NukeTalk

Gretchen Hund, former Director of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s (PNNL) Center for Global Security and current Ploughshares Fund board member, joins Press the Button to discuss the environmental impact of nuclear technology and nuclear weapons. Early Warning features Ploughshares Fund's deputy director of policy Mary Kaszynski and Wendy Jordan of Taxpayers for Common Sense discussing Congress's failure to agree to a stimulus package for Americans affected by the coronavirus pandemic and the impact of US sanctions on Iran during this critical time.

Caroline Dorminey and Corey Greer from Women's Action for New Directions (WAND) join Press the Button for a discussion on the political and financial context of the Pentagon's latest budget, as well as how WAND's grassroots efforts are sparking a new wave of public interest in nuclear issues. A special In the Silo segment looks into the grassroots movement behind No First Use policy, featuring Women Legislators' Lobby director Jennifer Blemur and Nuclear Security Working Group congressional fellow Abigail Stowe-Thurston. Early Warning features co-host Michelle Dover, Ploughshares Fund's deputy director of policy Mary Kaszynski and Dr. Laura Grego of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Pam Hamamoto, former ambassador to the UN in Geneva under President Barack Obama, joins Press the Button for an exclusive interview on her experiences leading the US’s largest overseas multilateral diplomatic post, and her current leadership of the Women's Initiative $1 Million Campaign at Ploughshares Fund. Hamamoto co-founded International Gender Champions, a global network of leaders committed to promoting gender equality through specific actions and policy changes. Early Warning features Tom Collina and Akshai Vikram comparing the Democratic presidential candidates' positions on nuclear policy with that of the Trump administration's approach, the IAEA's latest report on Iran's uranium enrichment, and what to do about Coronavirus.

Jessica Mathews, former President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, joins co-host Joe Cirincione for a wide-ranging conversation on how bipartisan consensus enabled an out-of-control US military spending spree that continues to this day. Early Warning features Ploughshares Fund Board Member Philip Taubman discussing the Open Skies Treaty and the state of arms control in the face of renewed nuclear modernization programs.

Alexandra Bell, senior policy director at the Center for Arms Control & Non-Proliferation, joins co-host Joe Cirincione for a sobering assessment of the current moment in our nuclear history, and how to prevent the worst from happening during the Trump administration and beyond. Early Warning features our Roger L. Hale fellow Akshai Vikram and Catherine Killough of Women Cross DMZ assessing nuclear policy in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, the impact of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and recent parliamentary elections in Iran.

Alexandra Bell, senior policy director at the Center for Arms Control & Non-Proliferation, joins co-host Joe Cirincione for a sobering assessment of the current moment in our nuclear history, and how to prevent the worst from happening during the Trump administration and beyond. Early Warning features our Roger L. Hale fellow Akshai Vikram and Catherine Killough of Women Cross DMZ assessing nuclear policy in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, the impact of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and recent parliamentary elections in Iran.

The Trump administration's budget request for 2021 is out, and it calls for an eye-popping $75 billion in nuclear weapons spending. William Hartung of the Center for International Policy returns to Press the Button to discuss the exploding nuclear budget: why it's happening, what it means for spending on other things, and why it's so dangerous. Early Warning features our policy director Tom Collina and Erica Fein of Win Without War discussing the winners and losers of the budget request, and recent legislation introduced by Rep. Ilhan Omar that aims to outline a progressive foreign policy vision for the United States.

Read more about the exploding military budget: https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/pentagon-military-spending/