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Dylan Spaulding

@dkspaulding.bsky.social

1.5K followers 1.9K following 500 posts

Senior Scientist, Union of Concerned Scientists, Global Security Program. Views are my own. Blog: blog.ucsusa.org/author/dylan-spaulding/

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Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · May 28

I've written a comprehensive report on plutonium pit production - including a critical look at the history, the risks and costs, and the science of Pu aging. Short story: new pits are unnecessary, dangerous, and expensive and alternatives provide a safer future. Please read and circulate! #NukeSky

Plutonium Pit Production

The US plan to build new plutonium pits for nuclear weapons is unnecessary, risky, and dangerous to the health of workers and communities.

www.ucs.org

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Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · 9d

Could there be a more dystopian headline? I don’t want to find out.

My life in Gaza: ‘We burned our copy of Nineteen Eighty-Four to bake bread. What would Orwell think of us now?’

From fleeing Gaza City to a birthday in the family – Karim recounts a month in the territory

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Dylan Spaulding

Geoff Brumfiel @gbrumfiel.bsky.social · 9d

Well gang, it's happened: OpenAI has built a platform filled exclusively with fake, AI content.

I've been playing with it for a few days, and I think it's safe to say we're basically kissing reality goodbye.

Here's the story: www.npr.org/2025/10/03/n...

And some thoughts 🧵

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Reposted by Dylan Spaulding

Nick Kodama 🌲👻 @nickkodama.bsky.social · 11d

As candidate for mayor of New York City, Mamdani must make his position on extending New START limits clear. His silence on minuteman upload is deafening.

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Reposted by Dylan Spaulding

POLITICO Europe @politico.eu · 11d

Pope Leo XIV denounced people who deny climate change today, arguing that they are contributing to the destruction of God's creation.

Pope Leo rebukes climate skeptics after Trump calls warming a ‘con job’

The Illinois native’s comments come a week after the U.S. president derided the fight against climate change.

www.politico.eu

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Reposted by Dylan Spaulding

Union of Concerned Scientists @ucs.org · 11d

“What the Golden Rule symbolizes is as relevant today as in 1958 when Bigelow and his crew set out from California for the first time.” Read UCS’s @dkspaulding.bsky.social reflections as a temporary crew member aboard the recently restored boat, a symbol of anti-nuclear resistance.

Seeking a New Moral Compass on Nuclear Weapons Aboard the Golden Rule

A sailboat that symbolized anti-nuclear activism in the late 1950s has been restored as a reminder of the need for arms control.

blog.ucs.org

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Reposted by Dylan Spaulding

Allison Bawden @nukeoversight.bsky.social · Sep 9

You wouldn’t think the cost of a fixed-price construction contract could increase—but hundreds of NNSA’s run over, to the tune of $37.5 million just in FY23. NNSA’s construction budget is always tight so unexpected increases mean delays for other projects. www.gao.gov/products/gao... #nukesky

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Reposted by Dylan Spaulding

Allison Bawden @nukeoversight.bsky.social · 12d

NNSA spends a lot of money on nuclear weapons & infrastructure. NNSA has requirements (similar to those of the Nunn-McCurdy Act) to formally notify Congress about cost overruns and assess the reasons for the overruns, but it hasn’t consistently done so.
www.gao.gov/products/gao...

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Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · 13d

I recently had the privilege of crewing aboard a sailing vessel called the Golden Rule, a boat that was used to protest nuclear tests in the Pacific in 1958. This piece is a reflection on the anti-nuclear movement that the boat helped to start and a look at where we are today. Please check it out:

Seeking a New Moral Compass on Nuclear Weapons Aboard the Golden Rule

A sailboat that symbolized anti-nuclear activism in the late 1950s has been restored as a reminder of the need for arms control.

blog.ucs.org

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Reposted by Dylan Spaulding

Charles Bergquist @cbquist.bsky.social · 17d

The program I work for, @scifri.bsky.social, is one of the programs that WNYC Studios is offering free to affected stations. Heads up, station friends!

Micah Loewinger @micahloewinger.bsky.social · 18d

My employer New York Public Radio just announced that it is offering @onthemedia.bsky.social, @radiolab.bsky.social, and other programs to at-risk public radio stations for free! More info: current.org/2025/09/wnyc...

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Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · 19d

“As unrealistic as the establishment of a nuclear weapons–free zone in Northeast Asia may seem, talking about it can be a vehicle for improving security in the region..” The latest from my colleague, @gkucs.bsky.social on prospects for a potential Trump-Kim reunion.

How to Make the Next Trump-Kim Meeting a Success

Kim Jong Un could be willing to agree to a nuclear weapons-free zone in Northeast Asia because it would threat North Korea the same as China, Russia, and the United States.

blog.ucs.org

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Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · 21d

This is a well done documentary that highlights oft-overlooked aspects of the US atomic bombings and diverges from the 'traditional' (often inaccurate) accounts that have descended from censored records and interpretations based on US exceptionalism which ignore the most callous aspects.

Atomic Bowl: Football at Ground Zero -- And Nuclear Peril Today | The Atomic Bowl: Football at Ground Zero -- And Nuclear Peril Today | AtomicBowl

The U.S. all-star football game in the atomic ruins of Nagasaki--and why it matters today

www.pbs.org

Reposted by Dylan Spaulding

Robert Rust @rrucs.bsky.social · 23d

What I really want to know is what Trump heard, and from whom, that got processed and spit back out as "we need Bagram air base cause it's an hour from where China makes their nukes." www.bbc.com/news/article...

Trump's hope to 'take back' Bagram airbase dismissed by Taliban official

Bagram airbase was handed over to the Afghan military shortly before the Taliban returned to power.

www.bbc.com

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Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · 25d

The DOE has ordered a review of a key part of nuclear modernization - plutonium pit production. Here’s my take on why it (and plans for other parts of the US triad) deserve reconsideration and rescoping. At present, ambition and reality don’t align.

It’s Time to Rethink US Nuclear Weapons Manufacturing

There is no technical justification for replacing the entire US nuclear arsenal—but the government is willing to spend more than $2 trillion to do just that.

blog.ucs.org

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Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · 27d

Even conservative thinktanks are projecting the cost of Golden Dome to be anywhere from $252 billion to $3.6 trillion over 20 years. Before the US commits itself to an unfeasible, easily defeated, false sense of security, it should be honest about the costs and capabilities.

www.aei.org

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Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · 29d

Another good reminder that sophisticated defenses can be easily overwhelmed with very low-tech countermeasures. While this is air defense, proponents of missile defense would be wise to take note. The same truth applies.

'Looks like a toy, but it's real': BBC examines a downed Russian drone

Drones like this one were shot down over Polish airspace in the early hours of Wednesday.

www.bbc.com

Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · Sep 12

There are no words for how stupid and unnecessarily destructive these charades are for international relations, the economy, and regional stability outside the US. The US used to be thought of as a bulwark against tyranny and instability. Now are are a catalyst.

South Korea outraged at 300 workers treated as ‘prisoners of war’ in US raid

As Hyundai-LG workers fly home after visa ordeal, Koreans bristle at ‘humiliation’ and sense of betrayal by Seoul’s ally

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Dylan Spaulding

Stephen Young @atomicwonk.bsky.social · Sep 10

Excellent @sciam.bsky.social Golden Dome article details the lack of information about the proposed system, the enormous amount of taxpayer $$$s it will consume (even as it fails), & the negative ramifications for US security overall: www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-...

What’s the Plan for ‘Golden Dome’? Even Experts Aren’t Sure

A sweeping U.S. missile defense program comes with many risks, costs and uncertainties, analysts say

www.scientificamerican.com

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Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · Sep 9

I don't control the press releases, I just "say the stuff"... Statements like these are usually meant for journalists who are already covering the issue and, I agree, not very suitable for public consumption. I will pass along the feedback so that they might be made more digestible.

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Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · Sep 9

and which are criticized here:

cdn.lanl.gov

Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · Sep 9

LANL's estimates are based on CAP88 modeling, which they briefly address here:

cdn.lanl.gov

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Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · Sep 9

@tayloraloy.bsky.social Apologies for lack of context. I agree that given public concern, venting into another container would seem logical and I voiced that to NMED. LANL rejected that option because it results in additional waste. Given the obvious public concern, another FTWC seems better to me.

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Reposted by Dylan Spaulding

Stephen Young @atomicwonk.bsky.social · Sep 9

"Rushed Approval of Tritium Venting for Los Alamos National Laboratory Ignores Public Input, Alternatives" - statement by my colleague @dkspaulding.bsky.social www.ucs.org/about/news/r...

Rushed Approval of Tritium Venting for Los Alamos National Laboratory Ignores Public Input, Alternatives

Statement from Dr. Dylan Spaulding on Los Alamos National Laboratory plan to release tritium gas in New Mexico, despite strong community opposition.

www.ucs.org

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Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · Sep 8

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Police dismantle longstanding White House peace vigil on Trump’s orders

Anti-nuclear protest had been in place for decades before president ordered its removal after journalist’s question

www.theguardian.com

Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · Sep 6

There's also this, as well as his attempt to name streets in the new development with names like "America First Ave".

A Sacramento park plaque with a big mistake was finally removed. When will the park open?

Although the park appeared ready to open this fall, it remains padlocked, with residents forlornly walking dogs around the perimeter.

www.sacbee.com

Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · Sep 6

Dylan Spaulding, dell’Union of Concerned Scientists, sottolinea che “la produzione e la gestione di pit su ampia scala, non è necessaria adesso”... I sound so much better in Italian!

Dilemma strategico sul plutonio, gli Stati Uniti tra deterrenza e sicurezza

L’opportunità deriva dal riciclaggio dei “pit”: le instabili sfere di plutonio al centro delle bombe nucleari. Ma riutilizzare i nuclei per la produzione di energia è un’intuizione tanto vantaggiosa q...