NukeTalk

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is officially out, so it’s time to travel back to 1945 and examine who was left behind in the pursuit of a false sense of security. This story starts with one man: J. Robert Oppenheimer. But the people affected total in the millions. And the fallout of that decision continues to this day.    Ploughshares Fund’s podcast is back for its second season titled “The Shadow of Oppenheimer.” Hosts Angela Kellett and Jacqueline Hsing are joined by nuclear policy experts in the field this week to give an understanding of what you need to know ahead of (or after) watching the film Oppenheimer. These nuclear policy experts explore how modern nuclear weapons have increased in capacity and destruction compared to their predecessors, the amount of money going into the US nuclear stockpile compared to compensation programs for radiation-exposed people, and how the nuclear field is mobilizing in response to Nolan’s Oppenheimer.   Guests include Matt Korda (Federation of American Scientists), Allen Hester (Friends Committee on National Legislation), Istra Fuhrmann (Peace and Security Funders Group), and Dr. Emma Belcher (Ploughshares Fund).

This week, Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinder Consortium and sixth-generation native New Mexican, has the microphone in the final episode of this season.

In this conversation with Ploughshares Fund President Emma Belcher, Tina Cordova discusses the financial damage that goes hand-in-hand with the physical and emotional toll that impacted communities experience, how these are passed down through generations of families, and how the effects of the Trinity Test — the first ever nuclear weapons test — is still felt today by those in New Mexico.

And please stay tuned for season 2 of Press the Button: "The Shadow of Oppenheimer."

Continue hearing the story of Hanford and Fukushima Daiichi downwinders with Trisha Thompson Pritikin and Dr. Yuki Miyamoto.

In part two of this conversation, they discuss the generational health effects passed down from radiation exposure and the litigation process the Fukushima Daiichi downwinders are currently undergoing.

This week, Trisha Thompson Pritikin and Dr. Yuki Miyamoto have the microphone.

In part one of this conversation, they discuss the parallels between the Hanford and the Fukushima Daiichi downwinders, and how radioactive iodine can impact the body.

Trisha Thompson Pritikin is a Hanford Downwinder and author of the book The Hanford Plaintiffs. Dr. Yuki Miyamoto is a second generation Hiroshima Hibakusha and an associate professor at DePaul University, where she uses comparative ethical framework to examine nuclear discourse. 

This week, Jasmine Owens from the Physicians for Social Responsibility has the microphone.

In past episodes, we’ve discussed how nuclear frontline communities are often indigenous or comprised mainly of people of color. Jasmine Owens goes beyond these conversations to answer the overarching question: how can the anti-nuclear community become more equitable?

This week, Mari Faines from Global Zero and Haleema Saadia, Lecturer at the National University of Modern Languages (NUML), have the microphone.

It’s not often discussed how racism intersects with our security priorities and how more often than not they are set at the expense of people of color. And when it is, the focus gets stuck on individuals rather than the underlying systemic inequalities that give power and privilege to certain voices.

In this conversation, Mari Faines and Haleema Saadia discuss how racism manifests in nuclear weapons policy, and how we can address head on the institutional issues that plague nuclear weapons policy and the entire security structure. 

This episode, Lilly Adams, senior outreach coordinator at the Union of Concerned Scientists and co-founder of Nuclear Voices has the microphone.

Lilly Adams is one of the many advocates who are bringing voices impacted by nuclear weapons to light and pushing for legislation to address these issues. In past episodes, we’ve talked about compensation for nuclear harm that are set to be expired if action isn’t taken — Lilly Adams pinpoints what exact obstacles are in the way and how we can better engage impacted communities in a more meaningful and genuine manner.

This week, Benetick Kabua Maddison, Executive Director of Marshallese Educational Initiative, has the microphone.

More than 15,000 Marshallese live in northwest Arkansas — the largest community of Marshallese people outside the Marshall Islands. Benetick Kabua Maddison discusses how the United States’ nuclear testing program in the Pacific resulted in this mass migration and why the Compact of Free Association (COFA), the agreement between the US and Marshall Islands designed in part to mitigate damages from nuclear testing, must be re-negotiated so the Marshallese people can receive justice and the resources they were promised.

On this week’s episode, Mary Dickson, a radiation-exposed person harmed by nuclear testing, has the microphone.

She discusses the lack of visibility that many downwinders face, the physical and mental toll caused by having to continuously advocate for oneself and others, and why the fight for justice is nowhere near over.

This week, the microphone is passed to Selina Leem, climate change activist and Marshall Islands native.

From 1946-1958, the US detonated 67 atomic bombs on the Marshall Islands, resulting in disastrous health, environmental, and cultural consequences that the Marshallese people are still burdened with today. Leem shares her first-hand experience of growing up with the consequences of this nuclear legacy and climate change, and how this has all shaped her activism.