Former U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary of Fossil Fuels Christopher Smith gives us a glimpse back into his service at DOE under Secretary Ernest Moniz. Smith, who interacted with the energy industry and the public more than almost anyone at DOE, discusses issues such as the Fukushima and other energy industry disasters, his service on the BP Macondo/Deepwater Horizon oil disaster commission, hydraulic fracturing, the rapid reversal of efforts to import liquefied natural gas to exporting LNG instead, and the Learning Curve the new Secretary of Energy, former Texas Governor Rick Perry, is facing. Smith talks about the importance of remembering the trials of our past so that we don’t repeat those mistakes in the future. Smith currently serves as an Advisory Board Fellow at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy.