by Emma Sandifer In 1986, with the Cold War winding down and the Soviet Union on its last legs, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev met in a tiny house on the coast of Reykjavik, Iceland, to decide whether there would be peace or war in the world. The new movie, […]
Nukes of Hazard blog
Reflections On My Summer Internship: Lyle Seeligson
by Lyle Seeligson, Policy Intern, Summer 2026 My first conversation about nuclear weapons was with my mother. It was 2008; I had just turned ten years old. She explained that we were in a war in a place called Iraq. She told me how the war had been started because we thought Iraq had dangerous weapons. She said I shouldn’t worry, though — those weapons […]
After Turning the War Around on Its Own, Ukraine Needs Support
by John Erath, Senior Policy Director Most of the media coverage of nuclear weapons issues in 2026 has focused on Iran for good reason. Iranian production of a nuclear weapon would affect peace and security in the Middle East and beyond. With the Trump administration seeming finally to settle on prevention of nuclear proliferation as […]
The United States has a responsibility to uphold non-proliferation norms. Here’s how it can.
By Conor Donlevy On December 2, 1942, Manhattan Project scientists working at the University of Chicago (including our sister organization’s founder, Leo Szilard) created the first sustained, man-made nuclear chain reaction underneath the stands of a football field using a pile of graphite and uranium. The reactor was dubbed the “Chicago Pile-1” and its success […]
The Wrong Way
By John Erath Something’s wrong. Perhaps more than one thing, but there is something specifically amiss with the recently published U.S. Defense Budget Request. The Center has, as usual, prepared a breakdown of the numbers, and they show a lack of focus on the actual threats to American security. In particular, the request for FY27 […]
