KQED's Forum Has the Risk of Nuclear War Been Normalized?
Sep 15, 2025
Rivka Galchen, a staff writer at The New Yorker, explores the unsettling normalization of nuclear risk in contemporary society. She discusses how nuclear fears have quieted despite increasing spending on weapons and the historical legacy of the anti-nuclear movements. Galchen traces public perception shifts from the Cold War's confrontations to today's societal indifference. The conversation emphasizes the urgent need for renewed awareness and activism regarding nuclear threats, questioning why nuclear weapons don't evoke the alarm they once did.
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Normalization Masks True Scale
- Society has both normalized nuclear risk and drastically underestimated its scale and consequences.
- Rivka Galchen highlights that people often misjudge the true destructive power and follow-on effects of nuclear weapons.
Closer Threats Capture Attention
- Contemporary threats like climate change occupy attention because they are immediate and tangible.
- Rivka Galchen says climate and daily environmental changes drew public focus away from nuclear dread.
Greenland B-52 Near Catastrophe
- During Cold War patrols a B-52 with a live warhead crashed after a cabin fire and crew bailout over Greenland.
- The warhead did not detonate, but the incident shows how trivial malfunctions nearly triggered catastrophe.
