With treaties expiring and traditional diplomatic routes breaking down, it may be hard to imagine how countries could come together to confront an existential challenge like nuclear weapons. But international cooperation is not uncharted territory. Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins talks to host Ryann Blackshere Vargas about how nations have come together in the past to reduce the nuclear arsenal and eliminate entire classes of weapons, and what it will take to continue that work.

Guest bios:

Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins served as the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security in the Biden Administration. During the Obama administration, she was the U.S. Department of State's coordinator for threat reduction programs in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation. Ambassador Jenkins is the Founder and Executive Director of Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security (WCAPS), as well as the Shapiro Visiting Professor of International Affairs at George Washington University.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Ambassador Jenkins' organization, Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security, and Conflict Transformation (WCAPS): https://www.wcaps.org/

Ambassador Jenkins' Substack: https://abjen.substack.com/profile/posts

U.S. nuclear weapons policies are based on many faulty assumptions, creating a lot of unnecessary risk. In fact, we've already had numerous close calls with nuclear war. Guest Dr. Lisbeth Gronlund and host Ryann Blackshere Vargas discuss who has the authority to launch nuclear weapons, whether missile defense could protect us from incoming attacks, and whether nuclear war is really a possibility today.

Guest bio:

Dr. Lisbeth Gronlund is a physicist working with the Laboratory for Nuclear Security and Policy in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT. Previously, she spent nearly three decades with the Union of Concerned Scientists' Global Security Program, including serving as co-director.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Lisbeth's writing for The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists: https://thebulletin.org/biography/lisbeth-gronlund/

Lisbeth's writing for The Union of Concerned Scientists: https://blog.ucs.org/author/lisbeth-gronlund/

For as long as nuclear weapons have been around, we've been told that they keep us safe by deterring other countries from attacking us. This theory is known as nuclear deterrence. But is it actually keeping us safe? Guests Dr. Chuck Powell and Dr. Rebecca Gibbons have seen firsthand the impact of thinking this way, and they share what they learned with Ryann Blackshere Vargas.

Guest bios:

Dr. Chuck Powell serves on the Board of Directors at Daisy Alliance, a non-profit focused on broadening education and awareness on the risks posed by nuclear weapons. He is also a Professional Certified Coach, a former U.S. Air Force missile launch officer, and a retired Healthcare Executive. His new book, Unicursal, a speculative novel about nuclear war, comes out July 14.

Dr. Rebecca Gibbons is an associate professor of political science at the University of Southern Maine and the author of The Hegemon's Toolkit. She was an academic co-chair of the Beyond Nuclear Deterrence Working Group, an initiative of the MacArthur Foundation and Harvard University's Project on Managing the Atom.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Rebecca's book The Hegemon's Tool Kit: US Leadership and the Politics of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime: https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501764851/the-hegemons-tool-kit/

Rebecca's article "Getting beyond nuclear deterrence: a research agenda": https://doi.org/10.1080/10736700.2025.2575524

Rebecca's article "After nuclear deterrence: insights and uncharted frontiers": https://doi.org/10.1080/10736700.2025.2588472

Rebecca's article "The humanitarian turn in nuclear disarmament and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons": https://doi.org/10.1080/10736700.2018.1486960

Daisy Alliance, where Chuck is a board member: https://www.daisyalliance.org/

Chuck's book Unicursal: Redemption in the Age of Nuclear Annihilation: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/unicursal-chuck-powell/1149852073

Chuck's coaching services at Encompassing Leadership Associates: https://www.allcanlead.com/

The threat of nuclear war has loomed over us since the first nuclear explosion in 1945, known as the Trinity Test. Decades later, communities are still contending with the impacts of that test and all the nuclear weapons that have been built since then. As Tina Cordova and Molly McGinty work to address these harms and build a safer world, Ryann Blackshere Vargas explores why this issue matters so much to them.

Guest information:

Molly McGinty: Program Director at the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). She highlights the humanitarian and environmental impacts of nuclear weapons and advocates for their total abolition.

Tina Cordova: Co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium. She is a seventh-generation native New Mexican seeking justice for the unknowing, unwilling and uncompensated, innocent victims of the Trinity Test.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Molly McGinty's organization, IPPNW: https://www.ippnw.org/

Molly's work with medical students: https://www.ippnw.org/home/medical-students

Tina Cordova's group, Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium: https://www.trinitydownwinders.com/

The documentary "First We Bombed New Mexico:" https://www.firstwebombednewmexico.com/

COMING SOON! A new limited-series Back from the Brink podcast that invites listeners to imagine something different: a brighter, safer future where people from all walks of life are helping move us beyond the threat of nuclear weapons. Over the course of seven episodes, we'll talk to scientists, diplomats, lawyers, policy experts, activists, and teachers — all of whom are united in two shared beliefs:

1. We must get rid of nuclear weapons
2. We can get rid of nuclear weapons

Guided by host Ryann Blackshere Vargas, an experienced journalist and media consultant for our campaign, we'll hear stories from people who are most passionate about this issue and illuminate what abolition would look like and how we can achieve it: through domestic policy change, international diplomacy, and changing how we talk about nuclear weapons. This isn't a podcast that just tells you what's wrong with the world, leaving you overwhelmed or hopeless. Our series highlights how everyday people have created meaningful change in the past — and what each of us can do now to continue making a difference. So stay tuned! The first episode, featuring Molly McGinty from IPPNW and Tina Cordova from the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, launches Friday, June 12.