Goat rodeos and space nukes
Hello from a snowy Atlanta,
We’ve had rare snow falls here in the South over the weekend. Our snowman has half-melted but it still looks like a winter wonderland outside.
Nothing seems wrong with the world when it’s dusted with snow and ice does it?
I spoke to Jeffery Lewis, pre-eminent American nuclear expert, State Department advisor and a self-described ‘arms control wonk’ when he was bundled up inside his home in a much colder Vermont.
I’ve known Jeffery ever since he tweeted during President Trump’s first term that the administration’s nuclear plans were a ‘goat rodeo.’ Since then, I have found the term to be extremely useful and all-encompassing for all analysis involving U.S. politics.
January is the time of year when you look ahead and plan for the year ahead. It’s the perfect time to scare the bejeezus out of oneself too. Jeffery is perfectly poised to make you want to decamp to a nuclear bunker with a decade’s supply of canned food and a crate of bourbon.
I asked him what crazy weapons countries were building and testing and where he thought nuclear proliferation was a problem for 2025.
Boom! Tune in to listen to Jeffery explain why he’s worried about the Russians going all sci-fi with a space nuke which can take out satellites and a long-range nuclear-armed underwater drone, which the North Koreans copied. He’s also concerned that if Iran gets a nuclear weapon (highly likely) then the Saudis, the Turks and the UAE will want to pony up too. And there’s the worry that Burma (Myanmar) is looking to build up its nuclear capability, alongside Taiwan and South Korea.
Good times ahead!
Hope you enjoy our snowy exchange on mutually-assured self-destruction and other fun topics.
Robyn