Power Buried: How Fear, Politics, and Curio Are Rewriting America’s Nuclear Future

The Next Steps Show

Guest: Hon. Ed McGinnis, CEO of Curio
Host: Peter Vazquez

Peter Vazquez:
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Mira la izquierda, mira la derecha—what do you see? In a world that seems to change daily, what will you do next? Welcome to The Next Steps Show with Peter Vazquez, a starting point for discussion y un poco de dirección.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. This is Joe Peter Vazquez with you for another beautiful noon hour. I say it often because I truly mean it—I appreciate every listener who takes the time to join me. Nothing tops the opportunity to spend this hour together.

Here in the United States, we talk a lot about nuclear waste. But what we are really wasting is courage. In those steel casks across America, there is enough clean energy to power our nation for 150 years. Yet we are too afraid to use it. That is not science holding us back—it is politics, fear dressed up as policy.

America’s nuclear story has always been one of immense promise shadowed by unfinished business. For decades, we have generated clean, carbon-free energy but left behind a growing legacy of so-called waste. Politicians debate it, the media distorts it, but few understand it.

Today, the United States holds over 90,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel—adding another 2,000 tons every year. Our guest today has spent more than three decades at the Department of Energy. He helped shape nuclear policy through key roles in nonproliferation, international cooperation, and served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, as well as Acting Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy.

Joining me is the Honorable Ed McGinnis, Chief Executive Officer of Curio, the company leading the effort to turn America’s nuclear waste problem into a clean energy solution. Señor McGinnis, welcome to The Next Steps Show.

Ed McGinnis:
Thank you, Peter. It is a pleasure to be here and to talk about an issue that truly matters for America’s future.

Peter Vazquez:
It is great to have you. Let us start at the beginning—your experience in energy policy spans more than 30 years. Tell us about that and how it led you to Curio.

Ed McGinnis:
I spent over three decades in the U.S. Department of Energy, serving the American taxpayer in various nuclear-related roles. Early in my career, I focused on nonproliferation—securing nuclear materials from falling into the wrong hands. Later, under President George W. Bush, I was part of a major initiative to re-establish America’s global leadership in nuclear energy, known as the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership.

The United States invented the nuclear power industry—from the Manhattan Project to the first commercial reactors—but by the 1970s, political fear overtook scientific leadership. President Carter placed a moratorium on reprocessing nuclear fuel, believing it would discourage other nations from pursuing nuclear weapons programs. Unfortunately, that strategy failed. Today, Russia, France, China, and Japan all reprocess nuclear fuel. We do not.

Under President Bush, we tried to restore that leadership, but after eight years, the effort ran out of time. When President Obama took office, he ended the recycling push altogether, doubling down on the once-through policy: use the fuel once, then attempt to bury it at Yucca Mountain. That decision created both a national security risk and an energy waste crisis.

Peter Vazquez:
And that is the root of today’s nuclear impasse—mountains of unused energy, treated as waste.

Ed McGinnis:
Exactly. The Department of Energy collected billions in fees from utilities to fund Yucca Mountain, but the waste was never picked up. That money—about $50 billion—is now tied up, and taxpayers are paying again through court-ordered settlements because the government failed to deliver on its legal obligation. It is an absurd and costly failure.

Peter Vazquez:
So while Washington stalled, other nations advanced. Curio seems to be stepping into that gap.

Ed McGinnis:
Yes. At Curio, we view nuclear “waste” as slightly used nuclear fuel. After five years in a reactor, only 3 to 4 percent of its energy is used. The rest can be recycled to produce electricity, valuable isotopes, and even critical materials like rhodium—currently one of the most expensive metals in the world. There is enough rhodium in U.S. spent fuel to supply ten percent of the global market annually.

Our process will recover those resources while reducing actual waste by over 95 percent. What remains will only need secure storage for about 300 years—not a million.

Peter Vazquez:
That is revolutionary. So we are not only talking about energy independence, but also resource independence and national security.

Ed McGinnis:
Precisely. Recycling this material eliminates dependence on countries like Russia for critical isotopes and metals. It also turns a perceived liability into a treasure trove of opportunity.

Peter Vazquez:
That is a bold step forward. Let us take a brief pause to acknowledge our sponsors.

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Peter Vazquez:
Welcome back to The Next Steps Show on the Voice of Liberty Network. My guest is the Hon. Ed McGinnis, CEO of Curio. Ed, you have described how Curio’s technology closes the fuel cycle. But this issue goes beyond science—there is a moral and political failure behind our fear of nuclear energy.

Ed McGinnis:
Yes. Fear has replaced reason. When we abandoned reprocessing, we surrendered leadership to others. The same material that powers our reactors could provide carbon-free electricity for 150 years. Yet, because of political hesitation, we store it behind concrete walls while paying hundreds of millions in damages every year.

Our company’s goal is to restore balance—to use the full potential of the nuclear cycle responsibly, with modern safeguards and environmental accountability.

Peter Vazquez:
And the benefits go beyond power generation. There are real economic and industrial implications.

Ed McGinnis:
That is correct. Our planned facility will be the largest nuclear fuel recycling operation in the world, creating over 3,500 permanent, skilled jobs. These are long-term, generational positions—welders, engineers, technicians, and scientists—supporting a technology corridor that could redefine American manufacturing.

The state that hosts our plant will become the world’s largest producer of clean nuclear fuel, powering industries, data centers, and even AI infrastructure that cannot afford interruptions.

Peter Vazquez:
That brings us to New York’s energy policies. The state is pushing for all-electric buildings without addressing the lack of base-load capacity.

Ed McGinnis:
Exactly. The All-Electric Building Act mandates electrification without ensuring enough generation. When wind stops or the sun sets, you need dependable power. Nuclear plants provide that—running continuously for 18 to 24 months before refueling. That reliability keeps lights on and prices stable.

Peter Vazquez:
And Curio is developing the HOPE reactor to complement that. Tell us about it.

Ed McGinnis:
HOPE stands for Homogeneous Molten Salt Plutonium Eliminating Reactor. It is a small modular reactor powered by our recycled fuel. It uses molten salt instead of water for cooling, which means it is walk-away safe. If power or operators fail, it shuts down naturally.

It produces electricity and high-temperature heat for industrial use or medical isotope production. It is compact, efficient, and environmentally sustainable—everything the old generation of nuclear reactors should have been.

Peter Vazquez:
That sounds like the foundation of a second nuclear era. What is Curio’s broader mission?

Ed McGinnis:
Our mission is to establish a closed fuel cycle—a system where nothing valuable is wasted. Our process, which we call NuCycle, combines advanced chemistry and safeguards-by-design to recover over 99 percent of usable material from spent fuel. It eliminates the need for massive repositories like Yucca Mountain by reducing true waste to a fraction of what it once was.

We recently completed a successful lab-scale demonstration with the Department of Energy at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, achieving 99.5 percent recovery efficiency. Now we are scaling up toward commercial deployment.

Peter Vazquez:
That is remarkable. Other companies are also exploring recycling technology—how does Curio stand apart?

Ed McGinnis:
We complement others, not compete against them. Our process is multi-chemical, high-throughput, and scalable—capable of handling 4,000 metric tons per year, more than Russia, France, China, and Japan combined. We have patented technology, a four-to-five-year lead, and partnerships with nine U.S. utilities ready to engage.

We are not just recycling for ourselves. We are building a national infrastructure for nuclear renewal.

Peter Vazquez:
Can the material meant for Yucca Mountain be recycled?

Ed McGinnis:
Yes. The majority of what was intended for Yucca Mountain is the same commercial spent fuel we are targeting. Yucca Mountain remains empty due to political deadlock, despite $15 billion already spent. Our process renders such megaprojects unnecessary. With recycling, the waste volume is reduced so dramatically that only a few boreholes—perhaps four to eight nationwide—would suffice for final storage.

Peter Vazquez:
So this is not only scientific progress; it is fiscal sanity.

Ed McGinnis:
Exactly. Recycling this material could save taxpayers hundreds of billions, eliminate redundant waste management costs, and turn a financial burden into an economic engine.

Peter Vazquez:
Do labor unions, universities, and local governments have a role in this new energy model?

Ed McGinnis:
Absolutely. Labor unions have a proud tradition in the nuclear sector and will play vital roles in construction and operation. Universities are essential for workforce development and research. Local governments will be long-term partners in community engagement and oversight. This is about shared prosperity and responsibility.

Peter Vazquez:
That is the kind of leadership America needs—faith in innovation guided by accountability.

Ed McGinnis:
I agree completely. For too long, we have allowed fear to dictate policy. It is time to replace fear with facts, science, and courage.

Peter Vazquez:
Ed, thank you for your time and your service to the nation.

Ed McGinnis:
My pleasure, Peter. Thank you for having me, and may God bless the work you do.

Peter Vazquez:
And may God bless you and the work at Curio. Ladies and gentlemen, be leaders—always. God bless the United States of America, and never let a single second go by when you are not a voice for libertad. Until tomorrow, stay strong.

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