The Saturday Morning Newsletter #38

👋 Hello friends,

Thank you for joining this week's edition of The Saturday Morning Newsletter. I'm Drew Jackson, and today we're exploring 12 articles, essays, companies, ideas, podcasts, videos, or thoughts that caught my attention this week for their potential to significantly impact our future.

#1: Commonwealth Fusion Systems

Description: Commonwealth Fusion Systems is a developer of nuclear fusion reactors.

Why Is This Company Interesting?? Commonwealth Fusion Systems recently raised $1B in venture capital funding. Hopefully, you’ve actually heard of them by now, as they’re one of the biggest names in fusion energy. They continue to grow bigger every year, coming closer to achieving commercial fusion energy.

#2: The Nuclear Company

Description: The Nuclear Company is a developer of nuclear fission reactors.

Why Is This Company Interesting?? The Nuclear Company recently raised $51.3M in venture capital funding. Their goal is to find fleet-scale nuclear power through a design-once, build-many approach using a proven design to deliver safe and reliable electricity. Mass-manufactured nuclear power plants might be coming sooner than we think.

#3: OroraTech

Description: OroraTech is a network of wildfire satellites.

Why Is This Company Interesting?? OroraTech recently raised $13.4M in venture capital funding. Their satellite network helps equip first responders and wildlife with real-time data that helps them do their jobs more efficiently and effectively. Most of their suite helps with early fire detection, practicing proactivity instead of reactivity.

The New York Times: Nuclear Executive Orders

The Trump administration is potentially planning some nuclear-focused executive orders aimed at speeding up the construction of nuclear power plants. A large target will be reforming the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, responsible for the passing and failing of all proposed reactors. They might have the Department of Defense take a more prominent role in ordering reactors and installing them on military bases.

CNBC: Google Developing 3 New Nuclear Reactors

Google signed an agreement with nuclear reactor developer Elementl Power to develop 3 sites for advanced reactors. Each site will determine at least 600MW of power capacity, with Google having the option to buy power once the sites are ready.

The New York Times: Republican Budget Bill Ending Clean Energy Boom

Since 2022, companies have made a plan to invest $843B+ in clean energy projects in the U.S., driven by the Inflation Reduction Act. In 2025, only ~⅓ of that money has been spent, with many projects still in development. With a new proposal to Congress to roll back these tax credits, a majority of this spending might be pushed off the table.

The New York Times: An Update on the Weather Service

Over the last couple of years, the National Weather Service has had the initiative to update its system to be in the modern age. Outdated technology and a small budget made it difficult to keep employees, but their work does save lives and has quite a high ROI. DOGE cuts this year may have hindered these plans to revitalize their system, putting them in an even worse position.

BBC: Unknown Space Explosions

Starting in 2018, telescopes picked up a large and unusual explosion out in space. Astronomers hadn’t seen anything like it before, and still to this day don’t know what it was. Since then, there have been multiple other sightings across the universe, continuing to astonish astronomers with their size (similar to that of our entire solar system) and their novelty. There are many more space things to understand in the future.

Space: 2026 NASA Budget Cut

The 2026 budget for NASA, released by the White House, shows a 24% cut to its top-line funding, potentially devastating for the agency. This is the largest single-year cut to NASA in history, forcing widespread terminations of missions worth billions, ending efforts dedicated to Mars sample returns.

Mesquite News: Taylor Swift Philosophy

This lecture series by a philosophy instructor out of New Mexico State University discusses a new paradigm, Taylor Swift and queer philosophy. It’s argued that Taylor Swift, incredibly popular, promotes a white-women's feminism. The professor continues, stating that “Swift acts as controlled opposition by reinforcing the ‘straight’ agenda, upholding capitalist values, and preserving commercial and political appeal through generalized, non-specific support of ‘LGBTQIA+ people’”.

National Post: Your Mind Can Go Blank

The human mind can go blank during consciousness. There are moments when the human mind seems empty of any content, challenging the assumption that people experience a constant flow of thoughts when awake. This phenomenon is called “mind blanking”, where our minds go nowhere because they seem to lack content.

Over the last couple of months, I’ve had the privilege of having vulnerable conversations with many people close to me.

It’s good to have these people in your life.

There usually aren’t many other times that you can explore these subjects in your life, so it’s good to be able to cultivate outlets that enable you to talk deeply about these subjects.

Super quick thought today with 2 parts: A) go through and appreciate the friends you currently have that you are capable of having these conversations with, and B) if you’re lacking in this department, maybe it’s time to try to find these types of people capable of this type of relationship.

See you Wednesday for Brainwaves,

Drew Jackson

Twitter: @brainwavesdotme

Email: brainwaves.me@gmail.com

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this content are my own and do not represent the views of any of the companies I currently work for or have previously worked for. This content does not contain financial advice - it is for informational and educational purposes only. Investing contains risks and readers should conduct their own due diligence and/or consult a financial advisor before making any investment decisions. Any sponsorship or endorsements are noted and do not affect any editorial content produced.