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

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