Learn about the Issue

It’s time to ignite the imagination of the world’s most creative minds and engage them—you—in solving some of the world’s most vexing challenges, from nuclear proliferation to safety and security.

Today, there are more than 15,000 nuclear weapons in the world, and if you live near an urban area, one is likely pointed at you. 1,800 of these weapons are on “high alert,” which means they can be launched within 15 minutes of a command being given.

The threats we face today—cyberwar, the ideologies of non-state actors, the all-too-real spectre of catastrophic human error, a system in which one world leader controls the fate of the world—have made us less safe than ever.

We know terrorists are interested in seeking nuclear weapons and could exploit the black market for material to make nuclear devices or dirty bombs. Nuclear theft and smuggling is an alarming concern in a world in which we have 2000 tons of nuclear material—not all of which is properly secured or even accounted for. In short, nuclear weapons are likely the greatest threat to global security today.

Educate yourself about the issues

• The Outrider Foundation
• The Nuclear Threat Initiative
• Union of Concerned Scientists

Explore provocative perspectives from exceptional storytellers

CBS’ Madam Secretary, season 4 episode 22 “Night Watch”—A vivid depiction the perils of having nuclear weapons on hair trigger alert

PRI’s Things that Go Boom podcast and The Nuclear Family series—Fresh perspectives on all things nuclear weapons

The Arms Control Wonk podcast—A nuclear weapons, arms control, disarmament and nonproliferation podcast hosted by Jeffrey Lewis and Aaron Stein

Laicie Heeley’s Inkstick Media— Foreign policy delivered in a way “that doesn’t make you want to gouge your eyes out”

Lovely Umayam‘s Ways of Knowing—A multimedia project about the Navajo Nation’s health and tradition through its enduring and traumatic encounter with uranium mining

Eric Schlosser, Smriti Keshari and Kevin Ford’s The Bomb on Netflix—An experimental meditation on the destructive power of the nuclear bomb, featuring music by The Acid