Watch the 2024 Outrider Nuclear Reporting Summit

Public awareness of nuclear threats has never been more vital, so we convened journalists at the nexus of health, climate, and national security to deepen their knowledge about how these issues are interconnected in the new nuclear landscape.

December 5-6, 2024KFF's Barbara Jordan Conference Center, Washington, D.C.

The inaugural Outrider Nuclear Reporting Summit gathered 126 media practitioners, national security experts, policymakers, and scientists. This free, two-day conference and training focused on how nuclear weapons issues intersect with artificial intelligence, community health, climate change, local economies, and the environment.

Program Schedule

When Climate Change Threatens National Security

In the past year, forest fires have threatened weapons plants in the U.S. while warming ocean temperatures have and will continue to impact nuclear submarine operations in unexpected ways. This panel will discuss the consequences of climate change on national security and strategies to anticipate and address them.

Justin Worland

Senior Correspondent, TIME

Jamie Kwong

Fellow, Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Karl V. D'Ambrosio

Nuclear Submarine Officer, Commander (Ret.), US Navy

Sherri Goodman

Author, "Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership and the Fight for Global Security"

A New U.S. President and New Nuclear Weapons: A Global Perspective

Will the next president resist or embrace a new nuclear arms race as the U.S. upgrades its 400 land-based ICBM nuclear missiles in Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota with the Sentinel program? How does that over-budget program — which will also see support and testing in Utah and Arizona — compare to nuclear stockpiles and capabilities in the eight other nuclear nations?

Hans M. Kristensen

Director, Nuclear Information Project, Federation of American Scientists

Sharon Squassoni

Professor, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University

The Hidden Health Impacts of Nuclear Weapons Production

Making nuclear weapons is a hazardous process — and workers mining radioactive materials, soldiers maintaining missiles underground, and citizens who built communities on top of contaminated soil have been lied to for decades about the causes of generational health problems. But grassroots activists and whistleblowers are challenging that history.

Robert K. Elder

President & CEO, Outrider Foundation

Dawn Chapman

Co-founder of Just Moms STL

Alex Ruiz

Alex Ruiz, Co-Director, The Torchlight Initiative

Sébastien Philippe

Research Scholar, Program on Science and Global Security, Princeton University

Asking the Right Questions and Finding Overlooked Stories

When a story breaks, the real news is often hidden behind the initial press releases and official talking points. Here, our panelists discuss finding knowledgeable experts, challenging established narratives, and finding revealing stories in unexpected places.

John Mecklin

Editor-in-chief, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Victoria Samson

Chief Director, Space Security and Stability, Secure World Foundation

Tomas Statius

Investigative journalist, Lighthouse Reports

Nuclear Treaties, the Nobel Peace Prize and the Imagery of Nuclear Weapons

Beatrice Fihn served as the executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) when it won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017. This year, Fihn founded Lex International, a philanthropic fund "to develop and strengthen international law to solve global challenges." She'll talk about her career and her newest project, which examines the photography used by news media to depict nuclear weapons—and what a recent study reveals.

Beatrice Fihn

Director, Lex International and Senior Fellow, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research

Alex Toma

Philanthropy and peace expert, Executive Director at Peace and Security Funders Group

Friday, December 6

The Future is Now: Artificial Intelligence and National Security

When AI is discussed in security circles, it often devolves into abstract conversations about the future, with references to science fiction and, inevitably, a humanity-destroying Skynet from The Terminator movies. But AI applications in nuclear security are happening now in everything from mapping to advanced targeting, wargaming, strategies, and concrete ways that might surprise you. This panel explores what’s currently happening and what’s possible in the future of AI and nuclear security.

Thom Shanker

Director, Project for Media and National Security at George Washington University

Leah Walker

Lab Director, Berkeley Risk and Security Lab

Nicole Tisdale

Founder & Principal, Advocacy Blueprints

Nuclear Weapons: Then and Now, in Space and on Earth

In a wide-ranging conversation, Gen. C. Robert "Bob" Kehler (ret), former Commander of U.S. Strategic Command, will talk with W.J. Hennigan of The New York Times about his career and how nuclear strategy has changed over his lifetime—and how it might evolve in the future. Topics covered will include AI, the intersection of climate change and national security, and Kehler’s experience as a missileer in the West.

Gen. C. Robert Kehler, USAF, Ret.

Former Commander, U.S. Strategic Command

W.J. Hennigan

Correspondent, New York Times Opinion

Program Schedule

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