100 episodes

The nuclear weapons, arms control, disarmament and nonproliferation podcast. Companion to the popular Arms Control Wonk blog (www.armscontrolwonk.com). Hosted by Jeffrey Lewis & Aaron Stein.

Arms Control Wonk Jeffrey Lewis & Aaron Stein

    • News
    • 4.8 • 43 Ratings

The nuclear weapons, arms control, disarmament and nonproliferation podcast. Companion to the popular Arms Control Wonk blog (www.armscontrolwonk.com). Hosted by Jeffrey Lewis & Aaron Stein.

    How Sting Likes to Test

    How Sting Likes to Test

    Jeeze that was a big missile.
    North Korea has tested another large ICBM, and this one was (another) doozy. Jeffrey and Aaron talk through modelling this missile, the potential theft of missile tech from Ukraine, Kim Jong Un's Bring Your Daughter to Work Day, and the incredible Missile Launch Detection tool that @tylerni7 and @michaelnute have spearheaded in the ACW Slack channel. 
    Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast!

    • 27 min
    New New START or New Finish?

    New New START or New Finish?

    The Biden administration has been working to re-kindle New START talks with Russia, while working to deter Russian WMD use in Ukraine, in an era that increasingly appears to be about risk management instead of risk reduction. How do you restart heavily managed talks in an era of COVID restrictions? How do you do on-site inspections during a conventional conflict? 
    Jeffrey and Aaron talk through the rough state of international nuclear arms control, the increasingly-complex balance of nuclear forces globally, and the core aspects of what makes deterrence actually work. 
     
    Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast!

    • 29 min
    The Lake-Bed Missile

    The Lake-Bed Missile

    Launch a missile get a pod
    Launch a missile get a pod
    Launch a missile get a pod
    Launch a missile get a pod
    Launch a missile get a pod
    Launch a missile get a pod
    Launch a missile get a pod
    Launch a missile get a pod
    Launch a missile get a pod
    Launch a missile get a pod
     
    Aaron and Jeffrey talk about North Korea's record-setting number of missile launches and what the North Korean launch authorities look like.  A new(?) ICBM, a new Hwasong-12 variant, the bizarre reservoir-bottom lake-missile, and a whole lotta rocket artillery are all keeping the community *very* busy... 
    Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast!
     
     

    • 25 min
    Another Crazy Train

    Another Crazy Train

    The Russian invasion of Ukraine is giving people brain worms. Multiple terrible reports, citing oSiNt aNaLyStS, have recently been released and grossly overexaggerated the risk of nuclear weapons use around Ukraine. These reports, particularly about the "nuclear weapons convoy headed towards Ukraine," don't help anyone and just add noise to a chaotic narrative. 
    Jeffrey and Aaron take a knife to bad analysis, and muse on what deterrence actually means to the people living under it.
     
     
    Tangentially related, Superproducer Scott is so excited to use this opening again, a year after its last use. 
     
    Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast!

    • 26 min
    The Janky Triad

    The Janky Triad

    Does North Korea have a triad? Perhaps a boostrapped, janky triad? How mature is their arsenal at this point?
    North Korea lobbed a Hwasong-12 over Japan after a week of smaller missile tests, and sparked a testy exchange of missile tests and aircraft scramblings. Jeffrey and Aaron talk about missile overflights, what it means to begrudgingly accept a new nuclear power, and what North Korean nuclear strategy looks like in 2022. 
     
    Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast!

    • 20 min
    Stealing the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant

    Stealing the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant

    What the heck is going on with the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Planet?
    Aaron and Jeffrey walk through the safety situation, the open source assessments of what is going on, and what appears to be a Russian strategy to....steal a power plant?
    Links of Note:
    Russia Tries to Steal a Nuclear Power Plant, Cheryl Rofer
     
    Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast!

    • 26 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
43 Ratings

43 Ratings

MBelderson ,

By a mile the best arms control pod there is

Alongside Bellingcat, this is the place to go for not just for the best open source intelligence, but also well-informed analysis and insights.

bob-dodo ,

Informative, funny and required listening

The team provides a very well informed analysis of arms control, policy background and helps explain why countries and their politicians do and say things (and often why they shouldn’t).
It’s a grown up, non-partisan agenda and highlights some of the great civilian analysis of proliferation, arms-control and image interpretation that is out there.
If you want to understand what’s going on in the Korean Peninsula, with Russian-US arms control, proliferation of conventional and nuclear weapons in the world - you need to listen.

Armin von Teckentrupp ,

The best podcast on arms control on the web

An excellent podcast that gives the politically and technically interested layperson a profound insight into matters pertaining to everyone's safety.
To achieve global disarmament, an informed public and a mature dialogue is needed.
Jeffrey Lewis and his colleagues are evidentially experts, but present the matter in a way that allows non-expert listeners to begin to improve their grasp of the topic.
Truly outstanding!

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