The Fascinating Life of the 'Father of the Nuclear Navy'

Nick Touran tells the story of Admiral Hyman Rickover, the “Father of the Nuclear Navy” and author of the legendary "Paper Reactor" memo. We discover how Rickover’s hard-driving management and obsession with practical engineering shaped not just the US nuclear navy, but the entire landscape of modern nuclear power.

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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
03:50 Rickover's Early Life and Career
09:38 Rickover's Naval Achievements
17:28 Development of Nuclear Submarines
24:51 Challenges in Nuclear Submarine Development
36:09 Technical Challenges and Innovations
38:06 The Sodium-Cooled Reactor Dilemma
41:37 Comparing U.S. and Soviet Nuclear Submarines
42:59 Rickover's Leadership and Legacy
50:00 The Future of Nuclear Power
54:58 Shippingport and the Rise of PWRs
01:03:33 Rickover's Later Years and Views on Nuclear Power
01:08:07 The Capabilities of Nuclear Submarines
01:10:35 Lessons from Rickover for Modern Nuclear Development
01:12:49 The Importance of Human Factors in Nuclear Projects
01:14:41 Closing Thoughts

[jeffplumblee]

I would 100% buy a pull string Rickover toy that said his famous quotes. Get on that immediately

[thomasgreene]

Anyone in reactor development should reflect on the fact that Rickover was authorized to develop submarine reactors in late 1948, and starting with paper concepts, developed and built two full-scale prototypes, built the ship reactors, built the submarines, put the PWR sub to sea in January 1955, a bit more than six years later, and the sub with the sodium reactor went to sea two years later, in 1957.

[harlandfazardo]

I was a Navel Nuclear Submariner in the 1970s. Rickover was still involved in the navy nuclear program at this time. One of the stories about Rickover was he would personally interview all the officers in HIS program. One of his favorite questions was he would tell them to do something to piss him off, and if successful they would immediately be thrown out of his office. Of course, there are many stories of what these officers did in response to this demand.

[richardstaples]

Your portrayal of the young Rickover studying so hard reminds me of Yamamoto, who is said to have sat studying late at night with minimal clothing to stay awake.

[scottmedwid]

Thank you for posting this Tuesday, November 5. Listening to this this morning will be a nice break from election coverage here in the States ... just finished listening to this episode, once again I learned a ton. Thank you for your great work!

[thomasgreene]

If you want a fuller understanding of Rickover and his methods, read Ted Rockwell's book "The Rickover Effect: How One Man Made a Difference". Rockwell met Rickover at Oak Ridge in 1946, worked directly for him until the mid-1960s, and kept in touch with him until his passing. Rockwell was a perceptive fellow, and he paints a vivid portrait of the man and those early, formative days of reactor development.

[jeffersonkent]

One of my favorite podcasts. thank you very much.

[northerncaptain]

Back in the mid 70’s Admiral Rickover Insisted on personally interviewing and approving every Naval Officer to enter the Naval Nuclear Program. My former roommate upon commissioning was a candidate and upon his personal interview, Rickover somewhat rudely turned him down. My ex-roommate was crushed and left the Navy upon completion of his enlistment. Whether Rickover was correct or not who can say.

[achalhp]

Please also do an episode on Alvin Weinberg.

[johnstubbe]

My dad was the engineer in charge of building the heat exchangers for the first nuclear subs took me to shipping port on the way to the worlds fair 1965 I think and we stopped at shipping port and we’re standing next to the reactor dome and my dad pulled out a pamphlet put out by Amrik over and he said unfortunately, takes too much power to refine the fuel to be economically Viable.

Then I was reading a Google search on Admiral Rickover, and one of his statements was that if they had released the 3 mile island, the full report which they did not nuclear power would’ve been killed than in there

[BillHerleth]

To me the most striking aspect of Rickover is that he was not selected to Lawrence Hafstad's replacement as director of the Reactor Development division of the AEC when Hafstad left in 1955. Despite having the technical qualifications, he had such poor relations with the National Labs and industry that he wasn't offered the job.

[hogey]

Thanks gents. FWIW, I believe that the meanings of "professional" and "amateur" have swapped over time. Amateurs were seen as the experts because their knowledge and skill were accrued because of their love of the thing, L'Amour. Professionals were seen as less credible because they were just doing it for a job. While emotion can get in the way of rigor, I do think there is still something in that.

[lahockeyboy]

My great grandfather worked for Bailey Controls which made a lot of the steam turbine controls and parts for the Nautilus.

[jaydenwilson]

2:50

Gentle!?


That's a follow buddy!

And not obnoxious at all! (What you said after.... very well-done actually!)

[waywardgeologist]

So he was the Godfather of zirconium. Very cool.

[NomenNescio]

It would be nice to have back Mark Nelson and his mustache on the show again as well.

[mlm]

To all the Nuke Students that took their life while under the rigorous schooling and the lack of help from the Navy. They were cast aside. I was one but Idaho Falls saved me. This was back in the 70's.
One Officer responded that the guys werent very good sailors. Recruiters took many that weren't qualified to complete the schooling.

[chrisjohns]

Nick, regarding your question as to whether or not Rickover needed to publicly humiliate staff, you’d know better than anyone given your day job history and the first major effort therein. Looking back now, where would your company be today had the CTO been a Rickover disciple?

[saltymonke]

USS Scorpion was caused by a hydrogen explosion in the battery compartment, likely caused by static electricity from a crew during charging. Since then, USN changed their procedures after that in the engine room, and there's no more accident related to the battery compartment on both submarine and surface vessels.

[leontb]

Great stuff! Thankyou so much for these continuing insights of nuclear past, present and future, Chris!
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