Chalk Radio

The Greatest Existential Threat with Prof. Robert Redwine and Dr. Jim Walsh

Jan 11, 2023

Prof. Robert Redwine, an educator involved in MIT's Nuclear Weapons Education Project, and Dr. Jim Walsh, a leading expert on nuclear policy, delve into the pressing dangers of nuclear Armageddon. They discuss how the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki reshaped global politics and highlight the need for educational initiatives around nuclear history. The duo stresses the urgency of understanding evolving nuclear threats and calls for informed conversations about disarmament, encouraging young people to engage critically with this existential issue.

15:51

Creator website

Episode guests

Jim Walsh

Robert Redwine

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

The podcast underscores the alarming necessity of educating younger generations about nuclear weapons to inspire advocacy for their dismantlement and reduce existential threats.

Historical context, particularly the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, illustrates the devastating consequences of nuclear warfare and the urgent need for collective action against proliferation.

Deep dives

The Urgency of Nuclear Awareness

The podcast emphasizes the critical need for public awareness surrounding nuclear weapons, especially given that thousands remain deployed by major powers. The conversation highlights the historical context, referencing the devastating bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which serve as grim reminders of the consequences of nuclear warfare. Additionally, the instructors stress that the potential use of even a small fraction of existing nuclear arsenals could lead to catastrophic outcomes, effectively ending life as we know it. This urgency underlines the importance of educating younger generations about nuclear weapons to inspire advocacy for their dismantlement.

Intro

2min

The Historical and Global Impact of Nuclear Weapons

3min

The Evolving Fear of Nuclear Threats

2min

The Urgent Need for Nuclear Awareness and Education

5min

Confronting the Nuclear Threat: A Call to Action

3min

To most people, especially those who are too young to remember the Cold War, the possibility of nuclear Armageddon may seem so remote as not to be worth contemplating. But Prof. Bob Redwine and Jim Walsh, two of the instructors behind MIT’s Nuclear Weapons Education Project (NWEP), warn that it may not be so unlikely after all, and that failure to take the threat of nuclear war seriously makes it more likely that it will actually occur. Redwine, Walsh, and their colleagues used their expertise from a wide array of fields to create the NWEP and its associated course 8.S271 Nuclear Weapons – History and Prospects. Together, the course and the project website represent an interdisciplinary effort to educate nonspecialists on the science, technology, and history of nuclear weapons, along with present efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation and to reach international agreements to reduce the likelihood of a world-devastating conflict. In this episode, we hear how the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki changed geopolitics forever, how a well-intentioned nuclear doctrine may have disastrous unintended consequences, and why understanding the topic of nuclear weapons requires an interdisciplinary approach.

Relevant Resources:

MIT OpenCourseWare

The OCW Educator Portal

Professor Redwine’s faculty page

Jim Walsh’s faculty page

8.S271 Nuclear Weapons - History and Future Prospects on OCW

Nuclear Weapons Education Project website

“Nuclear Gets Personal with Prof. Michael Short” (Chalk Radio episode)

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions

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