The Back from the Brink Podcast

Climate change and nuclear weapons have a lot in common: they are existential threats, their impacts don't respect geographical boundaries, and no country can solve them alone. Dr. Rachel Cleetus and Dr. John Burroughs join host Ryann Blackshere Vargas to discuss how treaties, international law, and the voices of everyday people can work in tandem to confront both threats.   Guest bios: Dr. Rachel...

With treaties expiring and traditional diplomatic routes breaking down, it may be hard to imagine how countries could come together to confront an existential challenge like nuclear weapons. But international cooperation is not uncharted territory. Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins talks to host Ryann Blackshere Vargas about how nations have come together in the past to reduce the nuclear arsenal and elim...

U.S. nuclear weapons policies are based on many faulty assumptions, creating a lot of unnecessary risk. In fact, we've already had numerous close calls with nuclear war. Guest Dr. Lisbeth Gronlund and host Ryann Blackshere Vargas discuss who has the authority to launch nuclear weapons, whether missile defense could protect us from incoming attacks, and whether nuclear war is really a possibility t...

For as long as nuclear weapons have been around, we've been told that they keep us safe by deterring other countries from attacking us. This theory is known as nuclear deterrence. But is it actually keeping us safe? Guests Dr. Chuck Powell and Dr. Rebecca Gibbons have seen firsthand the impact of thinking this way, and they share what they learned with Ryann Blackshere Vargas.   Guest bios: Dr. Ch...

The threat of nuclear war has loomed over us since the first nuclear explosion in 1945, known as the Trinity Test. Decades later, communities are still contending with the impacts of that test and all the nuclear weapons that have been built since then. As Tina Cordova and Molly McGinty work to address these harms and build a safer world, Ryann Blackshere Vargas explores why this issue matters so...

COMING SOON! A new limited-series Back   from   the   Brink podcast that invites listeners to imagine something different:  a brighter, safer future where people  from  all walks of life are helping move us beyond  the  threat of nuclear weapons. Over  the  course of seven episodes,  we'll talk to scientists, diplomats, lawyers, policy experts, activists, and teachers  — all of whom are united in...