The Back from the Brink Podcast

Addressing the threat of nuclear weapons can feel like a big task, but history is full of examples of people coming together to create impactful change: the civil rights movement, women gaining the right to vote, and marriage equality. Mayor Barbara Lee and Professor Marshall Ganz join host Ryann Blackshere Vargas to reflect on their experiences in organizing and explain what makes movements successful.   Guest bios: Dr. Marshall Ganz is the Rita E. Hauser Senior Lecturer in Leadership, Organizing, and Civil Society at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He is a professor and practitioner of grassroots movements, having organized for the American civil rights movement, the United Farm Workers, and President Barack Obama's campaign for the White House.   Barbara Lee has served as the mayor of Oakland, California, since 2025. Previously, she served as a U.S. representative from California from 1998 to 2025 and is widely known for her anti-war and nuclear abolition work. In 2001, after the September 11 attacks, she was notably the only member of Congress who voted against the Authorization for Use of Military Force.   Resources mentioned in this episode: Professor Ganz's book People, Power, Change: Organizing for Democratic Renewal: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/people-power-change-9780197569009?cc=us⟨=en& From the Harvard Gazette, "How Marshall Ganz Found His Calling as Activist, Scholar, and Mentor": https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/09/how-marshall-ganz-found-his-calling-as-activist-scholar-mentor/ From Politico, "How Barbara Lee Became An Army of One": https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/07/30/how-barbara-lee-became-an-army-of-one-215434/ From Outrider, "Rep. Barbara Lee: on 40 years of Seeking Justice": https://outrider.org/nuclear-weapons/articles/rep-barbara-lee-40-years-seeking-justice  

When countries agree to get rid of their nuclear weapons, verification tools can confirm that they actually did it. But how does it work? Arms control expert Mike Edinger talks to host Ryann Blackshere Vargas not only about the details of verification, but also how the work is constantly evolving to address changing global politics.   Guest bios: Mike Edinger is an independent arms control consultant who previously served as a Foreign Affairs Officer at the State Department's Bureau of Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance. In that role he was the US government lead for the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification (IPNDV) from its inception in 2015. Prior to that he served as a Minuteman ICBM Crew Commander in the U.S. Air Force.   Resources mentioned in this episode: The International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification (IPNDV): https://www.ipndv.org/ Mike's recent report, "Negotiating Nuclear Verification: Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation": https://vcdnp.org/negotiating-nuclear-verification-arms-control-disarmament-and-non-proliferation/  

Climate change and nuclear weapons have a lot in common: they are existential threats, their impacts don't respect geographical boundaries, and no country can solve them alone. Dr. Rachel Cleetus and Dr. John Burroughs join host Ryann Blackshere Vargas to discuss how treaties, international law, and the voices of everyday people can work in tandem to confront both threats.   Guest bios: Dr. Rachel Cleetus is the Senior Policy Director of the Climate and Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. She conducts research on climate impacts and clean energy, and advocates for science-based policies to advance climate action. She is an expert on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and has been attending international climate negotiations since 2009.   Dr. John Burroughs is Senior Analyst at the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy (LCNP). He has represented LCNP in Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review proceedings and in negotiations on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Dr. Burroughs was also a member of the legal team for the Marshall Islands in its nuclear disarmament cases in the International Court of Justice.   Resources mentioned in this episode: John's article "The Inadmissibility of Nuclear Threats": https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2024-04/features/inadmissibility-nuclear-threats John's work representing the Marshall Islands in the International Court of Justice: https://www.lcnp.org/marshall-islands Information from John's organization about the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons: https://www.lcnp.org/tpnw   Rachel's blog: https://blog.ucs.org/author/rachel-cleetus/ Rachel's recent report "Colliding Crises: The Dangers of Extreme Heat in Affordable Housing": https://www.ucs.org/resources/colliding-crises Rachel's recent report "Science and Democracy Under Siege: Documenting Six Months of the Trump Administration's Destructive Actions": https://www.ucs.org/resources/science-and-democracy-under-siege

With treaties expiring and traditional diplomatic routes breaking down, it may be hard to imagine how countries could come together to confront an existential challenge like nuclear weapons. But international cooperation is not uncharted territory. Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins talks to host Ryann Blackshere Vargas about how nations have come together in the past to reduce the nuclear arsenal and eliminate entire classes of weapons, and what it will take to continue that work. Guest bios: Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins served as the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security in the Biden Administration. During the Obama administration, she was the U.S. Department of State's coordinator for threat reduction programs in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation. Ambassador Jenkins is the Founder and Executive Director of Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security (WCAPS), as well as the Shapiro Visiting Professor of International Affairs at George Washington University. Resources mentioned in this episode: Ambassador Jenkins' organization, Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security, and Conflict Transformation (WCAPS): https://www.wcaps.org/   Ambassador Jenkins' Substack: https://abjen.substack.com/profile/posts

U.S. nuclear weapons policies are based on many faulty assumptions, creating a lot of unnecessary risk. In fact, we've already had numerous close calls with nuclear war. Guest Dr. Lisbeth Gronlund and host Ryann Blackshere Vargas discuss who has the authority to launch nuclear weapons, whether missile defense could protect us from incoming attacks, and whether nuclear war is really a possibility today.   Guest bio: Dr. Lisbeth Gronlund is a physicist working with the Laboratory for Nuclear Security and Policy in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT. Previously, she spent nearly three decades with the Union of Concerned Scientists' Global Security Program, including serving as co-director. Resources mentioned in this episode: Lisbeth's writing for The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists: https://thebulletin.org/biography/lisbeth-gronlund/ Lisbeth's writing for The Union of Concerned Scientists: https://blog.ucs.org/author/lisbeth-gronlund/