Once-proud Westinghouse files for bankruptcy. Reactor construction in two southern states is up in the air. Toshiba rues its errors. What a mess.

With Russia and China advancing on their neighbors, now is not the time for a US promise never to launch a first nuclear strike.

A year after Iran and world powers signed a historic nuclear agreement, politicians in Washington and Tehran seek to derail it as the latter continues to struggle with economic challenges. 

Today's doubts about Iran's nuclear program are anything but new.

Permanently reducing the threat posed by radiological sources will require minimizing and then eliminating their use altogether, transitioning to alternative technologies and practices. 

Why negotiators in Vienna shouldn’t yet embark on dealing with Iran’s ballistic missiles.

Scientists estimate that 1,000 people will die from cancer as a result of their exposure to radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi disaster. This number is often contrasted with the 20,000 who died in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that caused the nuclear debacle -- presumably to suggest that the 1,000 deaths are less significant and should not be used to justify a nuclear power shutdown.

From the time we learn to walk, mistakes are inherent in the process of human learning. An essential design principle for technology should be that we, the generations that benefit, should bear the major costs of its mistakes. Nuclear power fails this simple test miserably. It is just not possible to pick up the pieces … Continued

In a recent speech in Brussels, departing Defense Secretary Robert Gates criticized European members of NATO for allowing defense obligations to fall increasingly upon the United States, continuing a funding imbalance that could lead Americans to question whether the costs of NATO are justified.

President Barack Obama has an ambitious agenda on nuclear weapons issues that will take a long time to implement. For example, the earliest the Senate is likely to vote again on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) is 2010. Likewise, a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty is at least three years away. Ditto for the president's goal of safeguarding all vulnerable nuclear weapons and nuclear materials worldwide. And then there is his most ambitious goal of all--a nuclear-weapon-free world, which even he has suggested probably won't take place in his lifetime.

On April 13, the U.N. Security Council condemned North Korea's rocket launch earlier in the month. Within nine hours, North Korea denounced and rejected the Security Council statement; expelled international inspectors and the U.S.

Following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident in 2011, the Nuclear Regulation Authority set stricter and more rational standards. However, in practice, Japanese regulators have often compromised their reviews. It’s worth asking: Are the restarted Japanese nuclear power plants safe?

Although reviving the Iran nuclear agreement is certainly still possible, it won’t be easy. The two sides will need to overcome nine hurdles to make it happen.

Deterrence appears to depend on rational actors who desire survival above all else. But it's revenge, not rationality, that often drives decisions.

In a few days, US President Donald Trump will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. Media coverage will undoubtedly highlight Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election, but it would be remiss not to discuss the nuclear implications of the Trump-Putin summit as well. Kto vinovat? (Russian for “who is to blame?”) … Continued

We’re in the midst of a new Game of Thrones season, which seems to be finally reaching a grand finale. In the latest episode, known as “The Spoils of War,” viewers get a climactic, graphic, explicit view of the power of the heroine’s dragons, which reduce men, women and children to ashes in seconds, destroying … Continued

Since the advent of US and Russian nuclear-armed ballistic missiles and early warning systems,  the danger has always existed that a false warning of attack—believed to be true—could cause either nation to inadvertently launch a responsive “retaliatory” strike with its own nuclear forces. Fear of a disarming nuclear strike, especially during a crisis, creates immense … Continued

With primary season upon us, the presidential candidates have been busy debating and making policy presentations so that we can begin to glean some ideas of their views on everything from the economy to national defense. As is often the case, the media haven't focused on the candidates' views on technical issues, but in the end, these may be among the most significant issues that the next president will face.

India y Pakistán son en última instancia los responsables de solucionar sus propias crisis, pero la nuclearización del subcontinente ha internacionalizado sus controversias. Las tensiones en Asia Meridional ya no son una cuestión regional, debido a las posibles catastróficas consecuencias humanitarias en todo el mundo de un conflicto nuclear en esa región. En mi segundo … Continued

The nuclear ban challenges conventional models of the nuclear age—and illustrates the consequences of structural inequities in the pursuit of disarmament.