Stephen Schwartz, Atomic Analyst, on nuclear weapons: from the Cold War to Trump

We have a special guest on the show today - Stephen Schwartz. Stephen is an expert on nuclear weapons; he has been studying nuclear weapons policy, particularly in the US, for decades. His book - The Atomic Audit - was the first ever survey of the true financial cost of nuclear weapons; he has been the editor and publisher of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, who manage the famous Doomsday clock and publish scholarly and popular literature on existential threats including nuclear weapons. He edited the Non-Proliferation review, and is currently an Adjunct Professor at Middlebury - he also runs an excellent social media feed on Twitter @AtomicAnalyst where he keeps us all up to date on nuclear weapons and political developments. I was delighted to have him on the show: we sat down for an interview about nukes in the modern era and under Trump, the real financial cost of nuclear weapons, the biggest risks that they pose, dispelling nuclear myths, and what we can do to help keep our society safer from these risks. I also find out why he tried to position his college to stock up on suicide pills in the 1980s. I hope you enjoy.

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