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Sit back, relax, and brew a pot of tea for When the Wind Blows, a 1986 animated film directed by Jimmy Murakami based on the graphic novel by Raymond Briggs. In this episode of the Nuclear Movie Club, NukeTalk producer Rebecka Green and Ploughshares Roger L. Hale Fellow Scott Strgacich discuss When the Wind Blow's domestic eeriness, the big punch a small-scale story can make, how the film's animation is key to its impact, and why you should probably keep your home's doors where they are...for now. PS: If part of this episode's audio sounds a bit different to you, one of the microphones unknowingly cut out during recording and required some post-production magic by our editor, Ryan Kuhfeld. Thanks for understanding. Follow NukeTalk on Instagram and X @nuke_talk and Ploughshares on Instagram and X @plough_shares to be the first in the know about the movie of the week. Questions, comments, or movie trivia? Email podcast@ploughshares.org! See you at the movies!

Sit back, relax, and run like Tom Cruise trying to prevent an evil AI entity from causing nuclear war, for the Mission Impossible franchise. Mission Impossible is an 8-movie run of action films starring Tom Cruise and spanning three decades, concluding with 2025's MI: Final Reckoning, which is the main focus of our conversation. In this episode of the Nuclear Movie Club, NukeTalk producer Rebecka Green is joined by Ploughshares Senior Manager of Impact, Alex Hall, to discuss the Mission Impossible franchise's steady nuclear weapons escalation, the narrative appeal of a "hero" against nukes, Final Reckoning's positioning of AI threats, and how Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt character is always on planes instead of in them. Follow NukeTalk on Instagram and X @nuke_talk and Ploughshares on Instagram and X @plough_shares to be the first in the know about the movie of the week. Questions, comments, or movie trivia? Email podcast@ploughshares.org. NukeTalk is edited by Ryan Kuhfeld. See you at the movies!

Sit back, relax, and pack snacks for the War Room for Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Stanley Kubrick's 1964 political satire starring Peter Sellers (x3) and George C. Scott. After a brief New Years break, in this episode of the Nuclear Movie Club, NukeTalk producer Rebecka Green and Ploughshares Roger L. Hale Fellow Scott Strgacich discuss Dr. Strangelove's unique satirical approach to depicting nuclear threat, war rooms, and...Chess: The Musical? Follow NukeTalk on Instagram and X @nuke_talk and Ploughshares on Instagram and X @plough_shares to be the first in the know about the movie of the week. Questions, comments, or movie trivia? Email podcast@ploughshares.org—we'll do our best to read it on the air! See you at the movies!

Sit back, relax, and hold your loved ones tight for On the Beach, Stanley Kramer's 1959 apocalyptic drama starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, and Anthony Perkins. In this episode of the Nuclear Movie Club, NukeTalk producer Rebecka Green and Ploughshares Roger L. Hale Fellow Scott Strgacich discuss On the Beach's depiction of the end times, the creep of nuclear fallout, and whether or not On the Beach may have too much...beach. Love, loss, auto racing, Australians sans Australian accents, nuclear fallout—On the Beach has it all. Follow NukeTalk on Instagram and X @nuke_talk and Ploughshares on Instagram and X @plough_shares to be the first in the know about the movie of the week. Questions, comments, or movie trivia? Email podcast@ploughshares.org—we'll do our best to read it on the air! See you at the movies!

Sit back, relax, and choose your second-in-command wisely for Crimson Tide, Tony Scott's 1995 military thriller starring Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman. In this episode of the Nuclear Movie Club, NukeTalk producer Rebecka Green and Ploughshares Roger L. Hale Fellow Scott Strgacich discuss Crimson Tide's submarine technicalities, the nuclear attitude of the mid-90s, and if the film's mutiny plotline(s) could happen or if they're merely a Hollywood fabrication. Deep sea drama, problematic horse metaphors, command and control, Quentin Tarantino, tiny dogs—Crimson Tide has it all. Follow NukeTalk on Instagram and X @nuke_talk and Ploughshares on Instagram and X @plough_shares to be the first in the know about the movie of the week. Questions, comments, or movie trivia? Email podcast@ploughshares.org—we'll do our best to read it on the air! See you at the movies!

Sit back, relax, and join the Nuclear Movie Club for WarGames, John Badham's 1983 technothriller starring Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy—and perhaps better known as the movie that caused President Ronald Reagan *major anxiety* about U.S. cybersecurity. In this episode, NukeTalk producer Rebecka Green and Ploughshares Roger L Hale Fellow Scott Strgacich discuss WarGames's many (many!) themes, technical intricacies, and 80s parenting styles. AI, video games, NORAD, dinosaurs—this movie has it all. Follow NukeTalk on Instagram and X @nuke_talk and Ploughshares on Instagram and X @plough_shares to be the first in the know about the movie of the week. Questions, comments, or movie trivia? Email podcast@ploughshares.org—we'll do our best to read it on the air! See you at the movies! ***This season of NukeTalk is produced and hosted by Rebecka Green with support from Scott Strgacich. Editing by Ryan Kuhfeld.

For the first episode of NukeTalk's new season, Nuclear Movie Club, we are joined by Noah Oppenheim, screenwriter of A House of Dynamite—a new Netflix film by Kathryn Bigelow—and former president of NBC News. The Nuclear Movie Club will cover 10 defining movies in the nuclear film canon that represent a breadth of plot, theme, tone, and cultural impact. What do these films get right, and wrong, about depictions of nuclear threat? And what are the lasting impacts nuclear films can have on culture, policy, and public opinion? We will explore these questions, themes, and lots of fun facts on this season of NukeTalk. Follow NukeTalk on X @nuke_talk and Instagram @nuke_talk. Learn more about how you can contribute to global nuclear threat reduction by visiting Ploughshares at: ploughshares.org and signing up for our newsletter. This season of NukeTalk is produced and hosted by Rebecka Green. Editing done by Ryan Kuhfeld.

As we conclude our Nuclear Ballot season, we are wrapping up with an Inauguration Special Report. Our guest is Jon Wolfsthal, Director of Global Risk at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), as we explore what comes next regarding nuclear policy, domestic policy, and foreign policy at large, now that Donald J. Trump is the President of the United States.

In our 2024 holiday episode, we're joined by Jamie Kwong, a Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, to explore the fascinating connection between climate change and nuclear weapons. Grab your favorite holiday drink and listen in!

What's at stake in this election? With nukes on the line, experts share what's on their minds just days before the election. How could this election reshape US nuclear policy? Find out with insights from Molly Hurley, Allen Hester, and Esther Im as they break down the nuclear issues that could shape the future. Tune in for a wrap-up of The Nuclear Ballot season!

This election isn't just about votes—it's about who controls the world's most powerful weapons. In this season of NukeTalk, we will explore The Nuclear Ballot: How the U.S. Election Shapes Nuclear Policy. We bring you insights from top nuclear weapons experts on how this election can shape nuclear weapons policy in the future as stakes rise in this election cycle. In this episode, we'll explore the intricate web of strategic relationships shaped by the upcoming US election, focusing on the US relationships with China, Russia, and NATO. As candidates navigate [or blatantly ignore] nuclear weapons and global security, their language may influence these relationships. In a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape, we'll explore how election outcomes could impact power dynamics, provoke reactions from adversaries, and ultimately reshape alliances. Featured Guests: Dr. Tong Zhao, senior fellow at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Kimberly St. Julian Varnon, a doctoral candidate in Soviet history at the University of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Marion Messmer, senior research fellow in the International Security program at Chatham House.

This election isn't just about votes—it's about who controls the world's most powerful weapons. In this season of NukeTalk, we will explore The Nuclear Ballot: How the U.S. Election Shapes Nuclear Policy. We bring you insights from top nuclear weapons experts on how this election can shape nuclear weapons policy in the future as stakes rise in this election cycle. In this episode, we delve into the hidden human toll of nuclear weapons in the United States. Discover how the escalating defense budget, the looming discussions on resuming nuclear tests, and the continued neglect of those impacted by the nuclear weapons complex reveal a stark and troubling reality. Join us as we uncover the forgotten victims and the ongoing impacts of America's nuclear legacy. Featured Guests: Scott Yundt, Executive Director of Tri-Valley CAREs; Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, Director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS); and Mary Dickson, award-winning writer, downwinder, and advocate.

There's more to this election cycle than who wins and who loses. It's also about who controls one of the world's largest nuclear arsenals. In this season of NukeTalk, we will explore The Nuclear Ballot: How the U.S. Election Shapes Nuclear Policy. We'll provide expert insights into how this election can affect nuclear weapons policy. As we explore the President's exclusive authority to launch nuclear weapons to the strategic decisions outlined in the Nuclear Posture Review, we unravel the complexities that shape national and global security. Additionally, we will examine the media's coverage of nuclear weapons during an election year. Featured Guests: Kathleen Kingsbury, opinion editor at The New York Times, W.J. Hennigan, writer for The New York Times' "At the Brink" series, Dr. David Kearn, Associate Professor of Government and Politics at St. John's University, and Visiting Scholar at Harvard Kennedy School's Project on Managing the Atom, and Mackenzie Knight, Senior Research Associate at the Federation of American Scientists.

The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) was created by the federal government to partially compensate Americans who developed certain diseases as a result of being exposed to radiation from nuclear weapons production. Advocates are working to save the program, which is expiring on June 7. Guests include Christen Commuso (Missouri Coalition for the Environment) and Sofia Guerra (Friends Committee on National Legislation).

The US government poured $8 billion dollars down the drain when politics and poor planning left its efforts to dispose of Cold War-era plutonium at the Savannah River Site a failure. Now, it wants to produce plutonium pits at the site. Guests include Tom Clements (Savannah River Site Watch) and Taylor Barnes (Field Reporter for Inkstick Media).

It was the uranium enriched at the Y-12 plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee that was used in Little Boy, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in August of 1945. Today, every single weapon in the US' nuclear arsenal, all 5,000, has parts that were built or maintained at Y-12. Guests include Tanya Kardile (Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance) and Emily Strasser (author of Half-life of a secret: Reckoning with a hidden history).

The Pantex Plant sits just 17 miles northeast of Amarillo, Texas. It's the only remaining assembly and disassembly plant for nuclear weapons in the United States. Guests include Barbara Kent (downwinder and advocate), Kaysie Kent (downwinder and advocate), and Lucie Genay (author of Under the Cap of Invisibility: The Pantex Nuclear Weapons Plant and the Texas Panhandle).

In 1989, a team of FBI agents raided and shut down the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant after nearly 3 years of investigation into its environmental and waste practices. It was the first-ever raid of one government agency by another. Featured guests include Kristen Iversen (Author of Full Body Burden: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats), Jon Lipsky (Former FBI Special Agent who led the Rocky Flats raid), and Dr. Deborah Segaloff (Colorado Physicians for Social Responsibility).

Over 80 years ago, Hanford was miles and miles of open farmland. Now, it's known as the most contaminated site in the Western Hemisphere. This episode features Steve Olson, author of the book Apocalypse Factory: Plutonium and the Making of the Atomic Age, and Britany Lindley, staff attorney at Hanford Challenge.

The holiday season here! So is Human Rights Day. Listen to this special holiday episode about the intersections between justice, human rights, and nuclear weapons. Guests include Mary Dickson (Downwinder and Activist) and Lilly Adams (Union of Concerned Scientists).