NukeTalk

This week, Ploughshares Fund’s Hale Fellow Angela Kellett sits down with Shalonda Spencer, Executive Director of Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security and Conflict Transformation (WCAPS). In honor of Mother’s Day, she discusses the burden that is often imposed by nuclear weapons and security issues on women and children.

On Early Warning, Tom Collina is joined by Ellie Geranmayeh, senior policy fellow at the European Council for Foreign Relations. She discusses the four year anniversary of Trump’s withdraw from the Iran deal and the actions the Biden Administration should take on the JCPOA now.

Delfin Vigil interviews Deann Borshay Liem, Emmy-Award winning film producer & director of Crossings. She discusses her new documentary that follows a group of women peacemakers across the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.

On Early Warning, Tom Collina sits down with Gregory Kulacki, China Project Manager at the Union of Concerned Scientists. He talks about China’s nuclear program, and deconstructs the belief that the US is “falling behind” in an arms race with China.

Is the war in Ukraine changing public attitudes and perceptions about nuclear weapons? Tom Collina explores this topic with Dr. Lauren Sukin, MacArthur nuclear security postdoctoral fellow at Standford University Center for International Security and Cooperation, and Dr. Alexander Lanoszka, assistant professor in the department of political science at the Balsillie School for International Affairs at the University of Waterloo in Canada.

On Early Warning, Lauren Billet sits down with Lilly Adams, Senior Research Coordinator at the Union of Concerned Scientists Global Security Program. She discusses the importance of renewing the soon-to-be expired Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which provides one-time compensation for those suffering from illnesses caused by nuclear testing.  

On March 9, 2022, India launched a cruise missile into Pakistan by mistake. Tom Collina discusses this incident with Matt Korda, senior research associate and project manager for the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists.

On Early Warning, Alex Hall is joined by Monica Montgomery, advocacy coordinator at the Council for a Livable World and Research Analyst at the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation. She discusses the proposed Pentagon budget and how it affects our nuclear priorities.

How are our nuclear weapons choices decided? Who gets a say in making the knowledge that is used to justify these choices? Emma Belcher discusses these questions with Dr. Benoit Pelopidas, founding director of the Nuclear Knowledges program at Sciences Po (CERI) in Paris.

On Early Warning, Alex Hall sits down with Dr. Bridget Conley, research director at the World Peace Foundation. She discusses how civilians are protected under the laws of war, and the intersection between nuclear weapons and genocide.

It’s a curtain call for co-host Michelle Dover. On her last Press the Button episode, Dover is joined by Ploughshares Fund President Emma Belcher and fellow co-host Tom Collina. They quiz Dover on her favorite moments on the podcast and her personal journey in the nuclear policy field.

On Early Warning, co-host Tom Collina is joined by Emma Claire Foley, senior associate for research and policy at Global Zero. She walks through how nuclear policy has changed since Obama’s Prague speech and what we’ll most likely see from the upcoming Nuclear Posture Review.

On this week’s episode, Ploughshares Fund President Emma Belcher sits down with Dr. Maria Rost Rublee, Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations at Monash University. She discusses the myths and misconceptions of Ukraine’s nuclear weapons history & what we can learn from this now.

On Early Warning, Michelle Dover is joined by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, visiting fellow at the European Council of Foreign Relations. He discusses one of the last hurdles to the Iran Deal: Iran’s demand that the US rescind its foreign terrorist designation on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, which was placed by the Trump Administration in 2019.

Don’t look up but do tune into this week’s special bonus episode: Delfin Vigil sits down with David Sirota, Academy Award nominee and co-writer of the Netflix sci-fi comedy Don’t Look Up. He discusses the inspiration behind the movie and the reasoning behind interspersing references to nuclear war throughout the film.

What does security mean to you? How does gender intersect and affect our perception of security? Co-host Michelle Dover speaks with Dr. Alexi Drew, senior analyst at Rand Europe and Anuradha Damale, policy fellow at BASIC, on these topics.   On Early Warning, co-host Tom Collina is joined by Sara Haghdoosti, executive director of Win Without War. She brings the latest updates on the Iran Deal and what it will take to re-seal the deal.