Arms Control Wonk

By Jeffrey Lewis & Aaron SteinNews Education Politics

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Arms Control Wonk episodes

February 17, 2015The Terse End to Cooperative Threat Reduction
Its cold in Moscow. On a chilly day in a hotel overlooking Red Square, Boston Globe reported “the Russians informed the Americans that they were refusing any more US help protecting their largest stockpiles of weapons-grade uranium and plutonium from being stolen or sold on the black market.” How bad is it? Well, things are bad after Russia circumvented Ukraine’s state sovereignty. Today Jeffrey and Aaron discuss the cancellation of US-Russian cooperation programs. To lighten the mood, Jeffrey and Aaron call Dr. Bethany Goldblum, the Founder and Director of the Nuclear Policy Working Group at UC Berkeley, to talk about her efforts to train the next generation of nuclear security experts.
Links:
After two decades, US-Russia nuclear security cooperation becomes casualty of deteriorating relations - The Boston Globe
Klaatu, Where Are You? - Foreign Policy
31 min
February 10, 2015Modernization Mountain: Ash Carter and the Aging Triad
After a series of scandals, incoming Secretary of Defense Ash Carter has some tough choices to make about US nuclear weapons and the future of the so-called “triad” of nuclear delivery system.
Jeffrey and Aaron discuss Carter’s confirmation hearing, Jeffrey’s article in Foreign Policy (The Nuclear Trials of Ashton Carter, Foreign Policy, February 5, 2015), and Janne Nolan’s account of Carter’s role in the Clinton Administration’s 1994 Nuclear Posture Review (see below).
Jeffrey also interviewed Geoff Brumfiel, a science correspondent at National Public Radio, about his reporting on the future of the US ICBM force. Geoff visited the 90th missile wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base and reported a three-part series for All Things Considered:
To Stop Cheating, Nuclear Officers Ditch The Grades - July 28, 2014
Welcome To The Nuclear Command Bunker - July 29, 2014
Should America Keep Its Aging Nuclear Missiles? - July 30, 2014
Geoff also wrote a pair of very funny blog posts:
To Find America’s Nuclear Missiles, Try Google Maps - July 31, 2014
How To Order Pizza From A Nuclear Command Bunker - July 31, 2014
After outgoing Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel received a pair of reviews of the nuclear enterprise, Geoff revisited his reporting for All Things Considered:
Pentagon Plans To Spend Billions Upgrading Nuclear Program - November 2014
Reading recommendations:
An Elusive Consensus: Nuclear Weapons and American Security After the Cold War - Janne Nolan (Brookings, 1999)
On Thermonuclear War - Herman Kahn
50 min
February 03, 2015When Open Source Goes Wrong
We love open source. We talk about it all of the time. But it went wrong - like really wrong - in two different instances in recent weeks. Today, Aaron and Jeffrey talk about the dark side of open source and the need for analysts and journalists to be rigorous in how they approach open source work.
Links:
Jeffrey Lewis - It’s Not A Rocket
Chillin’ With the Second Artillery | 38 North: Informed Analysis of North Korea
32 min
January 25, 2015 Cruisin’
What’s up with Taiwan’s cruise missile program? What in the world compelled the Taiwanese government to deploy the HF-2E in poorly disguised civilian still trucks? And how cool is it that Taiwan displayed the HF-2E’s engine?

To get to the bottom of Taiwan’s cruise missile program, Aaron and Jeffrey speak with Dennis Gormley, the author of Missile Contagion and A Low Visibility Force Multiplier, about the proliferation of cruise missiles, the lack of an effective cruise missile defense, and Taiwan’s efforts to date.
1 hr 9 min
January 10, 2015 Geospatial Analysis and the Serial Podcast
We love Serial. But what does it have to with arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament - nothing, really. So why talk about it? Geospatial analysis, of course.
No, really!
Today, Jeffrey and Aaron speak with Susan Simpson, an associate at the Volkov Law Group (and an expert in national security law), about geospatial analysis and how it relates to the Serial podcast.
The View From LL2 | Thoughts on law, economics, and all things slightly geeky. - Susan’s blog
1 hr 1 min
December 22, 2014 The Monarchy’s Missiles
Today, Jeffrey and Aaron discuss the history of Saudi Arabia’s missile program and the reasons for the Kingdom’s new openness vis-a-vis its ballistic missiles.
Saudi Rattles Its Saber | NTI Analysis - by Jeffrey and Ala Alrababah
56 min
December 17, 2014 The Little Green Men and a New Cruise Missile
The INF debate continues. The controversy about Russia’s new cruise missile raises a number of key questions about American strategy in Europe: How should the United States respond to Russia’s INF violation? What are the security implications of a new Russian ground launched cruise missiles? Has Russia’s “circumvention” of state sovereignty changed the game? And - in a change from the status quo - the show does not end on a positive note, but rather with a gloomy prediction.
38 min
December 08, 2014 An Autonomous SecDef?
Washington is a mess. We are fighting three wars and we don’t have a Secretary of Defense. In this episode of the podcast, Aaron and Jeffrey discuss the Hagel resignation, Ash Carter, and the dysfunction in Washington. Tune in for commentary on automated systems, the autopen, and Aaron’s defense of Chuck Hagel’s socks.
31 min
November 25, 2014 The Redline: Iran and the January Deadline
7 months! Really? 7 Months! Is it over?
After the recent extension of the JPOA, Jeffrey and Aaron felt it necessary to hold an emergency podcast (Jeffrey is speaking from an undisclosed parking lot in Northern California) to discuss the future of the Iranian nuclear negotiations. Tune in to hear our take on the future of the JPOA and the threat posed by new US sanctions and Iran’s IR-5.
The Iran Nuke Extension Is a Death Sentence - Jeffrey’s article in Foreign Policy
37 min
November 22, 2014 Negotiating with Tehran
After sitting poolside for two weeks, Arms Control Wonk podcast co-host Aaron Stein returns to talk with Jeffrey and Shashank Joshi about the P5+1’s negotiations with Iran. In it, we discuss the current state of the negotiations, the prospects for an extension to the JPOA, Iranian centrifuge research, and conclude, as always, on a positive note.
31 min

About Arms Control Wonk

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The nuclear weapons, arms control, disarmament and nonproliferation podcast. Companion to the popular Arms Control Wonk blog (www.armscontrolwonk.com). Hosted by Jeffrey Lewis & Aaron Stein.