **Origin Story: The Pencil Eraser Pellet** - Jake explains how a tiny pellet of nuclear fuel sparked his lifelong fascination with atomic energy.
4 (06:43) **Nuclear Dictionary: Key Terms** - Jake defines the essential vocabulary for understanding how a nuclear reactor works.
5 (09:06) **Three Differentiators: Tiny, Sexy, Tidy** - The hosts outline Oklo’s three key advantages: small size, attractive design, and waste-free operation.
6 (11:11) **Why Fast Reactors Were Abandoned — and Why Now** - Jake explains the history of fast reactor technology and why it’s being revived today.
7 (15:27) **Building a Reactor in 11 Months** - The hosts marvel at how Oklo built the first privately funded nuclear reactor in record time.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

You read that right: The first podcast we’re aware of recorded inside a nuclear reactor.

Yetis, the team at Oklo are fans of the show - And they paid to fly us down to Texas to visit their Nuclear Reactor and sponsor this episode. We sat down with their co-founder and CEO Jake DeWitte literally feet from a silo with splitting atoms so we could explore this wild new technology. And we interviewed Jake just like we would any CEO.

Because they’re building the most unique nuclear reactor in history: It’s tiny, tidy, and sexy. This next-gen nuclear power company runs on recycled fuel, it fits beside a data center, and it’s designed to look like a luxurious ski chalet.

Oklo was invested in early by Sam Altman (who became the Chairman) and is one of the few publicly-traded nuclear brands. And we say “brand” because they’re building a lifestyle brand - The Lululemon of Nuclear. Their vision is handful of nuclear company towns, where you work, live, eat, date, and play, all powered by a safe local nuclear reactor. And in addition to carbon-free electricity running on recycled uranium, they (no big deal) generate isotopes that can cure cancer.

Jake will tell us how they pulled off a nuclear breakthrough worthy of a 2nd Oppenheimer movie. And why the financials of a pre-revenue company justify the $8B valuation Wall Street’s given it. Plus, you’ll discover why a reactor glows blue, why he'd drink the water, and the one thing he disagrees with Sam Altman about.

$OKLO

Jack’s grad school essay on nuclear: More Nuclear Power Now

Yetis and Besties, this one's a field trip.

CHAPTERS

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