The recent past and foreseeable future of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: a conversation
Editor in chief John Mecklin interviews former executive director Kennette Benedict
DIGITAL MAGAZINE
December 2025
DIGITAL MAGAZINE
December 2025
December 2025
The recent past and foreseeable future of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: a conversation
Editor in chief John Mecklin interviews former executive director Kennette Benedict
NOW AND NEXT...
Introduction: Nuclear Risk
Since the decimation of two Japanese cities at the end of World War II, the Bulletin has focused on both sides of the nuclear dual-use problem: How to reduce (or even eliminate) the possibility of a nuclear war that could end civilization, while maximizing the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Eighty years and 89 seconds: It’s time to fight against midnight
In the 80th year of the nuclear age, with just 89 seconds left on the Doomsday Clock, every nuclear challenge is trending in the wrong direction.
Algorithms of misperception: Managing nuclear risk in an AI world
The new nuclear age differs from previous eras in an important way: The current era is shaped by information abundance. But that abundance comes with a paradox: With more data there is also an increase in noise, deception, and potential misperception that could have crucial consequences in managing nuclear crises.
Whence nuclear power in the 21st century?
Whether a nuclear renaissance actually occurs in the coming decade or two depends on three fundamental questions: Are the new designs safer than their predecessors? Do the new designs lead to changes in dealing with nuclear waste? And do these new designs raise additional (or new) questions regarding nuclear weapons proliferation?
The debate about nuclear energy must be reframed for the future
Discussion about nuclear energy has long been marked by extreme polarization, with proponents and opponents seeming to inhabit separate worlds when making wildly different claims about the future of nuclear energy. In making these claims, proponents and opponents do not engage with one another, hoping to learn; rather, they try to evangelize, seeking to convince the other side of what they view as universal truths about nuclear energy. But there could be a different way of discussing the many issues around nuclear power.
Introduction: Climate Change
For over a century, humanity has rampantly burned fossil fuels to power the machinery of modern life, inexorably releasing gases into the atmosphere that are changing the Earth’s climate.
The brightest light at the end of the tunnel
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has championed solar power and other renewable energy sources for the sake of humanity and the planet nearly as long as it has been warning about the dangers of nuclear weapons. In 1951, just six years after its founding, the magazine published an article about the possibilities of solar power. The first practical photovoltaic cell was developed three years later. If humanity survives the climate crisis, it will likely be due to the solar revolution.
Looming climate doomsday demands creativity, ambition, and societal transformation
The climate movement is at a crossroads. The youth climate strikes have dissipated, a climate change denialist is back in the White House, and the public is as apathetic as ever to the threat of climate crisis. A climate activist who has organized for climate justice since 2017 shares his thoughts about the path forward for a movement in need of revitalization.
Introduction: Biosecurity
A virus spillover in the animal trade, a research mishap at a biolab, or the intentional use of a bioweapon—any one of these could have dire consequences for the world. The COVID pandemic killed some 7 million people worldwide, but that’s not an upper limit. The next crisis could prove far worse.
The United States isn’t prepared for another pandemic. Here’s what should happen
Although the COVID pandemic led to a better understanding of the coronaviruses, viruses, and vaccines, a backlash emerged to public health measures that helped elevate anti-vaccine activists and hostility toward vaccines, including the mRNA vaccine platform that helped end the COVID emergency. Epidemiologist Michael Osterholm believes that the response to the COVID pandemic hasn’t been properly examined and that the Trump administration, which includes strong anti-vaccine voices, has made the United States less prepared for a future pandemic.
Use all the tools of the trade: Building a foundation for the next era of biosecurity
The coming era of biosecurity will demand a broader and more adaptive approach as AI, powerful biological engineering techniques, and globalized scientific research drive progress in biotechnology.
Introduction: Disruptive Technology
From the introduction of the printing press to the launch of the internet, human inventions have always altered how humans live, often resulting in profound cultural shifts. And while these disruptions often improved life, each new development also carried the risk of undesirable effects far more consequential than their benefits.
Stopping the Clock on catastrophic AI risk
AI is already sufficiently robust that it introduces new global risks and exacerbates existing threats. Its development is being driven by some of the most powerful companies on Earth, and the technology is becoming increasingly intertwined in high-stakes geopolitics. There has never been a greater need for independent voices on AI's science, risks, and governance. This is a role that the Bulletin is positioned to play.
Decisions about AI will last decades. Researchers need better frameworks
The decisions that leaders make today about artificial intelligence governance and research priorities could create paths that last for generations. A rigorous, multi-field collaboration is critical at this exact moment, when decision makers are setting foundational defaults.
What happens when seeing is no longer believing?
Two fast-accelerating trends in how people consume and produce information—in selective exposure to agreeable content and in our ability to generate realistic-looking audio, documents, photos, and video about things which never really happened—are coming together in ways that pose clear threats to the deliberation that makes those benefits possible.
Division begets division in the age of algorithmic classification
The online information landscape, driven in large part by social media, rewards engagement and is curated by classification algorithms. This simple combination is the problem at the heart of society’s fracturing and discord. To slow societal division and potentially return from the brink, people must first understand how fundamental the problem is. Only then can they devise solutions to help push back against the algorithmic forces trying to tear society apart.
Nuclear Notebook: The changing nuclear landscape in Europe
This issue's column reviews the status of nuclear weapons and nuclear operations in Europe.
Introduction: Nuclear Risk
Since the decimation of two Japanese cities at the end of World War II, the Bulletin has focused on both sides of the nuclear dual-use problem: How to reduce (or even eliminate) the possibility of a nuclear war that could end civilization, while maximizing the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Eighty years and 89 seconds: It’s time to fight against midnight
In the 80th year of the nuclear age, with just 89 seconds left on the Doomsday Clock, every nuclear challenge is trending in the wrong direction.
Algorithms of misperception: Managing nuclear risk in an AI world
The new nuclear age differs from previous eras in an important way: The current era is shaped by information abundance. But that abundance comes with a paradox: With more data there is also an increase in noise, deception, and potential misperception that could have crucial consequences in managing nuclear crises.
Whence nuclear power in the 21st century?
Whether a nuclear renaissance actually occurs in the coming decade or two depends on three fundamental questions: Are the new designs safer than their predecessors? Do the new designs lead to changes in dealing with nuclear waste? And do these new designs raise additional (or new) questions regarding nuclear weapons proliferation?
The debate about nuclear energy must be reframed for the future
Discussion about nuclear energy has long been marked by extreme polarization, with proponents and opponents seeming to inhabit separate worlds when making wildly different claims about the future of nuclear energy. In making these claims, proponents and opponents do not engage with one another, hoping to learn; rather, they try to evangelize, seeking to convince the other side of what they view as universal truths about nuclear energy. But there could be a different way of discussing the many issues around nuclear power.
Introduction: Climate Change
For over a century, humanity has rampantly burned fossil fuels to power the machinery of modern life, inexorably releasing gases into the atmosphere that are changing the Earth’s climate.
The brightest light at the end of the tunnel
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has championed solar power and other renewable energy sources for the sake of humanity and the planet nearly as long as it has been warning about the dangers of nuclear weapons. In 1951, just six years after its founding, the magazine published an article about the possibilities of solar power. The first practical photovoltaic cell was developed three years later. If humanity survives the climate crisis, it will likely be due to the solar revolution.
Looming climate doomsday demands creativity, ambition, and societal transformation
The climate movement is at a crossroads. The youth climate strikes have dissipated, a climate change denialist is back in the White House, and the public is as apathetic as ever to the threat of climate crisis. A climate activist who has organized for climate justice since 2017 shares his thoughts about the path forward for a movement in need of revitalization.
Introduction: Biosecurity
A virus spillover in the animal trade, a research mishap at a biolab, or the intentional use of a bioweapon—any one of these could have dire consequences for the world. The COVID pandemic killed some 7 million people worldwide, but that’s not an upper limit. The next crisis could prove far worse.
The United States isn’t prepared for another pandemic. Here’s what should happen
Although the COVID pandemic led to a better understanding of the coronaviruses, viruses, and vaccines, a backlash emerged to public health measures that helped elevate anti-vaccine activists and hostility toward vaccines, including the mRNA vaccine platform that helped end the COVID emergency. Epidemiologist Michael Osterholm believes that the response to the COVID pandemic hasn’t been properly examined and that the Trump administration, which includes strong anti-vaccine voices, has made the United States less prepared for a future pandemic.
Use all the tools of the trade: Building a foundation for the next era of biosecurity
The coming era of biosecurity will demand a broader and more adaptive approach as AI, powerful biological engineering techniques, and globalized scientific research drive progress in biotechnology.
Introduction: Disruptive Technology
From the introduction of the printing press to the launch of the internet, human inventions have always altered how humans live, often resulting in profound cultural shifts. And while these disruptions often improved life, each new development also carried the risk of undesirable effects far more consequential than their benefits.
Stopping the Clock on catastrophic AI risk
AI is already sufficiently robust that it introduces new global risks and exacerbates existing threats. Its development is being driven by some of the most powerful companies on Earth, and the technology is becoming increasingly intertwined in high-stakes geopolitics. There has never been a greater need for independent voices on AI's science, risks, and governance. This is a role that the Bulletin is positioned to play.
Decisions about AI will last decades. Researchers need better frameworks
The decisions that leaders make today about artificial intelligence governance and research priorities could create paths that last for generations. A rigorous, multi-field collaboration is critical at this exact moment, when decision makers are setting foundational defaults.
What happens when seeing is no longer believing?
Two fast-accelerating trends in how people consume and produce information—in selective exposure to agreeable content and in our ability to generate realistic-looking audio, documents, photos, and video about things which never really happened—are coming together in ways that pose clear threats to the deliberation that makes those benefits possible.
Division begets division in the age of algorithmic classification
The online information landscape, driven in large part by social media, rewards engagement and is curated by classification algorithms. This simple combination is the problem at the heart of society’s fracturing and discord. To slow societal division and potentially return from the brink, people must first understand how fundamental the problem is. Only then can they devise solutions to help push back against the algorithmic forces trying to tear society apart.
Nuclear Notebook: The changing nuclear landscape in Europe
This issue's column reviews the status of nuclear weapons and nuclear operations in Europe.
...AND WAY BACK THEN
2020s
2010s
1940s – 2000s
December 2025
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