By Jack Higgins, Policy Intern, Summer 2025 The United States plans to spend $1.7 trillion to modernize its nuclear forces over the next 30 years with artificial intelligence set to play a major role in the effort, but will it be a worthwhile investment? While AI has the potential to improve safety-critical early warning and […]
3 Lessons From Switzerland’s Weak Punishment of Nuclear Smugglers
By Abby Wagner, Policy Intern, Summer 2025 Nearly 20 years ago, Switzerland let a family of nuclear smugglers off the hook. That choice revealed how a narrow concept of neutrality, weak export laws and greed can fuel nuclear proliferation and threaten global security. After recent Israeli and American strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, there has […]
We should observe July 16 but celebrate July 17
Reflections on my trip to Los Alamos By Anna Schumann On July 16, 1945, the nuclear age began when a team of Manhattan Project scientists working in Los Alamos, New Mexico, tested the first nuclear bomb, dubbed the Trinity Test, after years of building it in secret. On July 17, 1945, the anti-nuclear age began […]
What Might an End to the Violence in the Middle East Look Like?
By John Erath (updated June 22 from an original post June 20) After more than a week of strikes and counter strikes, the latest round of conflict between Iran and Israel, and now involving the United States, shows little sign that it will end quickly. Israel has stated that its goal is degrading Iran’s extensive […]
Strengthening Biosecurity Efforts Without the Federal Government
by Farah Sonde Thousands of employees at the U.S. Health and Human Services Department were abruptly laid off on April Fool’s Day this year. These layoffs, coupled with funding cuts to programs intended to bolster biosecurity, will constitute a devastating blow to the United States’ ability to fight against biological threats, including the potential weaponization […]
