June 28, 2025

Is Nuclear Proliferation Inevitable? | Samo Burja

1 hour 2 minutes

Today on Moment of Zen, Erik Torenberg talk with Samo Burja on nuclear weapons proliferation, energy geopolitics, and his "nuclear accelerationist" argument that widespread nuclear capability is inevitable, so countries should pursue abundant nuclear energy despite proliferation risks.

Make sure to subscribe to Samo Burja's Bismarck Brief and the Live Players podcast to read analyses and briefs like this one:

Bismarck Brief: https://brief.bismarckanalysis.com/

Live Players: https://link.chtbl.com/liveplayers

📰 Be notified early when Turpentine's drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess

🙏 Help shape our show by taking our quick listener survey at https://bit.ly/TurpentinePulse

SPONSORS: NETSUITE | SHOPIFY | ADQUICK | SQUAD

Over 41,000 businesses trust NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 cloud ERP, to future-proof their operations. Whether you're earning millions or hundreds of millions, NetSuite empowers you to tackle challenges and seize opportunities. Download the free CFO's guide to AI and machine learning at https://netsuite.com/zen.

Shopify is the world's leading e-commerce platform, offering a market-leading checkout system Shoppay and exclusive AI apps. Nobody does selling better than Shopify. Get a $1 per month trial at https://shopify.com/momentofzen.

The easiest way to book out-of-home ads (like billboards, vehicle wraps, and airport displays) the same way you would order an Uber. Ready to get your brand the attention it deserves? Visit https://adquick.com/ today to start reaching your customers in the real world.

Head to Squad to access global engineering without the headache and at a fraction of the cost: head to https://choosesquad.com/ and mention “Turpentine” to skip the waitlist.

X / TWITTER:

@SamoBurja

@eriktorenberg

@turpentinemedia

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DISCUSSION:

Core Argument: "Nuclear Accelerationism"

Nuclear weapons proliferation is inevitable - the 80-year-old technology is only getting easier

We're paying security costs without reaping energy benefits

Should accelerate civilian nuclear development to achieve energy abundance

North Korea precedent: Even poor, isolated countries can build nukes

Japan example: Already has tons of plutonium, could build weapons in <1 year

Proliferation ratchet: Countries rarely denuclearize once they acquire weapons

National security incentives overwhelm nonproliferation efforts

Nuclear club expansion: Countries with existing weapons should build thousands of reactors

Energy exports: Non-nuclear countries buy electricity from nuclear neighbors

Scale economics: Need massive reactor deployment for true cost advantages

Incentive structure: Subsidize alternatives for countries that forgo nuclear tech

Small arsenals (dozens of nukes) create different dynamics than superpower stockpiles (thousands)

Current "doomsday machine" logic only applies to US/Russia/China

Widespread small arsenals might actually reduce conventional war risk

...more

View all episodes

By Erik Torenberg, Dan Romero, Antonio Garcia Martinez

4.2

9090 ratings