Ploughshares Fund

06/17/2026

💻 Tomorrow: Webinar hosted by grantee Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP), "Iran in Context Part 1: Gender and Revolution." Register ASAP to join for 10am ET!

June 18, 2026 @ 10:00 AM EST

06/16/2026

"The agreement between the United States and Iran on Sunday ... should neither be dismissed nor overstated. It is not a breakthrough in the grand sense of that word. It does not reconcile the irreconcilable American and Iranian narratives, settle the nuclear dispute, or inaugurate a new regional order."

For TIME: Ali Vaez writes about the importance of "breathing space" in diplomacy amidst the proposed deal between the US and Iran

"The long-awaited agreement between the United States and Iran does not settle their disputes, but the alternative is a war with devastating human and economic consequences," writes Ali Vaez.

06/12/2026

Oh, what a night!

Earlier this week, Ploughshares hosted its annual Chain Reaction gala, this year under the theme 'Iran and Upending the Nuclear Order.'

Warm thanks to our speakers and panelists who shared their time with our audience: board member Ben Rhodes, Dr. Avner Cohen, Dr. Chen Zak Kane, and former Nuclear Futures Fellow Sina Toossi. Your expertise is sorely needed at this current moment, and we are grateful for your leadership.

06/10/2026

On The New York Times Opinion Section's Ezra Klein Show, Klein and Matt Duss of Center for International Policy—a Ploughshares grantee—explore a question that will likely prove key to the 2028 primary: "What would a left foreign policy look like? What would it actually try to do in the world?"

🎧 Listen to the episode / read the transcript ⬇️

Matt Duss, Senator Bernie Sanders’s former foreign policy adviser, argues that Democrats need a foreign policy reckoning.

06/09/2026

📊 Out today: International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)'s newest nuclear spending report, "Premeditated: 2025 global nuclear weapons spending". A few (unnerving) findings:

🔵 In 2025, the nine nuclear-armed states spent just under $119 billion—$3,768 per second—on their nuclear arsenals
🔵 The combined spending of the nuclear armed states increased 19% from 2024's $16.8 billion
🔵 The money the US spent on nuclear weapons in 2025 could have covered the UN annual budget 19x over
🔵 25 companies working on nuclear weapons earned at least $38 billion for nuclear weapons related activities and hold at least $401 billion in outstanding contracts

At the same time, 99 countries have signed, ratified or acceded to the Treaty of the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). And as the ICAN report notes: "It is up to each government and the citizens of that country to decide which path they will choose."
https://loom.ly/hTSOFMM

Nine countries spent a record-breaking $118.8 billion on nuclear weapons in 2025. That's a 19% jump in just one year. They spent about $3,768 every single second. The United States led the pack by a wide margin, spending over $69 billion, more than all the other nuclear-armed nations combined. The U...

06/05/2026

International Crisis Group's 8th Iran Crisis Monitor released this week. If you're looking for a reliable and digestible way to keep up with this complex conflict, look no further than the Crisis Group's monitor. Read about the latest happenings, as well as perspectives from Iran, the US, Israel, and the Gulf.

In this weekly update, Crisis Group experts take stock of developments in the Middle East war and the progress of efforts to end it.

06/04/2026

Out today from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Judith Ehrlich: An Ordinary Insanity

This timely short film features the late Daniel Ellsberg and serves as a wakeup call for why we must collectively work to reduce the growing dangers of nuclear threat. Watch the trailer and register for today's 8pm ET premiere event ⬇️
https://loom.ly/vjIrqpU

Renowned whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg provides a powerful wake-up call about the danger of nuclear war and how we can reduce the threat.

06/03/2026

New from Ploughshares grantee Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP): "Rethinking Political Change in Iran from Protest to War"

Read & share here ⬇️
https://loom.ly/gty__vU

One month before the United States and Israel began the current war against Iran on February 28, 2026, mass uprisings within the country resulted in the severest government crackdown in its modern history. Protests and repression were accompanied by calls for outside intervention. US President Donal...

06/03/2026

Last week, the NPT came to a close without consensus on moving forward. On this episode of Global Dispatches, Mark Leon Goldberg Alex Bell, President of Ploughshares grantee Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, shares insights on the NPT's achievements over 50 years and what this recent conference says about the current state of global nuclear security. Listen 🎧 ⬇️
https://loom.ly/bgezk-E

An interview with Alexandra Bell, President of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

06/02/2026

We're delighted share that Ben Rhodes, national security advisor & consultant and co-host of Crooked Media's Pod Save the World, and Dr. Avner Cohen, Senior Fellow at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, join us as speakers for Chain Reaction 2026: Iran and Upending the Nuclear Order on Tuesday, June 9 in San Francisco!

We just put out our last call for tickets—secure your spot and explore sponsorships here: https://loom.ly/zDS55yc