Join me this Thursday for a virtual panel on the state of play on US scientific research, along with Obama Administration Science Advisor John Holdren and @thebulletin.org President and CEO Alex Bell.

"The pause in Israel's war on Iran provides an opportunity to reflect on the role of the United States in what is essentially the protection of Israel's monopoly on nuclear weapons in the Middle East," writes Victor Gilinsky, a former commissioner of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump issued an executive order and budget proposal aimed at cutting support for the scientific research community. How will possible cuts affect scientists, and what solutions may exist? This Thursday, join the Bulletin for an expert discussion.

Inspired by Indian ice stupas, Chilean engineers are creating artificial towers of ice to preserve winter precipitation for the spring and summer months, ensuring a steadier water supply for people and agriculture. Read more from María de los Ángeles Orfila. ⬇️

Researchers are chipping away at the mountains of climate change evidence in Ireland's geology. Literally. What happened to Ireland's long-lost ice sheets may soon happen to those in Greenland and Antarctica, and geoscientists are working to better understand how.

"If countries are seriously willing to greatly increase the use of nuclear energy throughout the 21st century, US policymakers should see devising a new long-term nonproliferation strategy as a worthy investment of their time," write @richardmnephew.bsky.social and Matt Bowen. ⬇️

"When it comes to pure political instincts, Trump is the pro. After all, he was elected by the people," says historian Francis Gavin. So the question isn't why he does what he does, "but why he's able to generate political support for it. And I think we're still wrestling with that."

David Baltimore, a Nobel-winning biologist and longtime member of the Bulletin's Board of Sponsors, whose discoveries helped fight HIV and many other diseases, passed away earlier this month.

"Just as the East India Company's commercial success gradually justified new powers, today's AI firms seek to leverage technical prowess to assume public functions by default, implicitly assuming that the reallocation of power will serve human flourishing." ⬇️

President Trump is "basically running a reality TV show," says historian Francis Gavin. "The format explains Trump: You throw distractions. So the challenge for us is figure out what is really happening, what really matters, and which of the many things he says is the distraction."

Researchers are chipping away at the mountains of climate change evidence in Ireland's glacial geology. Read more from @francesmack.bsky.social and Cathy Ching. ⬇️

Robert Pape, a professor at the University of Chicago, has been studying political violence for 30 years. There's one central factor, he says, that is responsible for the increasingly violent tenor of US politics today. ⬇️

To once again make America a leader in the global nuclear industry, the United States' nonproliferation regime and nuclear export policies need a revamp, write @richardmnephew.bsky.social and Matt Bowen. "Updating the 'Atoms for Peace' bargain for the new nuclear age." ⬇️

“If the government allows IAEA [inspections], even in principle, [Iranian officials] need to find a way to sell this idea first to the public.” - Ali Alkis thebulletin.org/2025/09/iran...

You have two weeks to submit your story to the Bulletin's first-ever writing contest, judged by acclaimed sci-fi author Kim Stanley Robinson. No fee to enter. Winners will be published in our January magazine. The first place winner will receive $3,000, with $500 each going to four runners-up.

"Iran signs a new agreement with the IAEA. Then tries to sell it at home" by @francoisdm.bsky.social thebulletin.org/2025/09/iran...

A recent project asked what the telltale signs of a bioweapons program would be. There are gaps in the information members of the global bioweapons treaty can access, but new approaches and technologies can help. ⬇️

In 1600, the East India Company began as a trading venture with royal backing. Within decades, it was minting British currency and taxing millions. A similar pattern can be seen with government and Big Tech today. "The AI Raj: How tech giants are recolonizing power," by @allisonstanger.bsky.social.

There is a strong possibility that the United States may not be the world's dominant economic power for much longer. What could happen next? Nobel Prize-winning economist @pkrugman.bsky.social gives his take on this and other concerns in an interview with the Bulletin's Dan Drollette Jr.

Current proposals to expand US nuclear power make it imperative that an objective, current national study of cancer near existing reactors be conducted, write Joseph Mangano and Robert Alvarez.

"When I tell my students now that they have to be thankful for the fact that there's not been a great power war—some imagine that this is equivalent to being thankful that a meteor didn't hit the Earth. It's just kind of totally out of mind." —Graham Allison

Climate change and extractive industries have decimated Ireland's peat bogs. Archaeologists, environmentalists, and developers are clashing over how to steward them for the future. "Ticking time bogs: How to save a vast archive of human history—and a vital carbon sink," by @francesmack.bsky.social.

Despite the ominous strategic rhetoric, the formidable nuclear weapons lobby, and massive budgets, more bombs will not make us safe from sudden attack, writes @joecirin.bsky.social. Read more in "The dangerous new Washington consensus for more nuclear weapons."

Regional conflicts, great-power rivalries, and nuclear deterrence are increasingly intersecting in the Indian Ocean. An ocean-centric perspective can help policy makers avoid unintended escalation in the region. Read more from Nitya Labh. ⬇️

"Why Israel's security doctrine won't help it achieve strategic stability in the Middle East," by Shahin Berenji. ⬇️

Google recently launched a new feature that allows users to customize their search experience by selecting preferred news sources. If you're looking to stay up to date with news and expert analysis on existential risks, it's easy to add the Bulletin as a preferred news publisher.

AI misinformation is threatening emergency communications. Here's how to fix that. Read the new article by Ethan Beaty:

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty banned nuclear weapons in space, but contained no verification provisions. How can today's technology make monitoring for treaty compliance possible? "Modern arms control verification for the Outer Space Treaty," by Isobel Porteous. ⬇️

Pakistan currently has a stockpile of approximately 170 nuclear warheads, according to the Nuclear Information Project at @scientistsorg.bsky.social. Read more in the latest Nuclear Notebook from @nukestrat.bsky.social, @mattkorda.bsky.social, @elianajjohns.bsky.social, and @mknight.bsky.social.

"Using proven vaccines—vaccines that have been used safely for decades in many cases—has been shown in scores of studies to prevent illness and save lives. So how many dead kids is the freedom not to be vaccinated worth?" — @mattyfield.bsky.social.

"The role of the United States in international affairs is changing dramatically, as the Trump administration imposes a new order upon the planet." Read the introduction to the Bulletin's latest magazine edition, by Dan Drollette Jr. ⬇️

National security analyst Graham Allison discusses the Trump administration's approach to international trade and security in an interview with Bulletin editor-in-chief @meckdevil.bksy.social. This magazine article is available to all readers for a limited time.

The role of the United States in global affairs is changing dramatically. The September 2025 magazine issue of the Bulletin examines different facets of the NEW, new world order that Donald Trump has wrought in his second presidential term: buff.ly/bNVQEE2

Today, the teaser trailer for "A House of Dynamite" was released, joining a long history of motion pictures exploring the danger of nuclear weapons. Here's a collection of Bulletin coverage to get you started, from "Dune" to "Oppenheimer," to "Godzilla" and "The Day After." ⬇️

US nuclear plants need to be defended against the types of drone attacks that Ukraine has already suffered, and that China, North Korea, and Russia have threatened against their neighbors' plants. The lead for this effort should be the National Nuclear Security Administration, writes Henry Sokolski.

"Failing to build on mRNA research now makes the United States more vulnerable to infectious diseases like influenza or COVID, to future pandemics, to biological attacks, and to other health threats," writes @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social. ⬇️

We're holding our first-ever short fiction contest. Entries can be of any genre and will be judged by science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson. First-place wins $3,000, and runners-up $500 each. Don't miss the Sept 30 deadline! thebulletin.org/write-before...

The newest Bulletin magazine edition arrives next week. Subscribe today: thebulletin.org/magazine-sub...

"Golden Dome and arms control: impediment or opportunity?" by @pranayrvaddi.bsky.social and John K. Warden. This Bulletin magazine article is available to all readers for a limited time. ⬇️

Kosuzu Harada's grandfather survived the atom bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Ari Beser's grandfather was the only serviceman to fly both US bombing missions. They're now friends. "If two people bound by the most violent act in human history can learn to listen and speak, then nations can too."

Astronomer and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell @planet4589.bsky.social describes some of the many ways in which international friction—and even war—could begin in orbit.

Athens and its suburbs have lost 37% of their forests and grasslands to wildfire since 2017. What will it take to keep the city from burning?

The World Bank has ended its ban on funding nuclear energy projects. Marina Lorenzini of @belfercenter.bsky.social writes on what to expect next. ⬇️

Five years after COVID-19 emerged, killing millions, costing trillions, and disrupting global life, we still don't have a definitive answer as to its origins—"not due to scientific limitations but the withholding of critical information, particularly by China." ⬇️

Generative AI and off-the-shelf computational tools can make the synthesis and use of nerve agents for nefarious purposes more probable. "The Sarin shortcut: How AI lowers the bar for chemical weapons," by @ashjogalekar.bsky.social. ⬇️

If US Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s anti-vaccine views continue to be the basis for public health policy, communities should prepare for diseases that have been gone for decades to reemerge, writes Jennifer Herricks.

In 2019, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) was directly responsible for over 250,000 deaths in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as contributing to over 816,000 additional deaths. Read more in "Climate change and antimicrobial resistance: a combination driving disease spread in Africa," by Geoffrey Kamadi.

Kosuzu Harada's grandfather survived the atom bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Ari Beser's grandfather worked on the plane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. They're now friends. "If two people bound by the most violent act in human history can learn to listen and speak, then nations can too."

China deploys a missile that can carry either conventional or nuclear warheads. If that missile were targeted by a conventional attack, nuclear war could easily ensue. Why hasn't China eliminated this risk? Read more from Nathan McQuarrie. ⬇️

The only way data and AI can be used for good is with "restrictive, well-designed controls to prevent damage to democracy, much like humans did with nuclear energy," writes @geomblog.bsky.social. "How AI and surveillance capitalism are undermining democracy." ⬇️