Sam Harris speaks with Carl Robichaud about the ongoing threat of nuclear war. They discuss the film Oppenheimer, dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, false lessons of the Cuban Missile Crisis, nuclear proliferation, logic of deterrence, cyber vulnerabilities, de-escalation history, war in Ukraine, tensions between the U.S. and China, AI, getting to nuclear zero, role for private citizens in mitigating nuclear risk, and the Longview Nuclear Risk Policy Fund.

Expert in nuclear weapons and proliferation, Carl Robichaud, joins Spencer Greenberg to discuss the death toll caused by nuclear weapons, motivations for pursuing nuclear weapons, risks of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of non-state actors, interventions for a safer world, and the debate on the necessity of atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

A full writeup of this episode, including references and a transcript, is available on our website: https://hearthisidea.com/episodes/robichaud. Carl Robichaud co-leads Longview Philanthropy’s programme on nuclear weapons. We discuss: Lessons from the Ukraine crisis China's future as a nuclear power Nuclear near-misses The Reykjavik Summit, Acheson–Lilienthal Report and Baruch Plan Lessons from nuclear risk for other emerging technological risks What's happened to philanthropy aimed at reducing risks from nuclear weapons, and what philanthropy can support today If you have any feedback, you can get a free book for filling out our new feedback form. You can also get in touch through our website or on Twitter. Consider leaving us a review wherever you're listening to this — it's the best free way to support the show. Thanks for listening!

Carl Robichaud, co-leader of Longview Philanthropy's program on nuclear weapons and existential risk, discusses the likelihood of nuclear conflict, the devastation of the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, the ethics of nuclear weapons, close calls and the risk of nuclear war, the current landscape of nuclear weapons and international relations, the accuracy and omissions in the film 'Oppenheimer', and the need for continued engagement in managing the risks of a new nuclear age.

Carl Robichaud, one of the world’s leading experts on nuclear security, discusses the current risk landscape of nuclear weapons, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict and China-Taiwan tensions. He also explores historical moments of potential nuclear war such as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Other topics include the development and power of nuclear weapons, citizen investigations into nuclear weapons, the concept of Molok and the nuclear dilemma, the potential use of blockchain technology in nuclear arms control, and challenges in global problem solving.