The Voices’ playlist for the summer of 2022
This letter is not made to give you news of the association (yet rich but from which we hope you have benefited elsewhere), but to discreetly place in your luggage something to open your heart, mind and more generally your chakras, to the diversity of intellectual and artistic production around nuclear energy which, otherwise, would surely be sorely lacking to you this summer.
In this third edition of the Playlist of Voices, we are not departing from the tradition of promoting the diversity of formats and points of view, of honoring those who are dear to us, of multiplying the means for you to appreciate the plurality of approaches within the “pro” community itself.
Why is this important? Because we are going to have to stick together as the Voices are going to have to take positions in the public debate that will take us out of our current reserve. We have “contented ourselves” up to now with describing, putting into perspective, explaining, recalling. We’re going to start issuing a notice. On what does not yet exist.
This is a necessary, and, we are convinced, desirable evolution, of our positioning, allowing us to support both the evolution of the role and recognition of Voices in the decision-making ecosystem, and the evolution of the media and political environment around the nuclear issue to which we have contributed.
Trust us on one thing: our forward-looking positions, rare but important, will remain as partisan and technical as possible, if only because this prospective vision there – partisan and technical – is missing from the debate.
With that being said, good summer and good recovery: the start of the academic year is going to be busy.
Myrto,
for the Voices
To read
Books
La Transition n’aura pas lieu
Rémi Montgomery
Political fiction on the French energy transition.
“Ten years after Fukushima, nuclear energy is almost becoming popular again. Anti-nuclear environmental activist since his youth and candidate for the presidential election of 2022, Francis Bioche does not give up his fight against the atom. As the campaign begins, a defection by the socialist candidate reverses the electoral dynamics in her favor. Bioche benefits from the unfailing support of the environmental NGO Earth Army, which blasts social networks with the help of a brilliant Berlin entrepreneur working secretly for the Kremlin. Will these alliances be enough to conquer the Élysée? ” (translated from Amazon.fr)
The Radiance of France
Gabrielle Hecht
Written with the aim of highlighting, even denouncing, the French energy choice, this book ends up being an ode to the French nuclear program and the Messmer plan.
“From its beginnings in 1948 with the Zoé reactor and throughout its history, the issue of French nuclear power is inextricably technical and political. Gabrielle Hecht follows the tormented relations between political decision-makers and engineers; it analyzes the organization of work at the main nuclear sites; it delves into the daily life of the communities living near the power plants and brings to life the trade union and political debates that shook France. Everywhere, beyond opposition, she finds the same obsession: that of nuclear technology as a fundamental component of French national identity.” (translated from Fnac.com)
Histoire et techniques des réacteurs nucléaires et de leurs combustibles
Dominique Grenêche
“This book is a vast technical-historical fresco on nuclear reactors and the fuels they use. It first recounts in an original way the entire history of knowledge of atoms and their nuclei up to the major discovery fission and then the chain reaction that marked the birth of nuclear energy. We then explain the scientific bases of the operation of nuclear reactors, starting by exposing the main notions of nuclear physics allowing in particular to understand the interactions between neutrons and atomic nuclei and to explain fission. Based on these foundations, the most important part of this book is devoted to the genesis of the different types of reactors and their design. This makes it possible to clearly understand the why and how of the development of nuclear energy of today and to anticipate that of the future.” (translated from edpsciences)
Manga and comics
A Worker’s Graphic Memoir of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant
Kazuto Tatsuta
“Since the Chernobyl accident, the destruction of part of the Fukushima power plant is the most terrible civil nuclear disaster that has hit the planet. Following this event, a manga author was hired anonymously as a worker to work in the plant in order to tell the daily life of this factory and its damaged reactors.” (translated from Amazon.fr)
Au coeur de l’énergie nucléaire
Peb, Zoé Thouron
“This comic offers an understanding of the characteristics of materials and the challenges of the nuclear production cycle. Through the work of eleven doctoral students from the CEA Paris-Saclay center, this album allows any reader, even without scientific knowledge, to understand the importance of research on materials to ensure nuclear production in complete safety.” (translated from Amazon.fr)
La bombe
Denis Rodier
“On August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb ravaged Hiroshima. […] But in what context, how and by whom could this instrument of death have been developed?
A veritable saga of 450 pages, this graphic novel tells the backstage and the key characters of this historic event […]. From the uranium mines of Katanga to Japan, via Germany, Norway, the USSR and New Mexico, it is a succession of incredible but true facts that have thus unfolded”. (Glénat.com)
Available in French, German, Dutch and Italian.
Fake or not – Energies
Maxence Cordiez
Congratulations to Maxence for this publication! Now a “former” administrator of the Voices, whom we thank for his involvement, Maxence is a valued contributor to the activities and to the public recognition of who we are and the values we hold.
Meeting environmental challenges is the major challenge facing our societies. How can we see more clearly in the magma of information, assertions and rumors that overwhelms us? The Fake or not collection helps us to disentangle the real from the fake.
Media
28 Minutes
In the episode “Carbon neutrality: is the future in nuclear?” Myrto Tripathi, president of the Voices, takes part in the discussion on nuclear power in view of President Emmanuel Macron’s announcements made in Belfort on the revival of the French nuclear construction industry.
To watch on our website (in French).
Nucléaire: une énergie qui dérange (2022)
Documentary
“While nearly one in two French people consider the maintenance of our current nuclear capacities a priority, the atom is making a remarkable comeback to the forefront. Thanks to the fight against global warming, in the search for reaffirmed energy independence, or even to limit the surge in electricity prices, all politicians – or almost – seem to recommend its remedy. However, it is legitimate to study this source of energy and the fantasies it conveys. What is it really ? Professionals and experts give us the keys to better understand the atom.” (description on YouTube)
Available on YouTube. (Auto-translation of the French substitles to English possible).
EDF : un géant sous tension (2022)
Documentary
Another documentary on nuclear power, an anti-example in our opinion. Last January, France 2 broadcasted a documentary from the “Complément d’Enquête” series entitled “EDF: a giant under tension”. One of the excerpts speaks explicitly of the Voices of Nuclear and Brice Lalonde, former Minister of Ecology and a friend of the Voices.
The Voices in the media
It has not missed your attention that our website has had a facelift for some time. But did you know that you can also find all our media appearances on a dedicated page? Be sure to check it out here, and check back regularly for updates!
To listen
Music
Atomic
Blondie
Atomic is a song by Blondie and the third single from Eat to the Beat, released in 1979.
Listen to this song on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube.
Reactor
Woodkid
French musician Yohann Lemoine, aka Woodkid released this track on his vibrant and melancholy album “S16”.
Listen to this song on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube.
To watch
Don’t Look Up (2021)
Adam McKay
Any resemblance to the media’s treatment of global warming and the dependence of our societies on fossil fuels is not entirely coincidental.
“Convinced that a meteorite is about to destroy the Earth, two astronomers with little credibility in the eyes of the population embark on a media tour to warn humanity of the probable and inevitable end of the world.” (translated from Allociné.fr)
Fantomas Unleashed (1964)
André Hunebelle
This film was shot in 1964 partly in the Chinon nuclear power plant. You can see the old reactor n°1, nicknamed the “Ball”, during the kidnapping of Professor Marchand, as well as the workshop of irradiated materials which serves as the setting for the secret laboratory of Fantômas.
White Wall (2020)
Finnish-Swedish TV series
Big-budget Finnish-Swedish television series about the discovery of a mysterious white wall deep in an under-construction nuclear waste landfill.
For All Mankind (2019)
American TV series
(Season 3 currently airing)
Between each season, short videos explain how the dystopia they develop differs from historical facts. Notably, in their universe, fusion is mastered in 1987, and requires the exploitation of the Moon for the fuel of a fusion engine.
Manhattan (2014)
American TV series
“Manhattan is based on the project of the same name which produced the first atomic bombs. Although some historical figures appear in Manhattan most of the characters are fictional, and the series does not claim to be faithful to real history.” (translated from Wikipedia)
OVNI(s) (2021)
French TV series
“1978. Didier Mathure, a brilliant space engineer, is transferred to the head of an investigation office specializing in UFOs. His mission: to find scientific explanations for the appearances of flying saucers which make headlines. A real hell for this Cartesian inveterate, but an extraordinary event will upset his certainties and open the doors to a world where nothing is impossible, like the appearance of a giant cotton candy in the fictitious nuclear power plant of Laubiac”. (translated from IMDb)
“L’énergie nucléaire” – the pitch of Myrto Tripathi
TEDxUTCompiègne
“Nuclear power is a lever that we cannot do without to meet climatic / ecological challenges. Trained as an engineer, M. Tripathi campaigns for a more rational ecology through the association she created, Voices of Nuclear”.
Available on YouTube. (in French)
To play
Energy Island Corp
Spirkop Games
“Build and manage a power grid on an island! At the start of each day, build new infrastructure and plan your day. Once ready, start the day and see real-time power consumption to adjust production. Island depends on you!” (Steam)
Power to the People
Hermes Interactive
“Build and maintain a power grid for an ever-growing population, while facing all kinds of disasters in this breathtaking resource management experience. It’s time for you to bring light to the people! Can you rise to the challenge? ” (Steam)
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