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 […]
Interns
Plutonium for Private Industry: A Proliferation Problem
By Lyle Seeligson The federal government will soon be handing over nuclear bomb material to private companies. In May, the Trump administration announced its intent to allow nuclear energy start-ups to use the Department of Energy’s excess plutonium pits — dangerous nuclear explosives collected from decommissioned Cold War-era warheads — to make nuclear fuel for […]
Nuclear Terrorism is Still a Threat. Why are We Cutting Funding Preventing It?
By Lyle Seeligson The need to address nuclear terrorism remains urgent. So why is the federal government cutting funding for the programs that prevent foreign and domestic terrorists from causing a nuclear disaster? According to the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre director, “the threat [of nuclear terrorism] has never been so high as it is today.” […]
Nuclear Exports: Challenges and Opportunities for Non-Proliferation
By Lyle Seeligson The United States and Israel’s war in Iran — ostensibly a conflict over nuclear weapons — is having an unintended, though predictable, side effect: increasing global demand for nuclear power. In response to Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz and skyrocketing oil and gas prices (which will likely stay high even if […]
