NukeTalk

A special episode of Press the Button features Sunny Dooley, a Najavo storyteller who collects, learns and retells the oral tradition of the Diné Hozhojii Hané (Navajo Blessingway stories). She discusses the impact of nuclear weapons on her community and the world at large, 75 years after the Trinity test and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Visit http://sunnydooley.weebly.com/ for more information

Carol Giacomo, former member of the New York Times Editorial Board and former Reuters diplomatic correspondent, joins Press the Button to discuss how an editorial board operates, and her own journey from reporting on foreign and defense issues to writing policy proposals in favor of better national security and nuclear policy. Early Warning features a discussion on nuclear details in the recently released Democratic Party platform and ongoing battles over what the US government budget should prioritize with our former Roger L. Hale fellow Akshai Vikram and Lisa Perry, digital communications director for the William J. Perry Project and host of the AT THE BRINK podcast.

Christine Ahn, founder and executive director of Women Cross DMZ, joins Press the Button to discuss prospects for peace on the Korean peninsula 70 years after the start of the Korean War, and why a policy rooted in smart, credible diplomacy with North Korea is critical in efforts to reduce the risk of nuclear war. Early Warning features co-host Tom Collina and Ariane Tabatabai of German Marshall Fund discussing the state of the Iran nuclear agreement five years after its implementation and recent attacks on Iran's nuclear program. Press the Button remembers Bruce Blair, who unexpectedly passed away today.

Alex Wellerstein, historian of science at the Stevens Institute of Technology and creator of NUKEMAP, returns to Press the Button for a discussion on the history and myths about nuclear weapons on the 75th anniversary of the Trinity test, the world's first nuclear explosion. Early Warning features Tom Collina and progressive foreign policy strategist Elizabeth Beavers discussing the long-overdue national debate over federal budget priorities, and congressional efforts to reduce Pentagon spending.

Former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry and Ploughshares Fund policy director Tom Collina join Press the Button to discuss how US nuclear policy, largely set during the Cold War, is outdated, obsolete, and dangerous. Perry and Collina cover this topic in their new book "The Button: The New Nuclear Arms Race and Presidential Power From Truman to Trump." Early Warning features Erica Fein of Win Without War and Anthony Wier of Friends Committee on National Legislation discussing efforts to reduce the bloated US defense budget and re-orient the funds toward fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing racial injustice.

A special episode of Press the Button features outgoing co-host and Ploughshares Fund president Joe Cirincione's final appearance on the podcast (for now). He talks with co-host Michelle Dover on the state of the national security and nuclear policy field, and why he feels optimistic about the prospect of a safer, more secure world.

Steve Benen, Emmy award-winning producer for The Rachel Maddow Show, joins Press the Button to discuss his new book, The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politics, in which he argues that the GOP has become a "post-policy" party. Early Warning features Matt Korda of Federation of American Scientists and Luke Schleusener of Out in National Security on the landmark Supreme Court decision regarding discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace, and an emerging congressional fight over the resumption of nuclear testing.

Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, founder and president of the Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security and Conflict Transformation (WCAPS), joins Press the Button for a discussion on her work and why the current moment of protest and awareness sweeping the country only underscores the need for systemic change. Ambassador Jenkins recently joined the Ploughshares Fund board of directors. Early Warning features Camille Stewart of New America and our senior program officer/nuclear field coordinator John Carl Baker on the ongoing protests against police brutality and the deterioration of inter-Korea relations.

David Corn, chief of the Washington bureau for Mother Jones and MSNBC contributor, joins Press the Button for an in-depth look at the four big crises facing the United States at this time: the COVID-19 pandemic, economic collapse, corrupt government, and police violence. Early Warning features our Roger L. Hale fellow Akshai Vikram and Neda Shaheen of Women of Color Advancing Peace & Security on the nationwide protests against police brutality initiated by the killing of George Floyd, and how the militarization of US national security resulted in the militarization of US police departments.

Michelle Thaller, astronomer and research scientist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, joins Press the Button to discuss the science behind nuclear weapons, and what exactly makes them so dangerous. Early Warning discusses recent revelations that the Trump administration considered resuming US nuclear testing, which has not occurred since 1992. In the Silo features our senior program officer Cara Wagner on the Consensual Straitjacket, New America's landmark report on the challenges faced by women in the nuclear field.