Nukes of Hazard

Has endless post-9/11 military spending on forever wars compromised our domestic security?

In this special episode of Nukes of Hazard, recorded at our annual conference themed "$1 Trillion and Counting: The Pentagon Budget Squeezing Our Real Security," experts Dr. Tess Bridgeman, Dr. Heidi Peltier, Dr. Miriam Pemberton and Bill Hartung examine "The True Costs of War: Iran Following the Pattern."

Coming on the heels of the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and an expanding conflict with Iran, the panel dives into the pitfalls of massive defense budgets — from job creation disparities in the military compared with other sectors, to the long-term impact on social wellbeing — and makes a case for refocusing our resources to promote true national security.

Bonus Alert: Keep an eye on your feed for a special bonus episode featuring the Q&A portion from this discussion!

What challenges do space lasers present? How does a network of Starlink satellites compare to the infrastructure required for Golden Dome? If Golden Dome were to be operational, what would U.S. nuclear policy look like and how could an adversary respond?

In this BONUS episode of Nukes of Hazard, we return to our live annual conference, "$1 Trillion and Counting: The Pentagon Budget Squeezing Our Real Security," for the live audience Question & Answer session.

Experts Andrew Facini, Joe Cirincione, Dr. Laura Grego and Clayton Swope dive deeper into the technical flaws of space weapons, the soaring costs of national missile defense concepts and practical strategies for prioritizing diplomacy over bottomless defense budgets.

Coming up next: Stay tuned to your feed for full coverage of our conference’s second panel examining the true costs of the current war with Iran.

Can national missile defense actually protect us? Can we justify its massive price tag?

In this special episode of Nukes of Hazard, recorded live at our annual conference themed "$1 Trillion and Counting: The Pentagon Budget Squeezing Our Real Security," experts Andrew Facini, Joe Cirincione, Dr. Laura Grego, and Clayton Swopes take on misguided ideas about national missile defense. From historic programs to present-day concepts like the "Golden Dome," the panel discusses the financial and technical limits of space weapons — and makes the compelling case for an alternative security solution.

Bonus Alert: Keep an eye on your feed for a special bonus episode featuring the live audience Q&A, plus upcoming coverage of our panel on the costs of the war with Iran!

25 years ago, on September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked the United States via four hijacked airplanes destined for New York and Washington, D.C., killing 2,977 people and leaving thousands more with lasting physical and mental scars. The United States immediately went to war in Afghanistan, then Iraq, in the name of fighting terrorism. The short-term effects of these attacks were immediate, while many long-term effects are still being felt today. In this episode, Communications Director Anna Schumann sits down with Executive Director John Tierney, who was in his fourth year as a member of the House of Representatives at the time, and Dr. Stephanie Savell, Director of the Costs of War project at Brown University, to discuss Rep. Tierney’s immediate objections to a sweeping use of military force in response to the attacks, the human and financial costs of war and the lessons the United States should have learned in the last 25 years.

Show notes:

Overview: The True Costs of the Post-9/11 Wars, the Costs of War project at Brown University | https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/paper/overview

Rep. Tierney’s amendment offered September 14, 2001, that would have required the Bush administration to give reports to Congress on the status of the military effort in Afghanistan, among other things. | https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/volume-147/issue-120/house-section/article/H5681-1

This year, the Trump administration asked Congress for nearly $1.5 trillion for the Pentagon and nuclear weapons in its annual President's Budget Request — a huge increase over last year's already massive request. This is a number that 59% of people believe is too high, according to recent polling from ReThink Media and the Costs of War project. But is the request warranted? Or are people right to believe this is too much to spend? Can Congress bring down the costs? And, most importantly, how does this affect Americans like you? We talked to our own Connor Murray, Research Analyst here at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, and Xiaodon Liang, Senior Policy Analyst at the Arms Control Association, to break down how the massive budget request makes its way through Congress, what the administration wants to spend our money on and what Congress should fund to keep us safe and protect American national security interests.

Show Notes:

Most Voters Say the Proposed $1.5 Trillion Pentagon Budget is Too High, by ReThink Media and the Costs of War project | https://rethinkmedia.org/blog/most-voters-say-the-proposed-1-5-trillion-pentagon-budget-is-too-high/

Reconciliation Breaks Decades of Bipartisanship, by Greg Williams at the Project on Government Oversight | https://www.pogo.org/commentaries/reconciliation-breaks-decades-of-bipartisanship

The Employment Impacts of Cuts to Federal Spending: Not All Cuts Are Created Equal, by Heidi Peltier with the Costs of War project | https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/paper/employment-impacts-cuts-federal-spending-not-all-cuts-are-created-equal

Music by Ben Sound

French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that France would increase its nuclear arsenal is a major blow to non-proliferation efforts, but what does this new development mean for European and American security? Communications Associate and host Farah Sonde sat down with Marc Finaud, Senior Advisor and Associate Fellow at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy; Francesca Giovannini, Executive Director at the Project on Managing the Atom; and John Erath, Senior Policy Director at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, to discuss France’s new approach to its nuclear arsenal, how it aligns with French tradition and how the United States should respond.

Show Notes –

Marc Finaud’s op-ed on President Macron’s speech - https://www.pressenza.com/2026/04/emmanuel-macrons-paradoxical-speech-on-nuclear-deterrence-a-step-back-and-a-wild-rush-forward/

The Initiatives for Nuclear Disarmament (IDN) Action Plan for the Non-Proliferation Treaty’s Review Conference in April and May - https://www.abolition2000.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/IDN-Action-Plan-2026_ENG.pdf

President Trump has embroiled the United States in yet another war in the Middle East, and at the heart of his shifting reasons for striking Iran with the help of Israel is Iran's nuclear program. Congressman Bill Foster from Illinois sat down with former Research Analyst and Paul Castleman Fellow Sam Hickey to discuss the big questions about Iran's nuclear program, how we got here, and what our next steps should be.

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