Plutonium Pit Production--The Risks and Costs of US Plans to Build New Nuclear Weapons with Dr. Dylan K. Spaulding of the Union of Concerned Scientists
About this episode
The episode discusses the risks and costs associated with the US plans to build new nuclear weapons, featuring insights from Dr. Dylan K. Spaulding.
Nuclear weapons have been with us for 80 years. There are fewer today than was the case at the height of the Cold War, but there are more countries with nukes than ever before. Some heads of state have been, of late, threatening to use them. If you’ve seen Kathryn Bigelow’s recent film, “House of Dynamite,” you’ll know that human psychology is the linchpin on which the entire system of nuclear deterrence rests: would the President (or Premier or whatever) exchange their capitals for others? Trade Washington, DC for Moscow or Beijing? There is reason to be concerned about this question: The United States is planning a $1.7 trillion overhaul of its entire nuclear arsenal, designing new warheads and investing in new bombers, missiles, and submarines to carry them, all in the name of “modernization.” It’s not that the current generations of platforms and warheads won’t work; it’s more that Admirals, Generals and Presidents don’t trust devices put into operation when they were very young and that there is a lot of money and prestige in having the latest generation of gadgets and lording that over the competing services. Oh, and new weapons are “manlier” than the old ones. Join host…
People in this episode
Host: Ronnie Lipschutz
Guest: Dr. Dylan K. Spaulding
Topics covered
- nuclear weapons
- US military policy
- nuclear deterrence
- modernization of arsenal
- global security
- psychology of warfare
Keywords
- nuclear arsenal
- modernization
- nuclear stockpile
- military strategy
- nuclear deterrence
- global security
- psychological factors
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Union of Concerned Scientists
Books & works: House of Dynamite
Places: United States, Moscow, Beijing
More episodes of Sustainability Now! on KSQD.org
- Secret Sounds of Ponds and Other Animal Music with Professor David Rothenberg, NJ Institute of Technology
- Microplastics: invisible, insidious, and...fixable with Dr. Myra Finkelstein and Dr. Steven Mentor
- "We think they'll kill someone" indigenous resistance in Oaxaca, Mexico, with Anjan Sundaram, The Stringer Foundation
- Transformative Climate Communities in California With Nancy Faulstitch and Eloy Ortiz, Regeneración Pajaro Valley
- The Past and Future of Sustainable Communities with Peter Calthorpe, Architect & Urban Designer
- Biologists Unite! The Rise and Fall of Ecosystem Services with Professor Daniel Suarez, Middlebury College
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Sustainability Now! on KSQD.org podcast page.