In this episode of NucleCast, Adam interviews Brigadier General Retired Greg Bowen about hedging in nuclear conflicts. They discuss the importance of hedging as a strategy to quickly react to unforeseen events in a conflict. They also emphasize the need for the president to have multiple options and tools in the toolkit to deal with different scenarios. The conversation touches on the concept of the hedge, the known/unknowns in triad recapitalization, and the need for the United States to maintain a strong deterrent against authoritarian regimes.

Greg’s 36-year military career culminated as the Deputy Director of Global Operations at U.S. Strategic Command, where he was responsible for Department of Defense space activities, ballistic missile defense, cyber operations, strategic deterrence, and nuclear command and control. He was part of the executive leadership team overseeing the operations of 162,000 people, billions of dollars’ worth of equipment, and our nation’s nuclear arsenal. In addition to his normal duties, Greg was certified as an Airborne Emergency Actions Officer and Designated Command Alternate; in those roles, he was one of a handful of officers certified to brief the President of the United States on nuclear response options. Greg was selected for Major General (2-star), but elected to retire from active duty to pursue other interests.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

02:14 The Importance of Hedging

08:06 The Role of Options in Nuclear Conflicts

19:18 Challenges in Triad Recapitalization

23:21 The Role of Deterrence Against Authoritarian Regimes

32:19 Three Wishes

34:20 Conclusion

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Bruce Tarter is Director Emeritus of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and was the eighth director to lead the Laboratory since it was founded in 1952. This episode covers the history and influence of the lab's technology on policy and strategy, the development of nuclear weapons, and the era of stockpile stewardship. It also delves into the challenges and wishes for the future of nuclear arms control.

A theoretical physicist by training and experience, Bruce began his career at the Laboratory in 1967. As Director from 1994 to 2002 he led the Laboratory in its mission to ensure national security and apply science and technology to the important problems of our time. In particular he oversaw the development of stockpile stewardship during his tenure. Tarter received a SB from MIT and a PhD from Cornell. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and received the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Gold Medal and the Secretary of Energy’s Gold Award. He recently published “The American Lab” (Johns Hopkins University Press 2018) , a history of his Laboratory.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Lawrence Livermore National Lab and Bruce Tarter

02:00 Influence of Technology on Policy and Strategy

05:09 Development and Impact of Nuclear Weapons Technology

16:18 The Era of Stockpile Stewardship

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In this episode of NucleCast, Adam interviews Tom Ramos, a physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Lab, about the relevance of the early years of the Cold War to today's national security challenges. They discuss the lessons learned from the past and how they can inform our approach to handling current threats from Russia and China. They emphasize the importance of capturing and memorializing the history of this period and the need for strong policy analysts and integrated collaboration between the military, think tanks, and scientists. They also highlight the need for a sense of urgency and recognition of the serious threats we face.

For the past 40 years, Tom Ramos has been a physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he was a member of the nuclear team that developed the X-ray Laser for President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative. He later supported US/USSR arms control negotiations for START and over a span of seventeen years he created and ran a program for the Department of Defense called CAPS.

Ramos, who graduated from West Point, commanded combat engineers before entering MIT to earn a degree in high energy physics.

His most recent venture was writing a book titled “From Berkeley to Berlin: How the Rad Lab Helped Avert Nuclear War,” which focuses on how the United States had the ability to stand up to Nikita Khrushchev, former leader of the Soviet Union, and his attempts to expand Soviet influence around the globe. The book brings individuals alive, especially those at Livermore, who played important roles in making the country safe during the Cold War.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

02:02 Relevance of the Early Cold War to Today's Challenges

06:41 Lessons from the Kennedy Era

08:09 Challenges of Nuclear Superiority and Modernization

11:26 The Need for Collaboration and Integration

21:30 Advice for Present Leadership

23:15 The Importance of History and Lessons Learned

28:13 Conclusion and Three Wishes

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