Arms Control Wonk

Jeffrey and Scott watched the new Kathryn Bigelow movie "House of Dynamite" and they both have opinions. The crew talks through both the artistic choices as well as the wonky details. "House of Dynamite" is an interesting take on missile defense and decisionmaking that doesn't quite commit enough to any philosophical or strategic camp, but ultimately may be the lens through which a lot of non-wonks view or interact with missile defenses, conceptually, as we move towards a potential major expansion of US missile defenses.  We should do a watch party. Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast!

Donald Trump directed "the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis" with other countries.  The Department of War doesn't test nuclear weapons, the Department of Energy does all the time in lots of different ways.  Some people worried this meant a return to explosive testing, others seemed to think it was about delivery systems.  Subsequent statements by the Vice President and the Secretary of Defense didn't clarify things. Aaron and Jeffrey sit down to try to make some sense of it all.   Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast!

Alex Ward and others at the Wall Street Journal reported on the details of a Pentagon review process that has halted Ukraine's ability to conduct long-range strikes into Russia with ATACMs, Storm Shadow and other systems that need US targeting data. Jeffrey and Aaron talk about what we already knew, what we didn't, and what it all mean. Hint: Allies should stand up their own targeting capabilities.   Watch the video episode here! Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast!

The Slack channel noticed that Russia was gearing up to test the SSC-X-9 Skyfall nuclear-powered cruise missile (aka Burevestnik), which Jeffrey and co. confirmed with satellite images. Reuters picked it up, noting how awkward all this was coming, as it did, just as Putin flew to Alaska to meet with Donald Trump. Aaron and Jeffrey talk about the OSINT and the political implications. Watch the video episode here! Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast!

Aaron and Jeffrey finally deconflict their schedules to talk about the outcome of the Israeli-Iranian war, Iran's pathway back to the bomb, and why they're both irritated with the "fix it or nix it crowd." Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast!