“What we have seen is a slow almost sleepwalk into increasing dangers over the last decade," says Alexandra Bell in a new piece from the Guardian exploring the history of the Doomsday Clock and the Bulletin.

The Trump admin has a new "Nuclear Campus" plan. With it, it wants to bundle waste disposal with advanced reactors and 50,000+ jobs to make hosting "politically untenable" sites attractive to states. Is it going to break the US nuclear waste gridlock for good? 🧵 1/6

This year's NPT Review Conference risks producing a hollow consensus on disarmament, in part because China has learned to leverage the treaty's multilateral dynamics to avoid nuclear accountability, writes Diya Ashtakala of @poni.csis.org.

AI is receiving massive funding from the government and private industry, but other technologies that the Defense Department has identified as "critical" for future warfighting are overlooked and underfunded. Read more from Julie George @julesgeorge.bsky.social. ⬇️

By bundling spent fuel siting with advanced reactor deployment, the US Energy Department's nuclear campus plan exposes nuclear waste policy to the broader politics of nuclear deregulation, writes Vincent Ialenti @vincentialenti.bsky.social.

The emergence of plasma-based directed-energy weapon systems requires a reconceptualization of deterrence theory, writes Mohammad Eslami. Unlike nuclear deterrence, based in the logic of catastrophic retaliation, plasma deterrence may function through precision, disruption, and strategic ambiguity.

"It is up to scientists and academia to guard the truth: Everything written in an article, every scientific interaction with the public, every peer-review we perform, every editorial we publish has to be thorough and based on facts," writes Georgios Pappas @georgiospappas6.bsky.social.

Bulletin subscribers can read the entire magazine archive, including the July/August 1997 issue, "Star Wars." Learn more about the magazine here: thebulletin.org/magazine-sub...

It's a great gig. If you're sophisticated journalist, you should at least take a look.

"If we reduce super pollutants quickly and adequately, risky geoengineering may never be necessary," writes Paul Bledsoe.

After 12 years as the Bulletin's editor in chief, John Mecklin @meckdevil.bsky.social is stepping down. If you're a deep thinker and top-flight journalist, here are the reasons you should want to replace him, from the man himself.

AI is being woven into military systems intended to help human commanders make decisions in times of crisis, but there is no real-world data for training machines about nuclear war, write Ulysse Richard and Yorgo El Moubayed.

Here's my second post on the NPT Review Conference. It's a summary of an article by Adam Scheinman and me in the @thebulletin.org on how to salvage the conference. It's not too soon, and I hope it's not too late. markwgoodman.substack.com/p/how-to-sal...

As the #NPTRevCon gets underway, ELN Senior Network member Jan Hoekema continues our collaboration with @thebulletin.org. He writes that despite low expectations, small victories remain attainable. thebulletin.org/2026/04/prop...

Health economists are growing concerned about the future economic consequences of falling vaccination rates in the United States, writes Matt Field @mattyfield.bsky.social. In some regions, they are well below the level necessary to stop outbreaks of diseases such as measles.

"To avoid future calamities, the public must pressure policymakers to maintain rigorous standards required for building, operating and maintaining nuclear facilities worldwide." — Bulletin president and CEO Alexandra Bell @atomicbell.bsky.social.

The disasters at Chernobyl and Fukushima are commonly touted as mere cultural exceptions, either due to Soviet communism or to Japanese "groupism." Doing so is not only inaccurate or borderline racist, writes Maxime Polleri @maximepolleri.bsky.social. It normalizes nuclear disasters.

In addition to our regular website content, the Bulletin publishes a premium magazine six times a year. Subscribers get access to new issues, our 80 year archive, and invitations to supporter only events. Try out a monthly subscription today for $7.99!

As a nonprofit, our responsibility is to scientific integrity and the public—not to advertisers, shareholders, or political pressure. Without independent nonprofit media, the public never has a chance to see critical stories that affect us all. Support our mission: igfn.us/form/tE7vTw

WATCH: "Information is fast & free; knowledge is slow & expensive." CISI founder @bostonjoan.bsky.social speaks to for @thebulletin.org on "expertise on demand" & the "disaster" of integrating AI models into newsrooms & classrooms www.youtube.com/live/Hfcuj-K...

In a dark world of wars and shifting geopolitical alignments, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is needed more than even some state parties may realize, writes Jan Hoekema. "The NPT is robust and serves the interests of all, no matter how varied the ideas, wishes, and demands of parties may be."

How can the NPT Review Conference be salvaged? A divided review conference is a likely outcome in New York, write Adam Scheinman and Mark Goodman @markwgoodman.bsky.social. But there may be a narrow path to consensus if parties come ready to make difficult compromises on non-proliferation.

Will space-based missile defense be a Golden Dome or a multi-trillion-dollar Gold Brick that will sink the national budget? Read my report at thebulletin.org/2026/04/spac...

What, exactly, is the Golden Dome? Could it work? And is it likely to be affordable? To answer those questions, it's necessary to go back in time, to the Reagan-era SDI program (alias "Star Wars") and even earlier, writes Jeff Hecht @jhecht.bsky.social. ⬇️

As President Trump pushes to reopen talks with Iran, US negotiators should demand the surveillance of Bushehr and the removal of spent fuel to reduce proliferation risks from plutonium, writes Henry Sokolski.

A disastrous AI incident is no longer a matter of if, but when, writes Juhyun Nam. AI governance needs to be prepared for that day—and for the "policy window" that will open when it happens.

The Paris Climate Accords were signed on April 22—#EarthDay—10 years ago today. @jessimckenzi.bsky.social interviews historian @marchudson.bsky.social, who publishes various pieces of climate ephemera on his blog, @allouryesterdays.bsky.social, about what he's learned archiving climate history.

Join us for "Expertise on Demand: AI in Journalism, Academia, and Thought Leadership," live now.

Join us in one hour for a discussion on the future of AI in journalism, academia, and thought leadership. ⬇️

Evidence of AI usage is increasingly occurring in peer-reviewed academic works, and databases are starting to show evidence of AI hallucinations. At what point does algorithmic assistance become an intellectual liability? Join us tomorrow, April 22, as experts discuss this question and more. ⬇️

"The amount of water stored in the snowpack historically peaks around April 1. But this year, the snowpack in many places was absent, or nearly so, by then—the lowest level in the 45 years since automated measurements began," writes Anna Marija Helt @ahelt.bsky.social.

"President's Trump's disdain for the rules is endangering world order in many ways," write Frank N. von Hippel and Seyed Hossein Mousavian. "We cannot leave defense of the nonproliferation regime for later, however. If we do, we may find ourselves in a nuclear-armed crowd."

Washington is right to demand strong non-proliferation guarantees from Iran, writes Olamide Samuel @olamidediy.bsky.social. But, it must treat the institutions that make these guarantees credible as something more than disposable tools.

At the end of March, the US Forest Service announced the closure of at least 57 of its 77 research stations. There’s virtually no way for the Forest Service to continue to do research at its current level, which will almost certainly lead to poorer land management, writes @jessimckenzi.bsky.social.

Health misinformation is being spread by those in charge of the United States' public health system. Effective interventions require accountability and societal repercussions for purveyors of disinformation, particularly those with large audiences, writes Lisa Fazio @lkfazio.bsky.social.

Tourism at a cave swarming with bats known to have transmitted a deadly disease? The popularity of Uganda's Python Cave points to one way interactions at the animal-human interface—where outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics start—are evolving, writes Georgios Pappas @georgiospappas6.bsky.social.

"In addition to Iran, much more cyber-capable adversaries, namely China and Russia, are also likely looking to take advantage of the current moment," write Alex Noyes @alexhnoyes.bsky.social and Mike Nelson.

On April 22, join the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists as we explore how AI may lead to a hollowing out of experience, and eventually to a crisis of leadership. Register now for our upcoming virutal program: buff.ly/Fxr0FHQ.

On January 25, 1995, scientists in Norway launched a meteorological research rocket. It was immediately picked up by Russian early warning systems designed for nuclear weapons. The incident is important to reflect on today, write Jamie Withorne @jamiewithorne.bsky.social and Raven Witherspoon. ⬇️

Join us today at 10 am ET for a discussion of the war in Iran with a focus on the danger threatened by military strikes near power plants. Watch via YouTube Livestream:

Nuclear power plants are increasingly targets in war. On Monday at 10 am ET, the Bulletin will host a virtual discussion of current threats in the Middle East & Ukraine and what it means for the future of the nuclear power. Watch via YouTube Livestream:

What happens when a nuclear power plant becomes a wartime target? Hear the experts discuss an alarming trend in the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine this Monday at 9:00 a.m. CT / 10:00 a.m. ET.

"Never has humankind seen so much power concentrated in the hands of one so capricious," writes Pakistani nuclear physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy. "No one—not even Donald Trump—knows the end game. But the constant is the man whose finger can push the nuclear button."

Next Monday, April 13, the Bulletin will host a virtual panel on growing concerns around nuclear power plants becoming targets in war, particularly in Iran and Ukraine, and the implications for the future of nuclear energy. Watch on our YouTube channel. ⬇️

If a tornado were about to hit your house, what would you do? Most Americans have at least 15 to 20 minutes to decide before impact, thanks to technology that enables the National Weather Service to issue advance warnings, writes Ema West. But what if you had no notice that a tornado was coming?

There is record public support in South Korea for developing a nuclear weapon, writes Gabriella Wangmu Zhaxi. However, American action against the funders of North Korea's arsenal could still turn the tide.

My latest in @thebulletin.org explores Iran's use of asymmetric warfare and disruptive technologies to counter a conventionally superior United States. thebulletin.org/2026/04/a-co...

"Reasonable doubt? How The Free Press covers climate change," by Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social. This Bulletin magazine article is available to all readers for a limited time. ⬇️

New piece out (with my dear friend Ali) in the @thebulletin.org. thebulletin.org/2026/04/trum...

"Thus far, Iran's warfare has to some degree degraded American and Israeli capabilities, increased pressure on Washington, and hampered the global economy [...] But Tehran's strategy has serious limits," writes Spenser A. Warren @spenserawarren.bsky.social.