This is an astutely reported and written piece by Taylor Barnes at @inkstickmedia.com, a Ploughshares grantee, about a rare referendum and public hearing on nuclear warheads that is beginning in South Carolina. You can read it here ⬇️ https://loom.ly/U93BL_Q

Yesterday, @ippnw.bsky.social, @psr.org & grantee @backfrombrink.bsky.social held a press conference for the release of a new report exposing how the costly Golden Dome would leave many Americans vulnerable to nuclear attack & accelerate the global arms race ⬇️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_r7...

#nukesky A rare referendum on whether nuclear weapons make Americans feel safe – particularly, the Americans that live in and around warhead plants – took place recently in South Carolina. Check out what locals had to say and how opponents greatly outnumbered boosters in my story below:

This Thursday, May 21 at 1pm BST: grantee BASIC and The Emerging Voices Network are hosting an online launch event for their latest Policy Cycle report, "Envisioning Future Pathways for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty." Register for the event ➡️ https://loom.ly/vrkUjHo

Launched today: grantee @ecfr.eu's “Iran Nuclear Monitor: Month by Month" dashboard. This monitor assesses 6 possible scenarios of realistic outcomes for Iran’s nuclear program, ranging from a negotiated cap to covert weaponization ⬇️ https://loom.ly/LQfEmzs

With President Trump in Beijing, and as China seeks to expand its nuclear program, NPR examines the country's nuclear program, w/ insight from @mattkorda.bsky.social of @scientistsorg.bsky.social https://loom.ly/v052Me0

🗓️ Save the date for Tuesday, June 9, 2026, from 5:30-8pm at The Commonwealth Club World Affairs in San Francisco for Ploughshares’ annual gala, Chain Reaction: Iran and Upending the Nuclear Order. Buy tickets & sponsorships: https://loom.ly/2VTL7gk

Ploughshares President Dr. @emlbelcher.bsky.social was recognized for a *sixth* year in a row on @washingtonian.com's 'Washington, DC's Most 500 Influential People' list! This is an encouraging recognition of the need for strong leadership in nuclear threat reduction today—and every day.

Today marks 8 years since President Trump withdrew the US from the Iran Nuclear Deal. As we look back, we'd do well to remember one lesson that, today, can seem lost to time: Diplomacy works. On our Story Center, Alex Hall writes about the lessons (not) learned from JCPOA. https://loom.ly/ogpt_Ms

Four days before Thanksgiving in 1983, families across America gathered around the television for an event that shaped a generation’s nuclear anxiety: The Day After. A fitting movie to cover on the last (movie) episode of NukeTalk's Nuclear Movie Club season. Listen 🎧 ⬇️ https://loom.ly/2o93qZg

We need to keep up the work to free our world from the threat of nuclear war. Thanks to @psr.org @wpsr.bsky.social @ploughshares.bsky.social @ucs.org for continuing to speak up

Nuclear Futures Fellow Magritte Gordaneer presented @psr.org / IPPNW’s statement at #NPTRevCon in New York City. "There is no humanitarian response to any use of nuclear weapons," she said. Read the full statement ➡️ https://loom.ly/nckCakM

✨ Nuclear Futures Fellow Feature! Fellow Molly Hurley of Bombshelltoe Policy x Arts Collective is wrapping up her capstone, "Community Cyanotype Activations". Learn more about the Fellowship & meet past cohorts ➡️ https://loom.ly/wjTa-T4

May the 4th Be With You! 🚀 On our Story Center, written by Tristan Guyette: "No Space for Colonialism" (Yes, we know this opens with a Star *Trek* quote—all fandoms are welcome here.) Read ⬇️ ploughshares.org/article/no-s...

✨ Nuclear Futures Fellow Feature! Fellow Maverick Peter Seda of Reverse The Trend Pacific is working on his capstone, "Remembering the Harm and Honoring the Survivors: Nuclear Justice Center in Kiribati" Learn more about the Fellowship & meet past cohorts ➡️ https://loom.ly/wjTa-T4

✨ Nuclear Futures Fellow Feature! Fellow Shizuka Kuramitsu of the @carnegieendowment.org is advancing her capstone, "Is there anything Non-Nuclear Weapon States do against backsliding disarmament?" Learn more about the Fellowship ➡️ https://loom.ly/wjTa-T4

🚨Out now: grantee @merip.bsky.social just published its spring issue of the Middle East Report: "Campus Politics: Palestine and the New University Order", a global exploration of how universities are key sites for dissent & mobilization. https://loom.ly/XpLXXPk

One week from today: the 2nd webinar in the Lex Mundi Nova series hosted by grantee Horizon 2045. On May 7, join experts—including grantee Sébastien Philippe—in exploring nuclear weapons and the protection of the environment. Register ⬇️ https://loom.ly/JnM_E2E

Grantee @armscontrolwonk.bsky.social and Ploughshares board member Scott Sagan spoke to WJ Hennigan, New York Times Opinions writer, about "What Trump Owes the World" amidst the ongoing conflict and negotiations with Iran. https://loom.ly/PRLCEFQ

The Global Dispatch podcast spoke with Kelsey Davenport, of Ploughshares grantee @armscontrolnow.bsky.social, about the history and modern significance of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (#NPT) as #NPTRevCon is underway. Listen ⬇️ 🎧 https://loom.ly/36oXifc

For ABC Listen, Dr. Emma Belcher spoke to The Radio National Hour about one of the defining questions of the past few months on the global stage: Is this the start of a new nuclear arms race? Listen below ⬇️ https://loom.ly/kqKGJiM

⏰ Grab your alarm clocks, because today’s the day! Applications are due for the Nuclear Futures Fellowship at 11:59 PM PT. Apply to join other emerging leaders dedicated to solving today’s nuclear weapons concerns with a foresight lens: ploughshares.org/field-buildi...

On May 19, Dr. Emma Belcher will speak on a panel hosted by PBS and the Carnegie Council, "Values & Interests: Nuclear Ethics", alongside Ben Loeterman (Director, Bombshell), Joel Rosenthal (President, Carnegie Council), and moderator, journalist Ann Curry. Register: https://loom.ly/QbaLb0o

✨ Nuclear Futures Fellow Feature! Fellow Hao Nan is working on his capstone, "From Hedging to Helping: Turning Near-Nuclear States into Disarmament Drivers". No weekend plans? Now you do! Apply for the next NFF cohort by Monday, April 27: https://loom.ly/wjTa-T4

"The goal isn’t to ignore the risks we face—it’s to manage them in a way that doesn’t rely indefinitely on weapons that could end civilization." President Dr. Emma Belcher shares insights on Iran, proliferation concerns, AI, and what is needed to fix a broken system ⬇️ https://loom.ly/8xnhSJE

✨ Nuclear Futures Fellow Feature! Fellow Magritte Gordaneer of @psr.org is advancing her capstone, "Health Professionals as Catalysts for Nuclear Disarmament in Varied and Shifting Political Contexts." Apply for the next cohort: https://loom.ly/wjTa-T4

Ploughshares is proud to support @thebulletin.org, Foreign Policy for America, & the Stanley Center's upcoming screening of the Bombshell documentary, followed by discussion & reception in downtown DC. Register for April 29 ⬇️ https://loom.ly/XTKIaC8

"... Iran’s ability to disrupt Hormuz, alongside its nuclear threshold capability, missiles and regional alliance network, are treated in Tehran not as negotiable assets but as foundational sources of power and security." Nuclear Futures Fellow Sina Toossi for the Guardian. https://loom.ly/WOWmfd0

Our heartfelt congratulations and well wishes to Ploughshares partner Sina Azodi on the release of his new book, "Iran and the Bomb: The United States, Iran and the Nuclear Question", which debuts today! Learn more ⬇️ https://loom.ly/LU4HhV0

On April 28, two Ploughshares grantees—@ucs.org and Nuclear Watch New Mexico—are hosting a virtual screening of the documentary "Half-Life of Memory: America's Forgotten Atomic Bomb Factory" Register ⬇️ https://loom.ly/aI-_6iQ

❗Only one week left to apply for the Nuclear Futures Fellowship❗ Join other emerging leaders in the nuclear weapons threat reduction field in a year-long fellowship that engages you in foresight and futures thinking. Apply here: https://loom.ly/wjTa-T4

✨ Nuclear Futures Fellow Feature! Fellow Ali Alkis' capstone, Nuclear Piracy: Weaponization of Nuclear Facilities, seeks to address the emerging threat of weaponization of civilian nuclear facilities in interstate conflicts. Apply for the next NFF cohort: https://loom.ly/wjTa-T4

Nuclear Futures Fellow Feature! Emma Sandifer is focusing on Mapping Nuclear Weapons In Our Communities, a capstone to create a tool to promote awareness of the nuclear weapons issues facing everyday communities. Learn more about the Fellowship & apply for the next cohort: https://loom.ly/wjTa-T4

Nuclear Futures Fellow Ali Alkis co-wrote an analysis for grantee @thebulletin.org about how Trump's civilization-ending threats towards Iran sheds an indicting light on the US's "long-standing ambiguity" of what is legal in war. https://loom.ly/0-X-6fY

In an op-ed for @scmpnews.bsky.social, Hao Nan, current Nuclear Futures Fellow, examines the less obvious ways East Asia is impacted by the war in Iran—and what that means for long-term peace and order in the region ⬇️ https://loom.ly/f9KR7NI

In an op-ed for The National Interest, Scott Strgacich—Ploughshares Roger L. Hale Fellow—compares the "gradual trickle of missteps" between the Iran and Vietnam wars, arguing that a ground war in Iran is a "threshold that does not need to be crossed"—and should not be. https://loom.ly/TuMC6Aw

"I’m glad that the US has not used [a nuclear weapon], and I think it would be a terrible mistake to do that." In a Vox interview, grantee @armscontrolwonk.bsky.social dives into the question marks re: Iran's remaining nuclear pathways ⬇️ https://loom.ly/QH7kGmo

Ploughshares and Horizon 2045 are thrilled to open applications for a third cohort of the Nuclear Futures Fellowship! We seek emerging leaders interested in shaping the future of the nuclear weapons threat reduction field. Apply by Monday, April 27! Apply here ➡️ https://loom.ly/wjTa-T4

🕚 In 45 minutes—grantee @thebulletin.org hosts a virtual event, Targeting Nuclear Power, discussing growing concerns around nuclear safety & broader questions around nuclear power plants becoming targets in war. Register and join ⬇️ https://loom.ly/ZWhexv0

🗓️ This Thursday: grantee Horizon 2045 kicks off its Lex Mundi Nova webinar series. Join a panel of experts as they explore what the ICJ Advisory Opinion achieved, what it left open, and how law, practice, and perceptions have changed. Register ⬇️ https://loom.ly/PGplva4

We're getting ready to launch cohort 3 of the Nuclear Futures Fellowship! Stay tuned for the application drop next week, and meet cohorts 1 & 2 here:  https://ploughshares.org/field-building/nuclear-futures-fellows/

This week has been difficult to watch. While the White House denied Trump was referring to using nuclear weapons, when leaders speak in terms of erasing a civilization, the line between conventional and nuclear risk begins to blur. 1/5

The reason that the US President has the exclusive authority to order the use of nuclear weapons is because Truman set up the system along those lines after WWII. This is often depicted as either a power grab, or because in the nuclear age such decisions "must" be made quickly. This is false.

📰 The RevCon Reporters Group seeks journalists interested in learning about reporting on nuclear weapons issues for the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference. Applications close in one week. Learn more via @stanleycenter.org ⬇️ https://loom.ly/L1l_1Rc

In 2 weeks, Sina Azodi debuts his new book: "Iran and the Bomb: The United States, Iran and the Nuclear Question". The book's launch will take place at 2 pm ET on April 21 via an event with The Middle East Policy Forum & the Elliott School Book Launch Series. Register ⬇️ https://loom.ly/IZPayvc

"The world is significantly less safe today than it was five weeks ago." For @thetimes.com, Ploughshares President Emma Belcher asserts that the US and Israel's war with Iran “has already made nuclear risk harder, not easier, to manage." https://loom.ly/EO6NUlI

A new piece from grantee @merip.bsky.social—a personal exploration & analysis by Susann Kassem on "Israel's Ongoing War in South Lebanon" ⬇️ https://loom.ly/gVhwbTY

On this week's NukeTalk, we're covering the infamous 'Threads', discussing if it's the most "comprehensive" nuclear film and the news that a major British production studio plans to develop Threads into a limited series. Listen to NukeTalk wherever podcasts are found ⬇️ 🎧 https://loom.ly/zm92ScY

“You need diplomacy, inspections and sustained international cooperation.” Last night, Ploughshares President Dr. Emma Belcher was interviewed for The Guardian in response to Trump's recent claims that he does not care about Iran’s stock of highly enriched uranium ⬇️ https://loom.ly/I6Iz0qE

"If you believe you live in a world of great-power predation where collective security is a sham, it’s pretty hard not to think, ‘Well, better take a long hard look at the big one.’" Grantee @armscontrolwonk.bsky.social in Bloomberg ⬇️ https://loom.ly/dTR1nK0