A History of the Iranian Nuclear Program
Angry Planet23 Heinä 2025

A History of the Iranian Nuclear Program

Sometimes it’s good to back up and ask the basic questions: How do we know Iran was even developing nuclear weapons?


On this episode of the show, the Arms Control Wonk Jeffrey Lewis walks us through the history of the Iranian nuclear (weapons and energy) program. It’s got it all: diplomacy, assassinations, cowardly politicians, and uranium fever.


Lewis is a professor at the Middlebury Institute, member of the National Academies Committee on International Security and Arms Control, and former member of the State Department's International Security Advisory Board. He knows the tale well and he’s here to tell it straight.


  • Damning the strikes with faint praise.
  • “The hard part of a nuclear weapon is not the explodey part.”
  • Making a nuclear weapon is a solved problem.
  • The Iran-Iraq war and the origins of Iran’s nuclear weapons program
  • The ladders of Natanz, how they cascade down
  • Energy programs are always bigger than weapons programs.
  • Unmasking the International Atomic Energy Agency
  • Israel’s war on the program
  • How to enrich uranium
  • The “torturous” process behind the Iran deal
  • Congressional cowards
  • “A new generation of suckers”
  • The French movie goodbye


The Deal

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jaksot(494)

50 Years Since the Draft

50 Years Since the Draft

In 1973, as most American troops left Vietnam, President Richard M. Nixon ended compulsory military service for males over the age of 18. It was an end of system that had been in place since the Secon...

27 Helmi 202328min

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a ... Balloon?

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a ... Balloon?

What’s the biggest Chinese threat to the United States? Well, if you ask security expert Stephanie Carvin, it’s not a balloon—no matter how large and how many missiles it takes to shoot down. So, what...

21 Helmi 202350min

The Rise of South Korea

The Rise of South Korea

All three Angry Planet guys are on the show today. Kevin went to South Korea in September and he’s here to tell us all about it.“A shrimp stuck between two whales.”Shopping for a frigate in a glossy c...

13 Helmi 20231h

The Complexities of China's Liberal Nationalism

The Complexities of China's Liberal Nationalism

Only Nixon can go to China. The now-forgotten aphorism once represented so much in American politics. After Nixon met with Mao, relations between the Communist country and America thawed. Trade opened...

30 Tammi 202337min

What a War Game Tells Us About Taiwan

What a War Game Tells Us About Taiwan

It’s only human to play games. Some might argue it’s in the DNA. Games are part of how we learn, and can be the best way to teach or solve a problem. But some games are more serious than others. A gam...

23 Tammi 202341min

The Long Weird History of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle

The Long Weird History of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle

The Bradley Fighting Vehicle is on its way to Ukraine. Fifty of them, to be precise. This armored personnel carrier on tracks is not a tank. Don’t call it a tank. Once maligned as a boondoggle that re...

16 Tammi 202336min

Israel's New Coalition from Hell

Israel's New Coalition from Hell

Benjamin Netanyahu is back and he's brought a right-wing coalition like nothing Israel has seen.Dan Perry knows the game and all the players and and he joins Angry Planet to talk about what might be t...

9 Tammi 202335min

The Wagner Group Gives Putin Implausible Deniability

The Wagner Group Gives Putin Implausible Deniability

The shine has come off Russia’s regular armed forces. We’ve all seen the pictures in Ukraine of burned out vehicles and crashed drones, everything already starting to rust. Casualties for the Russian ...

19 Joulu 202236min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

aikalisa
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
politiikan-puskaradio
viisupodi
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
rss-podme-livebox
rss-asiastudio
otetaan-yhdet
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset
the-ulkopolitist
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
radio-antro
rss-kiina-ilmiot
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-vain-talouselamaa
rikosmyytit
rss-kovin-paikka