JRE MMA Show #187 with Robert Whittaker · Aired Oct 22, 2026
Claim summary · not a verbatim quotation
Lightning has a lot of voltage but not much current.
The finding
What the evidence shows
The discussion tentatively describes lightning as high voltage but low current. NWS gives a typical flash as about 300 million volts and 30,000 amps. That is not low current. The amount passing through a particular person depends on the strike mechanism, so the flash's current must not be treated as a measurement through every victim. The speaker explicitly says I think.
Read the supporting source · www.weather.gov ↗Quick answer & review status
Quick answer
Is it true that Lightning has a lot of voltage but not much current?
No, not as stated. The discussion tentatively describes lightning as high voltage but low current. NWS gives a typical flash as about 300 million volts and 30,000 amps. A guest said it (matched by voice) on JRE MMA Show #187 with Robert Whittaker, aired Oct 22, 2026, at 1:31:22. The supporting source is weather.gov, linked below.
The context belongs here.
No separately verified on-air correction is recorded for this check. That is not a claim that nobody corrected it.
- Attribution
- Not independently confirmed in this record
- Editorial context review
- Not recorded; generated finding
- Coverage
- One selected claim from the episode
Revisions to this check
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