(2021). Introduction: Can we make overspending on the military politically costly? Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Vol. 77, Special issue: How to cut defense spending in a pandemic and climate change era, pp. 237-238.

ABSTRACT In this article, the author argues for a strategic reconsideration of one major element of the US defense effort – the commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He shows how major reforms in the implementation of US alliance commitments can save as much as $70 billion to $80 billion per year with little change in the risk to US interests.

(2021). Interview: Diane Randall, director general of the Friends Committee on National Legislation, discusses restraining the US defense budget. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Vol. 77, Special issue: How to cut defense spending in a pandemic and climate change era, pp. 244-248.

ABSTRACT With the timing and substance of its fiscal 2022 defense budget, the Biden administration has made several poor choices that do not enhance US security in a cost-effective manner. In effect, the Biden budget ratifies a massive unnecessary defense buildup that was undertaken by President Trump.

(2021). Interview: Tom Collina of the Ploughshares Fund on the politics of defense spending. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Vol. 77, Special issue: How to cut defense spending in a pandemic and climate change era, pp. 255-258.

ABSTRACT The Nuclear Notebook is researched and written by Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project with the Federation of American Scientists, and Matt Korda, a research associate with the project. The Nuclear Notebook column has been published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since 1987. This issue’s column examines Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, which may include approximately

(2021). Introduction: UNSCOM and the future of WMD verification. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Vol. 77, Special issue: The legacy of the UN Special Commission to disarm Iraq, pp. 159-162.

ABSTRACT In this article, Rolf Ekéus, Swedish ambassador and UNSCOM executive chair from 1991 to 1997 gives his perspective on the UNSCOM process.

ABSTRACT In this article, the former biological chief inspector for the UN Special Commission on Iraq from 1993–1995 recounts his efforts during two missions to locate biological weapons and biological weapons facilities in the wake of the First Gulf War.

ABSTRACT In this interview, a former biological weapons chief inspector for UNSCOM describes the importance of biological monitoring in Iraq, its challenges, and its successes.

ABSTRACT In this article, a former chemical and biological chief inspector for the UN Special Commission on Iraq from 1996–1998 concludes that the UNSCOM experience was a successful full-scale experiment in disarmament that uncovered and destroyed the infrastructure of the Iraqi bioweapons program. The UNSCOM experience, however, also illustrated the limitations of inspection methods, especially when

ABSTRACT Terence Taylor served on the UN Special Commission investigating weapons of mass destruction programs in the country. Technical expertise in weapons inspections, an understanding of global trade, and a knack for the element of surprise helped Taylor and other weapons inspectors discover, among other things, the existence of Iraq’s biological weapons program.

ABSTRACT In this interview with Henrietta Wilson, a freelance researcher, Nikita Smidovich details the lessons that the UNSCOM experience can teach those who undertake weapons of mass destruction verification efforts today.

ABSTRACT In this article, Charles A. Duelfer, Deputy Executive Chair of UNSCOM, 1993–1998, and Head of the Iraq Survey Group, 2004–2005, finds that UNSCOM demonstrated the value of access to individuals in achieving monitoring goals. A vital aspect of UNSCOM’s inspection authorities (arguably the most important) was the access to interview identified individuals. “Experts talking to experts” produced

ABSTRACT In this article, the author, who is chief of the WMD Branch at the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, explains how UNSCOM provided a foundational example of multilateral efforts to prevent the spread and use of weapons of mass destruction and why it is incumbent on all countries to work together to follow and build on that example today.

ABSTRACT In this article, the author – who served as special adviser to UNSCOM’s executive chair and spokesperson for UNSCOM for nearly four years – focuses on the way in which UNSCOM’s organization and culture evolved to adapt to its mission to destroy, remove, and render harmless Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and its long-range missiles.

ABSTRACT In this article, the authors offer a short primer that outlines UNSCOM’s historical context and the logistics of its work – central aspects contributing to the Special Commission’s successes in searching for Iraq’s hidden biological weapons program.

ABSTRACT As US-Russia tensions in space have increased over the last several years, cooperation in space nuclear research presents itself as one opportunity to both ease bilateral relations and develop the technologies needed for the next generation of crewed space missions. The authors suggest that the United States and the Russian Federation have complementary needs and strengths in nuclear space

ABSTRACT In recent years, there has been much discussion of small modular reactors. Companies developing such designs have received large amounts of government funding. Lower power outputs of these reactors will likely result in higher costs in comparison to large nuclear reactors, and even if they achieve parity, will fail economically, since large reactors are themselves struggling to compete with

ABSTRACT Three decades after the end of the Cold War, the United States still deploys about 100 nuclear weapons in Europe under NATO’s nuclear sharing policy. Two of the hosting states, Germany and the Netherlands, are now debating the prospective withdrawal of these weapons from their territory. This article presents the findings of a recent public opinion poll in the two countries, where German and

ABSTRACT The Nuclear Notebook is researched and written by Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project with the Federation of American Scientists, and Matt Korda, a research associate with the project. The Nuclear Notebook column has been published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since 1987. This issue’s column examines North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. The authors cautiously

(2021). Introduction: How to dial back a disinformation dystopia. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Vol. 77, Special issue: The fight against internet misinformation and disinformation, pp. 109-110.

(2021). Alan Miller: How the News Literacy Project teaches schoolchildren (and adults) to dismiss and debunk internet disinformation. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Vol. 77, Special issue: The fight against internet misinformation and disinformation, pp. 111-115.

ABSTRACT Facebook and other social media platforms are not designed first and foremost to promote a well-functioning society. They’re designed to collect personal data and sell targeted ads. Many people have decried the disinformation, conspiracy theories, and hate speech that proliferate online, but Ethan Zuckerman, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, thinks that there’s a more

ABSTRACT From QAnon conspiracy theories to Russian government sponsored election interference, social media disinformation campaigns are a part of online life, and identifying these threats amid the posts that billions of social media users upload each day is a challenge. To help sort through massive amounts of data, social media platforms are developing AI systems to automatically remove harmful content

ABSTRACT Since 2015, there has been a huge increase in laws that ostensibly seek to counter misinformation. Since the pandemic began, this trend has only accelerated. Both authoritarian and democratic governments have introduced more new policies to fight misinformation in 2019 and in 2020. In authoritarian states pandemic-related misinformation provided a new justification for repressive policies

ABSTRACT The World Health Organization declared the deluge of publicly available information about COVID-19 to be an “infodemic,” comprising both facts and misinformation. Researchers don’t know exactly the degree to which people believe the misinformation they see online, but, in the case of COVID-19, belief in conspiracy theories related to the virus is associated with people being less willing to

ABSTRACT The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is an important diplomatic, political, and legal landmark in the longstanding effort to abolish nuclear weapons. It has already been joined by 54 countries, but has been rejected by all the states that currently possess nuclear weapons. Accurate and even-handed analysis of the treaty’s potential contributions, its relationship to other legally-binding

ABSTRACT The realm of outer space is becoming increasingly crowded and more contested – conditions that increase the risk that a conflict could arise. Given that there has never been a war in space, countries have little experience to draw upon to predict what behavior might motivate a potential competitor to respond with threatening actions – and how quickly and in what manner those actions could

ABSTRACT The United States and Russia both possess large quantities of nuclear waste, generated during the production of nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. To ensure that this radioactive material remains safely sequestered for tens of thousands of years or more, both countries plan to bury it in deep geologic repositories. However, US and Russian repository design strategies are highly distinct.

ABSTRACT The Nuclear Notebook is researched and written by Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project with the Federation of American Scientists, and Matt Korda, a research associate with the project. The Nuclear Notebook column has been published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since 1987. This issue’s column examines the United Kingdom’s nuclear arsenal, which includes

(2021). Introduction: Climate action in the general interest. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Vol. 77, Special issue: Smoothing the transition to a renewable economy, pp. 65-66.

ABSTRACT Large-scale structural change is essential if we are to decarbonize the economy rapidly enough to avert the worst of global warming. Individual actions by the well-meaning won’t be enough. Yet the two aren’t mutually exclusive, and there are both moral and pragmatic reasons to do both at the same time. Individuals must act collectively, as engaged citizens, to push governments and fossil fuel

ABSTRACT In this interview with the Bulletin’s Dan Drollette Jr., investor, philanthropist, and former presidential candidate Tom Steyer talks about how to make the transition to a green economy just for workers, companies, and governments – and, speaking as a billionaire, what he thinks the private sector can do.

ABSTRACT In this interview, Anne Simpson, director of global governance at CalPERS, California’s public employees’ pension fund, explains her approach to encouraging fossil fuel companies to clean up their acts.

ABSTRACT In 2010, German Chancellor Angela Merkel followed the cue of previous national leaders in announcing that the country would reduce its overall greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2020. But consumer revolt about electricity prices, inaction by the country’s powerful auto industry, and technological hurdles made that goal look increasingly unreachable – until the COVID-19 pandemic hit

ABSTRACT We must respond to the climate crisis on the scale science demands. At the same time, working people should not suffer economically due to efforts to tackle climate change. Increasing unionization and improving job-quality in clean energy industries – including offshore wind generation and manufacturing sectors such as the electric vehicle industry – can drive climate action and ensure a just

ABSTRACT The Nuclear Notebook is researched and written by Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project with the Federation of American Scientists, and Matt Korda, a research associate with the project. The Nuclear Notebook column has been published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since 1987. This issue’s column examines Russia’s nuclear arsenal, which includes a stockpile

(2021). Introduction: Advice for a new administration facing difficult times. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Vol. 77, Special issue: Expert advice for the new US president, pp. 1-2.

ABSTRACT Aside from a quick extension of the New START treaty, one important step the Biden administration should consider in the realm of nuclear policy is to jettison the “great power competition” narrative that Trump officials and supporters have popularized.

ABSTRACT An exceedingly challenging agenda of urgent, important, and diverse arms control issues awaits the incoming Biden administration. To address it, the administration should consider the creation of a new agency to focus on cooperative threat reduction; alternatively, deft reorganization of key elements of the executive branch could be pursued swiftly, without requiring legislation. An examination

ABSTRACT Efforts to renew international engagement with a deep bench of experts, intergovernmental organizations, and policy makers will be critical over the next four years to return to the core tenets of historical American foreign policy. There are three key areas where multilateral engagement will be needed with respect to nuclear policy: on Iran’s nuclear program, on US alliances, and on the spread

ABSTRACT President-elect Joe Biden has long supported the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. But three important factors have shifted the context in recent years, making US participation more important than ever. His administration should invest effort and resources into persuading the Senate to finally ratify it.

ABSTRACT The first 100 days of the presidency could help determine the state of our planet’s climate for the next 10,000 years. The president will have to win over potential allies in the middle, yet remain unafraid to play hardball with the Congresspeople who are captured by the fossil fuel industry.

ABSTRACT The author lays out four key water-related priorities for the new Biden administration.

ABSTRACT During the 1980s, conservatives tied themselves in knots worrying about how to handle their man in the White House, before finally deciding to “Let Reagan be Reagan.” In the 2020s, progressives should “Let Biden be Biden.”

ABSTRACT President-Elect Biden should make climate change and ecological instability vital national security priorities.

ABSTRACT Autonomous naval ships, algorithms to interpret drone video footage – the US military and other armed forces around the world are thinking about how to incorporate applications of artificial intelligence systems into their operations. The Biden administration has an opportunity to foster international cooperation on military AI to reduce the risk of inadvertent conflict while still pursuing

ABSTRACT Politicians from both major US parties want to reform a more than 20-year-old law that gives internet companies broad protection from liability over third-party content. The left sees Section 230 reform as key to reducing the harm of online disinformation and other ills; the right sees reform as way to prevent censorship. In a “memo” to the president-elect, law professor Eric Goldman asks

ABSTRACT For years now, the pressure in academia to publish in journals has been intense; getting articles published in prestigious journals is good for one’s career, and it’s important in winning grant funding. But high productivity isn’t necessarily synonymous with high quality. The COVID-19 pandemic and the absolute flood of scientific articles it has unleashed underscore that point. To tamp down

ABSTRACT The Biden administration must reevaluate the emergency response doctrine that proved so fragile during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the crisis, the federal government was not the backstop many expected it would be when states were desperately competing with each other for emergency supplies. A chronically underfunded public health system and a presidential administration that did not heed

ABSTRACT The Nuclear Notebook is researched and written by Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project with the Federation of American Scientists, and Matt Korda, a research associate with the project. The Nuclear Notebook column has been published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since 1987. This issue examines the status of the US nuclear arsenal. The US nuclear arsenal

(2020). An innovative and determined future for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Vol. 76, Now, then, and the future: The Bulletin turns 75, pp. 277-279.

(2020). Buckle up: We are in for a bumpy ride. An interview with Royal Astronomer Martin Rees. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Vol. 76, Now, then, and the future: The Bulletin turns 75, pp. 280-284.

(2020). Nobel chemistry laureate Jennifer Doudna on the promise and peril of the genetic editing revolution. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Vol. 76, Now, then, and the future: The Bulletin turns 75, pp. 285-289.

ABSTRACT A personal history of how former US Defense Secretary William J. Perry’s thinking on nuclear weapons has evolved from Hiroshima to the present time.

ABSTRACT Any successful effort to address climate change over the next 25 years will involve a “credible swap” that greatly reduces greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, provides energy in entirely different ways, and also reduces demand for energy. On the demand side, the next quarter century offers abundant high-leverage opportunities to reduce future emissions via intelligent

ABSTRACT As genomic technologies develop and converge with AI, machine learning, automation, affective computing, and robotics, an ever more refined record of our biometrics, emotions, and behaviors (https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2018/02/28/589477976/biometric-data-and-the-rise-of-digital-dictatorship) will be captured and analyzed. These game-changing developments will deeply impact how we view

(2020). Siegfried Hecker on remembering history while planning the future of nuclear arms control. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Vol. 76, Now, then, and the future: The Bulletin turns 75, pp. 309-314.

ABSTRACT Scientists, in the public imagination, are intrepid explorers. They stand at the edge of human knowledge and carve out new territory, break down barriers and rewrite the rules. Nature has no political ideology and carries no passport. Science, at its best, also espouses such cosmopolitan ideals. That data is neutral, and science is apolitical, makes for an alluring narrative. By clinging to