Ploughshares Fund

08/25/2026

CNBC reports that a weakening US extended deterrence commitment is pushing allies in Europe and Asia to weigh options they long ruled out. That the risk isn't limited to one new nuclear state, but a cascade.

Three Ploughshares partners are featured in the reporting:

🔵 Andrew Facini of The Council on Strategic Risks on why no country can quietly build a deterrent.

🔵 Alexandra Bell of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on the stakes for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the treaty that has held the line at nine nuclear-armed states.

🔵 Hans Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists, whose tracking shows nuclear-armed states walking back disarmament commitments.
https://loom.ly/H5KntdU

As countries take more responsibility for their own defense and nuclear states step back from arms-control commitments, the question of proliferation arises.

08/21/2026

The Arms Control Association will host a briefing on September 11 at 9:30am ET at the National Press Club featuring a panel of experts to "explain the AI-nuclear weapons nexus and and examine options to mitigate the risks."

Register for the hybrid event ⬇️ https://loom.ly/Py9P53M

08/20/2026

81 years after the Trinity Test, 2nd Life Media highlights a recent screening of First We Bombed New Mexico, which was attended by local activists and politicians, including Deb Haaland, the first Native American to serve as US Interior Secretary.

The piece notes: "The Q&A session ... became a direct conversation between community members and two elected officials who pledged to listen and act. This is precisely what the Downwinders have long demanded: not pity, not historical footnotes, but acknowledgment, accountability, and sustained political commitment."
https://loom.ly/MF8_n4g

Film Screening at Flickinger Center Features Political Leaders' Support for Downwinders' Cause

08/19/2026

In a new piece for Inkstick Media, Union of Concerned Scientists' Laura Grego explains why adversaries could circumvent the system with relatively simple measures, driving up costs while undermining its effectiveness.

Grego warns that the ambitious missile defense system risks becoming an expensive technical fantasy while creating a dangerous sense of security.

“What we need to do is the very hard work of diplomacy and arms control,” she says.
https://loom.ly/n1ozQeA

US President Donald Trump's highly touted 'Golden Dome' will cost taxpayers untold sums of money. Will it even work?

08/19/2026

Some dangers announce themselves. Others are woven quietly into the background of our lives—and nuclear risk is one of them.

In this new video, we explain how Ploughshares works to connect people across disciplines, investing in ideas and leaders who don't see nuclear threat as inevitable, but solvable.

*You* are a vital part of moving this work forward. Watch the video and join us today: https://loom.ly/SA_CXwE

08/18/2026

In The New York Times, Ali Vaez of International Crisis Group offers insight in a new report on the future of the US-Iran conflict and the prospects for diplomacy.

As the risk of further escalation remains high, Vaez underscores the difficult choices facing policymakers and the urgent need for a diplomatic path forward.

The United States and Iran are poised to blow past a deadline they had set themselves to broker terms on peace and Iran’s nuclear program.

08/14/2026

The Brink of War tackles a difficult plot mechanic in nuclear filmmaking—diplomacy.

Released today, The Brink of War dramatizes the extraordinary October 1986 meeting between President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Reykjavík, Iceland. How does the film approach this era of diplomacy? Director of Communications, Charles Crosby, discusses on our Story Center ⬇️ https://loom.ly/835Ka5I

There is something genuinely refreshing about a new Hollywood film that takes nuclear diplomacy seriously.

08/10/2026

"We need to reinvest in nonproliferation and arms control, including bringing down our insanely high defense budget and nuclear modernization plan...that's going to be the existential choice in the next 5 to 10 years."

Reinvest in arms control today—and shape the next decade with us: https://loom.ly/MlOEIBQ

📽️ Ben Rhodes, Ploughshares board member and co-host of Pod Save the World, at our Chain Reaction 2026 event

08/09/2026

It was only three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima that another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. In the years since, those impacted have been able to transform grief into a lasting legacy through their stories and art.

Today, eighty-one years after the bombing of Nagasaki, the voices of the hibakusha are as urgent as ever.

On this archive episode of NukeTalk, we interviewed Dr. Masao Tomonaga (Nagasaki Hibakusha and former Director of the Japanese Red Cross Nagasaki Atomic Hospital) and Ravi Garla (Strategic Communications Consultant at the Nuclear Threat Initiative.

Listen to "Nagasaki: On the Other Side of Grief": https://loom.ly/q1QyAA8

It was only three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima that another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. In the years since, those impacted have been able to transform grief into a lasting legacy through their stories and art. Guests include Dr. Masao Tomonaga (Nagasaki Hibakusha and former Di...

08/08/2026

As Northeast Asia enters an increasingly complex nuclear landscape, diplomacy must keep pace with evolving deterrence dynamics.

In Nikkei Asia, former Ploughshares Nuclear Futures Fellow Hao Nan examines how the region's deterrence architecture is evolving faster than the diplomatic mechanisms needed to manage it. He highlights why strengthening channels for dialogue and crisis communication is essential to reducing nuclear risks.
https://loom.ly/ezevUGo

The region needs more diplomatic channels