Nukes of Hazard

The Doomsday Clock has just been set at 85 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been to symbolic human-caused Armageddon. It's no coincidence that this happened just a week before the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia — known as New START — expired February 5. Now, the landscape of nuclear arms control looks increasingly bleak. Is there any room for optimism? Communications Director Anna Schumann sat down with Alex Bell, President and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (the people behind the famed Doomsday Clock) to discuss their decision to move the clock's hands closer to midnight, what the expiration of the New START agreement means for future of arms control and how YOU can help stop an arms race. Just a note that as we hit publish Thursday on this episode we recorded Monday, Axios broke news that the United States and Russia are working on a draft plan to informally extend New START — a welcome development, if true. But is that enough to stave off a nuclear arms race? Listen and find out. https://www.axios.com/2026/02/05/new-start-arms-control-us-russia-extend Music from bensound.com SHOW NOTES: This conversation has been edited for time. Find the Bulletin’s Doomsday Clock announcement here: https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/ Check out the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists website: https://thebulletin.org/ Read our New START fact sheet: https://armscontrolcenter.org/understanding-new-start-agreement/

Has “A House of Dynamite” popped up on your Netflix? Our staff got the chance to see it early in theaters and decided to break down what this film gets right (and wrong) about the nuclear weapons complex and what we hope people will take away from it. Host and Communications Associate Farah Sonde is joined by Senior Policy Director John Erath, Research Analyst Connor Murray and Communications Director Anna Schumann in this special Nukes of Hazard roundtable. Music from www.bensound.com Show Notes - More analysis from us on “A House of Dynamite”: https://armscontrolcenter.org/a-house-of-dynamite/ Check out our podcast episode on OSINT (open-source intelligence) collection: https://soundcloud.com/cacnp/how-open-source-intelligence-can-unlock-nuclear-secrets Check out our podcast episode on the nuclear football and our nuclear launch system: https://soundcloud.com/cacnp/footballs-biscuits-and-americas-nuclear-monarchy

On August 6 and 9, 1945, the United States bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the first nuclear weapons ever used against another country. In this special episode, Communications Director and Guest Host Anna Schumann takes a step back from the hard-hitting policy deep dives Nukes of Hazard is generally known for to speak with Sara Burkinshaw, whose grandmother survived the bombing of Hiroshima. Sara details the moment that made her realize why sharing her grandmother's story matters and what she believes compels young people to understand the dangers of nuclear weapons. For more on her grandmother's story, listen to our episode, "The Human Cost of the Hiroshima Bombing," with Sara's mother, Kathleen Burkinshaw. Music from www.bensound.com

With decreasing transparency and increasing tensions in the Middle East, Iran’s nuclear ambitions are constantly in the news. How close is Iran to a nuclear weapon, and how should the United States approach Iran’s nuclear program? In this episode, we explore past diplomacy related to Iran’s nuclear program and ways to move forward. Program Coordinator and Guest Host Emma Sandifer speaks to Negar Mortazavi, editor and host of the Iran Podcast and Senior Fellow at the Center for International Policy, and Valerie Lincy, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control. Music from www.bensound.com Show Notes: Iran Watch website: https://www.iranwatch.org/ Iran Podcast: https://www.negarmortazavi.com/iran-podcast

Chemical weapons have left a lasting impression on global security since their introduction in World War I. Now, with 100% of America's chemical weapons legacy dismantled, it's time to revisit how we got here and what concerns we have for future chemical weapons threats. Host Farah Sonde speaks to John Gilbert, Senior Science Fellow for the Center's Scientists Working Group on Biological and Chemical Security; John Isaacs, Senior Fellow at the Center for Arms Control & Non-Proliferation; Matthew Meselson, Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of the Natural Sciences at Harvard University and Council for a Livable World board member; and Andy Weber, Senior Fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks’ Janne E. Nolan Center on Strategic Weapons. Music from www.bensound.com Show Notes: 'This Day in History Class' episode: https://omny.fm/shows/this-day-in-history-class/phone-call-in-dugway-sheep-incident-march-17-1968 'This Day in History Class' podcast: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-this-day-in-history-class-29520957/ Matthew Meselson's archives: https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/meselsonarchive Matthew Meselson's testimony to the Committee on Foreign Relations in 1969: https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/meselsonarchive/files/04301969meselson.pdf Jonathan B. Tucker's book 'War on Nerves': https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/180879/war-of-nerves-by-jonathan-b-tucker/

Open-source intelligence (OSINT) and satellite imagery have changed the way civil organizations understand and evaluate nuclear arsenals and delivery systems — and the way governments interact with a changing balance of transparency and secrecy. Join us as we break down new developments in OSINT technology, how OSINT analysis can be used in nuclear weapons verification and the challenges ahead in regulating its use. Host Farah Sonde speaks to Decker Eveleth, Graduate Research Assistant at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies; Marcy R. Fowler, Research and Analysis Manager for Open Nuclear Network; Matt Korda, Senior Research Fellow for the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists; and Dave Schmerler, Senior Research Associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Music from www.bensound.com Show Notes: The Glory of Youth (Chinese Rocket Force TV Show) trailer: https://youtu.be/yXhIbqaMkCU?si=6m0GlALSyWf_BYpA Open Nuclear Network's Korean Peninsula Analysis Centre: https://analysis.opennuclear.org/

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought us closer to nuclear escalation than ever in a post Cold War world. One major question hangs overhead: what if Ukraine had kept its nuclear arsenal after the USSR’s dissolution? Host Geoff Wilson speaks with Mariana Budjeryn, author of Inheriting the Bomb: The Collapse of the USSR and the Nuclear Disarmament of Ukraine, about how Ukraine made the brave decision to give up the bomb.

What happens when a new country is born with nuclear weapons already within its borders? What happens when the legacy of nuclear testing takes place almost entirely within communities of color? And how do the answers to these questions get knit together to form a national identity that refuses nuclear weapons, even in a world that seems to want to seek them out more than ever? Host Geoff Wilson talks with Togzhan Kassenova, Center board member and author of Atomic Steppe: How Kazakhstan Gave Up the Bomb, to break down these questions. Order the book: http://ow.ly/kQrX50K1gW7

Battlefield nuclear weapons — also called tactical or nonstrategic nuclear weapons — are a continuing topic of conversation in the halls of Congress and inside the Pentagon following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But what are they, are they necessary and why do we keep talking about them? Host Geoff Wilson talks with Jane Vaynman, Assistant Professor in Political Science at Temple University, to discuss their role in the U.S. nuclear arsenal, deterrence and more.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, a day that changed the trajectory of world history in ways that we are still coming to terms with. In this special episode of Nukes of Hazard, host Geoff Wilson talks to the Center's Executive Director, former Congressman John Tierney about his experience in Congress post-9/11, his work to redress some of the worst policies that came out of these tragic events, and how we must reframe the way we think about national security going forward.

There is a rising clamor among top U.S. policymakers pushing for more military spending to confront China. Recent discoveries of new nuclear missile silos being built in China have only added fuel to the fire. But will China’s actions really change the nuclear balance of power? And what does it mean for global arms control and non-proliferation efforts? Host Geoff Wilson sits down with Hans Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists, who helped uncover some of China’s new nuclear developments, to get some answers.

Inauguration Day means it's almost time for the nuclear football to shift from one president to another. But how does that work, exactly? And in a country built on a system of checks and balances, why does the President of the United States have complete and total control over the U.S. nuclear arsenal? How did the system get set up this way, what are the actual mechanics involved in a nuclear launch, and is it about time for America to rethink its system? Host Geoff Wilson sits down with Stephen Schwartz, nonresident Senior Fellow at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and author of Atomic Audit, to get some answers.

You asked, we answered! In our annual year-end mailbag podcast episode, host Geoff Wilson and Senior Policy Director Alexandra Bell take on listener-submitted questions, covering topics such as the future of nuclear policy under a Biden administration, the National Defense Authorization Act, "exotic" nuclear weapons and more.

With the 2020 presidential election looming large, it’s a good time to take a look at the absolute power the President of the United States has over U.S. nuclear weapons. Policy Analyst and Host Geoff Wilson sat down with Dr. Alex Wellerstein, a historian of science at the Stevens Institute of Technology, to discuss the history of presidential launch authority, how our nuclear launch system actually works, and what steps we could take to make it more democratic.

August 6 marks the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, followed three days later by the bombing of Nagasaki, on August 9th. In this special episode, Nukes of Hazard host Geoff Wilson narrates a selection from John Hersey’s Hiroshima, written in 1946. We also revisit last year’s episode of Nukes of Hazard, an interview with Kathleen Burkinshaw, who tells the story of her mother, who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Mariwan Hama was 8 years old when he was a victim of a chemical weapons attack. It was 1988, during the closing days of the Iran-Iraq War, and the Iraqi military gassed ethnic Kurdish civilians in their own country with a lethal cocktail of mustard gas, sarin and VX nerve agents in what would become known as the Halabja Massacre. In this special episode, Center Senior Science Fellow John Gilbert speaks with Mariwan about his experience and thoughts on chemical weapons use today.

Since the beginning of the nuclear age, there have been hundreds of serious and well-drilled plans about how the United States would use nuclear weapons in war, with the express purpose of winning. But when a military plan calls for the use of thousands of nuclear weapons, and assumes that your enemy will respond in kind, how do you define winning? Policy Analyst and Host Geoff Wilson sat down with Dr. Fred Kaplan to discuss his new book, The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War.

For our last episode of the year, experts at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation answered listener-submitted questions on topics like how nuclear weapons are made, the situation in the Middle East, the prospects of reaching nuclear zero, and more. Host Geoff Wilson, a policy analyst at the Center, is joined by Alexandra Bell, Senior Policy Director. Music by BenSound.com.

Women have been involved with U.S. nuclear weapons policy since before there were even nuclear weapons. Yet, women are still fighting hard for their place and their voice in this community. On this special episode of Nukes of Hazard, guest host Rachel Emond talks to Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, Ambassador Susan Burk, New America’s Heather Hurlburt and Senior Policy Director Alexandra Bell about experiencing sexism and racism in the nuclear security field, their career paths, and potential solutions to making this field more inclusive and diverse.

Kathleen Burkinshaw's mother was 12 years old when she survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Now 74 years later, the author of "The Last Cherry Blossom" shares her mother's story and explains how remembering the human cost of nuclear weapons can help young Americans understand why this issue is still important today.