You know all those stories about programming from the late 1980s and early 1990s that are along the lines of, "we only had 2K of memory so we figured out how to do unholy programming magic to make the graphics fit?" That's what WebGL shader programming is like. It's both horrible and amazing.

Coming on January 6 to American Experience on PBS: “Bombshell: The Fight to Control the A-Bomb’s Story,” about how the US news media worked with the government to manipulate the official narrative about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki—and how a few journalists refused to play along.

I've been thinking a lot about the redactions in the Epstein files. Some of them are pretty straightforward in their nature — obviously about privacy issues. But this is a very odd one — why redact the "acts" described?

I'm currently working on a novel and at the end of an average day, I'm wiped out. The sheer amount of analysis, synthesis, making of connections, layering of prose, deepening of characterization, supplemental research... all the mental work is intense and exhilarating. Which is just to say, fuck AI.

via The New Yorker, Ellis Rosen cartoon

I tried to send a very small (low-value, non-commercial) package to the USA last week, and it got bounced back. The guy at La Poste told me that at the moment they are sending NO packages to the US, because of the chaos caused by the removal of the de minimis rule. aide.laposte.fr/contenu/pour...

The other day I managed to port WSEG-10 to GLSL to run as a WebGL shader in Chrome... seems to work! These are 100 warheads rendered at high res (different zooms), only takes about 3 seconds... I still need to get the coordinate transformation working so you can overlay it on a map.

The most unrealistic thing about Batman Returns (1992) is that after the Penguin is caught on tape bragging about being a villain, his citizen supporters immediately turn on him and his backers abandon him... www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Yea...

Happy Friday! Here’s a new post on DOOMSDAY MACHINES that is sure to raise your spirits, about the origins of the trope of whether the living "would envy the dead" after a nuclear war. doomsdaymachines.net/p/will-the-s...

The Bulletin is excited to welcome @wellerstein.bsky.social as a new Senior Fellow! Alex has written many pieces for the Bulletin over the years, including some of our most popular articles. thebulletin.org/2025/12/alex...

Oppenheimer makes a cameo in the Epstein files...

So I Googled ONE murderer's name today and now Google's algorithm is giving me serial killers as the first pick for any single letter I type in on my phone... seriously

Happy Friday! Here’s a new post on DOOMSDAY MACHINES that is sure to raise your spirits, about the origins of the trope of whether the living "would envy the dead" after a nuclear war. doomsdaymachines.net/p/will-the-s...

I'm excited about this — expect lots of interesting things in the new year! thebulletin.org/2025/12/alex...

Spotify says my listening age is 78 which seems.... Cruel? Unfair? Wrong? I mean, sure, sometimes I get stuck on a Dylan kick, but I frequently I listen to stuff from the 1990s like a good Xennial. Does my endless looping of Depeche Mode's Black Celebration count for *nothing* in their eyes?

We have a...🚨FOIA RELEASE🚨 #NukeSky #FOIAsky Defense Intelligence Agency (1976) Vulnerability Handbook: Nuclear Weapons, 650+ pgs Now freely available to all: osf.io/46sfd/files/... 1/2 Support my work (& eating): patreon.com/nuclearanthro paypal.me/nuclearanthro

bookshop.org/p/books/the-... Just read this, an intriguing history of how Truman grappled with basic questions about how to manage the control and use of nukes. Very thoughtful and detailed reporting, and very well told by @wellerstein.bsky.social

Out now! My convo with the inimitable @wellerstein.bsky.social about his new book, THE MOST AWFUL RESPONSIBILITY. I loved going deep with Alex on the challenges of document management and the very practical things (post on reddit!) he does to hone his craft. draftingthepast.com/podcast-epis... 🗃️

TODAY: Tuesday, December 16, at 12-2pm ET / 18-20h CET!

I had to take an online "training course" in "research security" — pure waste of time, just "now we can say you learned this" nonsense — but there was one moment when I was SURE that whomever made the test understood what I was actually thinking, for once. We made a CONNECTION. I felt SEEN.

TOMORROW, Tuesday, December 16, at 12-2pm ET / 18-20h CET I will be part of a book launch event for THE MOST AWFUL RESPONSIBILITY. YOU can attend: in person if you happen to be in Paris (lucky you), or on Zoom. Click "INSCRIPTION" (top right) here to register. www.sciencespo.fr/ceri/fr/even...

🎶 "...one of these things is not like the others..." 🎶

Reading this rn, shaping up to be my favorite book on the subject since the Rhodes tome

#BookReview: The Most Awful Responsibility by @wellerstein.bsky.social (via @harperbooks.bsky.social). Reasonably Well Documented Book Will Force You To Rethink All You Think You Know Of Post- #WWII Era. #amreading #nonfiction #history #nuclearweapons #military #Korea #Japan #civilian #BookSky📚💙💡

ICYMI

Absolutely delighted to arrive home from a business trip to discover Alex Wellerstein’s latest book “The Most Awful Responsibility” has arrived at Chez Day! @wellerstein.bsky.social

For this week’s DOOMSDAY MACHINES, I interviewed my good friend @cherylrofer.bsky.social about her +30 year career at Los Alamos — topics discussed include gender, lasers, and much more — doomsdaymachines.net/p/working-at...

I am absolutely gutted to hear that Dr. William (Bill) Burr of the @nsarchive.bsky.social passed away yesterday. Bill was so kind, so generous, and so important to the field of nuclear history. And he was just a great guy on top of everything else. It is a huge loss.

'Let it Snow' with all the positive lines removed

Funny you should mention that arstechnica.com/ai/2025/06/w...

Can't say I ever expected to see a "That Font was No Angel" headline. But here we are.

Ooh lookie here… @cherylrofer.bsky.social @wellerstein.bsky.social

I can't believe typefaces are part of the political discourse. My HOT HOT take as a font nerd: 1. Calibri is terrible but not because it is woke, 2. Times New Roman is fine when you aren't using it to be anti-woke, 3. I cannot believe they are trying to politicize either of these typefaces, but...

My new book, THE MOST AWFUL RESPONSIBILITY goes on sale TODAY! It is a NEW argument about TRUMAN AND THE ATOMIC BOMB, from Hiroshima through the Korean War, from HarperCollins. alexwellerstein.com/writing/book...

My advance-ordered copy of Prof. Wellerstein's new book about President Truman and the bomb arrived today. His RESTRICTED DATA: THE HISTORY OF NUCLEAR SECRECY IN THE UNITED STATES (2021) combined exhaustive research with pellucid writing; I am looking forward to enjoying more of the same here.

One of the many reasons AI can't produce good writing is it can't hate its own writing. It can't think to itself "Maybe I'm illiterate" during the writing process. And that's essential

I eagerly await the call from my local bookstore to say they have it!

The top book of the year as far as I'm concerned and I haven't even read it.

My new book, THE MOST AWFUL RESPONSIBILITY goes on sale TODAY! It is a NEW argument about TRUMAN AND THE ATOMIC BOMB, from Hiroshima through the Korean War, from HarperCollins. alexwellerstein.com/writing/book...

Currently reading this and it's obviously fascinating but also weirded out by a memory of GCSE history when the set question was "Did Truman do the right thing by dropping the bomb on Japan" and the correct answer should have been "Sir, I'm 15."

"#1 New Release in US Presidents" is probably the top of a very small hill. But I am pleased that I am beating out "A Trump Family Christmas."

The new National Security Strategy is a propaganda document, designed to be widely read. It is also a performative suicide. Hard to think of another great power ever abdicating its influence so quickly and so publicly. It will be worth following the reactions around the world, not just in Europe.

OK, so for the next few hours, I will be answering questions on Reddit's AskHistorians forum about my new book -- feel free to pop over there if you are so inclined! reddit.com/r/AskHistori...

The headline, the main takeaway from a European viewpoint is this: The transatlantic relationship as we know it is over. Yes, we kinda knew this. But this is now official US White House policy. Not a sppech, not a statement. The West as it used to be no longer exists.

US diplomats are being asked to assist fascists in Europe as part of national security.

So, hey, my new book on Truman and the Bomb comes out NEXT WEEK! In this post on Doomsday Machines, I give a rundown of WHAT IT IS ABOUT, and other useful information, including the talk I am giving about it on December 16. doomsdaymachines.net/p/the-most-a...

Oh and TOMORROW, FRIDAY, December 5th, I will be doing an AMA about the book on Reddit's AskHistorians forum. Exact time TBD but it will probably start around 10am ET and go for a few hours.

So, hey, my new book on Truman and the Bomb comes out NEXT WEEK! In this post on Doomsday Machines, I give a rundown of WHAT IT IS ABOUT, and other useful information, including the talk I am giving about it on December 16. doomsdaymachines.net/p/the-most-a...

I am going to be holding a talk and discussion of my NEW BOOK about Truman and the atomic bomb on December 16, 2025 at 12-2pm ET. The event will be in Paris (free to anyone who is local — 18:00-20:00 CET), but also streamed on Zoom. Here is the event description: www.sciencespo.fr/ceri/fr/even...

My fingers keep writing the title of my new book as "The Most Waffle Responsibility," which I have to admit sounds like a pretty appealing book... some kind of Freudian slip going on there... harpercollins.com/products/the...