#nuclear-deterrence
15 episodes
#5651: Nuclear Convoys: The Physics Package and the Highway
The most secretive objects on Earth move by truck on civilian highways — and people photograph them at rest stops.
#5649: Who Actually Controls Europe's B61 Bombs?
The US parks B61 bombs in six allied countries — but never hands over the keys. How nuclear sharing is engineered to not require trust.
#5628: What a Nuclear Warhead Actually Looks Like
Real warheads aren't cinematic — they're warm, gold-plated, softball-sized pits inside floor vaults under aircraft shelters.
#5619: Why Does Israel Need Six Submarines?
Israel's newest submarine, the Drakon, just arrived in Haifa. What does a six-boat fleet actually buy a country the size of New Jersey?
#5298: The Mountain, the Message: Nuclear Tests as Diplomacy
Nine states. Two thousand detonations. Why a nuclear test is often a sentence in a conversation, not a lab result.
#4086: Rubio vs Trump vs Vance: Iran's 3-Way Split
Marco Rubio's Cuba-rooted worldview sees Iran as non-negotiable — and it's clashing with Trump and Vance in real time.
#3349: Inside Iran and Israel's Nuclear Security Perimeters
How Iran and Israel surveil, track, and intercept intruders near their most sensitive nuclear sites.
#1997: The Long Peace Is Over (Or Is It?)
The data says we’re living in the most peaceful era ever, but it sure doesn’t feel like it.
#1415: Radioactive Legacy: Maintaining the Aging Nuclear Triad
With the New START treaty expired, how does the US ensure its 70-year-old nuclear warheads still work without ever testing them?
#1414: The Gap Between Panic and Reality in Nuclear Security
A recent perimeter breach at the UK’s nuclear sub base sparked panic. We dive into why the deterrent is safer than a fence suggests.
#1195: The Blind Spot: When Radar Gaps Make Every Missile a Nuclear Threat
When radar goes dark, how do you tell a conventional missile from a nuclear one? Explore the terrifying physics of pre-launch ambiguity.
#1157: Unconstrained: The New Global ICBM Arms Race
With the New START treaty expired, the world enters a dangerous new era of unconstrained nuclear competition and rapid ICBM expansion.
#1012: When a Missile Test Is a Diplomatic Message
Explore the strategic signaling behind the GT-255 launch and why the U.S. relies on 50-year-old technology to maintain global security.
#718: The Power of Strategic Silence
Explore the history of the Jericho program and the strategic "polite fiction" of nuclear ambiguity in an increasingly tense Middle East.
#697: The Nuclear Truck: Iran’s Unified Missile Machine
Are Iran’s missiles just for conventional war? Explore how their ballistic program and nuclear goals are two parts of the same machine.