Stephen Schwartz
@atomicanalyst.bsky.social
Editor/Co-author, “Atomic Audit: The Costs and Consequences of US Nuclear Weapons Since 1940” • Nonresident Senior Fellow, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists • Nuclear weapons expert (history, policy, costs, accidents) and tracker of the nuclear “Football.”
Pinned
In the March 1981 issue of the @bulletinatomic.bsky.social, conflict resolution expert and Harvard Law School professor Roger Fisher described his “quite simple” idea to force US presidents to viscerally confront the lethal consequences of ordering a nuclear attack. books.google.com/books/about/...
Today in 1984—just over a year after it first opened in movie theaters—“Testament” was broadcast for the first time on PBS as part of the American Playhouse series. The intimate film memorably dramatizes the devastating effects of a nuclear war on a single family in a small Northern California town.
November 26, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Today in 1984—just over a year after it first opened in movie theaters—“Testament” was broadcast for the first time on PBS as part of the American Playhouse series. The intimate film memorably dramatizes the devastating effects of a nuclear war on a single family in a small Northern California town.
Today in 1958, a B-47 on ground alert at Chennault Air Force Base, Louisiana, carrying a sealed-pit hydrogen bomb containing no plutonium, caught fire when the Jet-Assisted Take-Off (JATO) bottles accidentally discharged during the pilot’s acceptance check, pushing the plane into a towing vehicle.
November 26, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Today in 1958, a B-47 on ground alert at Chennault Air Force Base, Louisiana, carrying a sealed-pit hydrogen bomb containing no plutonium, caught fire when the Jet-Assisted Take-Off (JATO) bottles accidentally discharged during the pilot’s acceptance check, pushing the plane into a towing vehicle.
So I walk in the door tonight and this is how one of my cats, Joey, hilariously greets me.
November 26, 2025 at 2:56 AM
So I walk in the door tonight and this is how one of my cats, Joey, hilariously greets me.
The White House Army aide was on “Football” duty tonight for Trump’s latest trip to his Mar-a-Lago club/home in Palm Beach, Florida. The ~45-pound satchel accompanies Trump 24/7, enabling him alone to authorize the use of any of our ~1,770 deployed nuclear weapons—up to 900 on alert—at any time.
November 26, 2025 at 2:42 AM
The White House Army aide was on “Football” duty tonight for Trump’s latest trip to his Mar-a-Lago club/home in Palm Beach, Florida. The ~45-pound satchel accompanies Trump 24/7, enabling him alone to authorize the use of any of our ~1,770 deployed nuclear weapons—up to 900 on alert—at any time.
Skokie takes a stand.
November 26, 2025 at 2:16 AM
Skokie takes a stand.
50 years ago today, the New York Times reported that the US Army planned to deactivate the Safeguard antiballistic missile system in North Dakota less than two months after it was declared fully operational, vindicating scientific and congressional critics who had warned it would never be effective.
November 25, 2025 at 2:06 PM
50 years ago today, the New York Times reported that the US Army planned to deactivate the Safeguard antiballistic missile system in North Dakota less than two months after it was declared fully operational, vindicating scientific and congressional critics who had warned it would never be effective.
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
— George Orwell, 1984
— George Orwell, 1984
Leavitt: "Not a single order this president or administration has given to our military has ever been illegal, nor will it ever be. This administration respects and abides by the law."
November 24, 2025 at 8:40 PM
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
— George Orwell, 1984
— George Orwell, 1984
This cannot happen soon enough.
November 24, 2025 at 5:12 PM
This cannot happen soon enough.
The tower formerly known as Sears, Thursday evening, Chicago.
November 23, 2025 at 7:23 PM
The tower formerly known as Sears, Thursday evening, Chicago.
Five years ago today, the United States officially withdrew from the 1992 Open Skies Treaty, having given notice of its intentions on May 22, 2020, citing spurious Russian “violations” as the reason.
In less than four years, Donald Trump and his unilateralist wrecking crew abandoned the …
In less than four years, Donald Trump and his unilateralist wrecking crew abandoned the …
November 22, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Five years ago today, the United States officially withdrew from the 1992 Open Skies Treaty, having given notice of its intentions on May 22, 2020, citing spurious Russian “violations” as the reason.
In less than four years, Donald Trump and his unilateralist wrecking crew abandoned the …
In less than four years, Donald Trump and his unilateralist wrecking crew abandoned the …
Today in 1977, a US Army CH-47 helicopter transporting an unspecified type and number of nuclear warheads from an Army depot near Münster, West Germany, dropped rapidly just after takeoff when its No. 1 engine caught fire, hitting a row of trees and landing hard in a farm field 200-300 meters away.
November 22, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Today in 1977, a US Army CH-47 helicopter transporting an unspecified type and number of nuclear warheads from an Army depot near Münster, West Germany, dropped rapidly just after takeoff when its No. 1 engine caught fire, hitting a row of trees and landing hard in a farm field 200-300 meters away.
50 yrs ago tonight, the guided missile cruiser USS Belknap (CG-26) collided with the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)—both carrying nuclear weapons—when the Belknap turned into the Kennedy’s path in rough seas during night-flying exercises ~70 mi. east of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea.
November 22, 2025 at 5:59 PM
50 yrs ago tonight, the guided missile cruiser USS Belknap (CG-26) collided with the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)—both carrying nuclear weapons—when the Belknap turned into the Kennedy’s path in rough seas during night-flying exercises ~70 mi. east of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea.
Tonight in 1963, the Presidential Emergency Satchel (“Football”) was caught on film at Andrews Air Force Base when newly-sworn-in President Lyndon B. Johnson returned from Dallas, Texas, on Air Force One after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (Johnson is in the crowd at center left).
November 22, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Tonight in 1963, the Presidential Emergency Satchel (“Football”) was caught on film at Andrews Air Force Base when newly-sworn-in President Lyndon B. Johnson returned from Dallas, Texas, on Air Force One after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (Johnson is in the crowd at center left).
Today in 1963, a special New York City sneak preview of “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” was canceled due to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy earlier in the day. The film eventually opened in New York City, Toronto, and London on January 29, 1964.
November 22, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Today in 1963, a special New York City sneak preview of “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” was canceled due to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy earlier in the day. The film eventually opened in New York City, Toronto, and London on January 29, 1964.
Seventy years ago today, the Soviet Union conducted its first test of a two-stage thermonuclear bomb at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan. The parachute-retarded device was dropped from a Tu-16 bomber and exploded at a height of 5,085 feet. The yield was 1.6 Megatons, the largest test there.
November 22, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Seventy years ago today, the Soviet Union conducted its first test of a two-stage thermonuclear bomb at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan. The parachute-retarded device was dropped from a Tu-16 bomber and exploded at a height of 5,085 feet. The yield was 1.6 Megatons, the largest test there.
“A Coast Guard official who had seen the new wording called the policy changes chilling.
‘We don’t deserve the trust of the nation if we’re unclear about the divisiveness of swastikas,’ the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to a fear of reprisal.”
‘We don’t deserve the trust of the nation if we’re unclear about the divisiveness of swastikas,’ the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to a fear of reprisal.”
WAPO SCOOP: U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols
wapo.st/3Mbd9a6
wapo.st/3Mbd9a6
U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols
The military service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.”
wapo.st
November 20, 2025 at 8:17 PM
“A Coast Guard official who had seen the new wording called the policy changes chilling.
‘We don’t deserve the trust of the nation if we’re unclear about the divisiveness of swastikas,’ the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to a fear of reprisal.”
‘We don’t deserve the trust of the nation if we’re unclear about the divisiveness of swastikas,’ the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to a fear of reprisal.”
Tonight in 1983, more than 100 million Americans saw multiple thermonuclear weapons destroy Kansas City, Missouri, in “The Day After” on ABC. A.C. Nielsen Company reported that 62 percent of television sets that night were tuned to the film. I watched in my packed college dorm lounge. How about you?
November 20, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Tonight in 1983, more than 100 million Americans saw multiple thermonuclear weapons destroy Kansas City, Missouri, in “The Day After” on ABC. A.C. Nielsen Company reported that 62 percent of television sets that night were tuned to the film. I watched in my packed college dorm lounge. How about you?
Today in 1959, “Time Enough At Last” (Season 1, Episode 8) of “The Twilight Zone” was broadcast for the first time on CBS. A catastrophic nuclear war finally allows obsessive bibliophile bank teller Henry Bemis (Burgess Meredith) to read as many books as he wants without interruption, until …
November 20, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Today in 1959, “Time Enough At Last” (Season 1, Episode 8) of “The Twilight Zone” was broadcast for the first time on CBS. A catastrophic nuclear war finally allows obsessive bibliophile bank teller Henry Bemis (Burgess Meredith) to read as many books as he wants without interruption, until …
Not just this snippet, but Trump's entire "speech"—before the Saudi Investment Forum, mind you—is unhinged and utterly detached from reality.
Trump: "I met with two pollsters the day before I got the news about covid because we were starting to think about the next election. They said, 'Sir, if George Washington and Abraham Lincoln came back from the dead and they aligned, you'd be beating them by 25 points.'"
November 19, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Not just this snippet, but Trump's entire "speech"—before the Saudi Investment Forum, mind you—is unhinged and utterly detached from reality.
Today in 1952, the Boston Globe published an article by science writer Michael Amrine sharing the news that the hydrogen bomb—successfully tested for the first time 18 days earlier but not yet deployed—would enable the United States to conduct mass slaughter for the low, low cost of $1 per person.
November 19, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Today in 1952, the Boston Globe published an article by science writer Michael Amrine sharing the news that the hydrogen bomb—successfully tested for the first time 18 days earlier but not yet deployed—would enable the United States to conduct mass slaughter for the low, low cost of $1 per person.
When you know more about everything than everyone—especially the second “N-word”—you don’t need experts to tell you that detonating a nuclear device below (or above) the Nevada desert cannot happen anytime soon, or that every other nuclear power will gain more from resuming testing than we will.
November 19, 2025 at 3:12 AM
When you know more about everything than everyone—especially the second “N-word”—you don’t need experts to tell you that detonating a nuclear device below (or above) the Nevada desert cannot happen anytime soon, or that every other nuclear power will gain more from resuming testing than we will.
Yesterday, the Telegraph published an article quoting Adm. Lord Alan West (ret.), a former senior officer in the United Kingdom’s nuclear chain of command, saying his staff alerted him on 9/11 that the US was “starting to move to immediate readiness for nuclear weapon release ….” archive.is/eJH47
![Screenshot of the linked Telegraph (London) article published on November 17, 2025, and headlined "George W. Bush 'prepared nuclear weapons after 9/11.'" A subheadline reads, "'Panicked' phone calls warned UK that US was ready to fire missiles immediately after 2001 terror attack."
An excerpt:
"George W Bush’s government made preparations to launch nuclear weapons after the 9/11 terror attack, a former British defence chief has revealed.
In the chaotic minutes that followed the 2001 al-Qaeda attack, panicked calls were received at Britain’s Northwood naval headquarters in Hertfordshire, warning that America was moving to 'immediate readiness for nuclear weapon release.'
Vladimir Putin, fearful of a strike against Moscow, was also demanding answers from Washington over the scrambling of its nuclear forces, amid a short communications blackout following the attack.
Admiral Lord Alan West, who at the time was the commander-in-chief of the fleet based at Northwood and was a key figure in Britain’s nuclear response, has now revealed that he ordered troops to 'do nothing' amid the simmering tensions.
He said: 'I remember getting a phone call from our nuclear firing cell, the guys who finally – when all the codes go – press the buttons, and they said, unbelievably, on my red phone [linking to the UK deterrent]: ‘Sir... the Americans are starting to move to immediate readiness for nuclear weapon release in all three systems’.
'That’s strategic air, intercontinental ballistic missiles and subsurface. ‘What do you want me to do?’ I said: ‘Don’t do anything.’
The situation eventually calmed down after Condoleezza Rice, the US national security adviser at the time, spoke to Moscow. ..."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:iwbebt5r65c67xl5vy5iviwj/bafkreifghkm563gvsqwkcmtg6y7x2bxasnzxsifp3vuuxb7sf6ylwoskem@jpeg)
November 18, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Yesterday, the Telegraph published an article quoting Adm. Lord Alan West (ret.), a former senior officer in the United Kingdom’s nuclear chain of command, saying his staff alerted him on 9/11 that the US was “starting to move to immediate readiness for nuclear weapon release ….” archive.is/eJH47
In these horrid times, as Republicans do nothing to stop health insurance premiums from skyrocketing and the Border Patrol/ICE operate lawlessly in our cities, it’s comforting to know Republicans just gave the Air Force (Northrop Grumman) $850 million more for the new B-21 bomber and Sentinel ICBM.
Shutdown deal adds $850M for B-21, Sentinel construction projects
Lawmakers boosted projects in the three-bill funding package that reopened the federal government on Wednesday.
www.defenseone.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:48 PM
In these horrid times, as Republicans do nothing to stop health insurance premiums from skyrocketing and the Border Patrol/ICE operate lawlessly in our cities, it’s comforting to know Republicans just gave the Air Force (Northrop Grumman) $850 million more for the new B-21 bomber and Sentinel ICBM.
Today in 1963, 32 miles off Cape Canaveral, Florida, President John F. Kennedy became the first president to see a SLBM test launch, observing the firing of a Polaris A2 SLBM from the submerged USS Andrew Jackson (SSBN-619). He later wrote that it was “a most satisfying and fascinating experience.”
November 16, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Today in 1963, 32 miles off Cape Canaveral, Florida, President John F. Kennedy became the first president to see a SLBM test launch, observing the firing of a Polaris A2 SLBM from the submerged USS Andrew Jackson (SSBN-619). He later wrote that it was “a most satisfying and fascinating experience.”
Here is a clearer view of the female Space Force aide carrying the Presidential Emergency Satchel out of the Oval Office last night, as Trump walks ahead toward Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, taken by @penguinsix.bsky.social.
November 15, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Here is a clearer view of the female Space Force aide carrying the Presidential Emergency Satchel out of the Oval Office last night, as Trump walks ahead toward Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, taken by @penguinsix.bsky.social.