Program Schedule

In 1980, human error and a subsequent fuel leak caused a Titan II ICBM – topped with a 9-megaton nuclear warhead – to explode near Damascus, Arkansas. Greg Devlin was a young Senior Airman in the Air Force, tasked with mitigating the leak, and served as an eyewitness to a chaotic, dangerous time in nuclear history. Devlin will share his story and talk about the lessons he learned from the Damascus incident.

The U.S. is spending more than $1.5 trillion to modernize its nuclear arsenal while China builds up its own nuclear weapons program. In August, President Donald Trump discussed nuclear arms control with President Vladimir Putin at the Alaska summit. Trump says that he wants China to be part of the talks, with the ultimate goal of “denuclearization.” What do these developments mean for all nine nuclear nations?

Between 1946 and 1958, the U.S. tested 67 high-yield nuclear weapons in the Marshall Islands. These tests caused forced displacement of communities and left lasting detrimental consequences to Marshallese health, culture, and the environment. This legacy, which is so often overlooked, has urgent modern-day ramifications for the Marshallese—many of whom migrated to Arkansas. As the U.S. administration considers resuming nuclear tests, the consequences carry broader implications for both the Marshallese people and the world.

According to the 2025 Reuters Digital News Report, social media and video platforms are outpacing traditional news outlets as the top source of information. In this session, three new media creators discuss their best practices and strategies to reach audiences interested in science and information.

From "Dr. Strangelove" (1964) to "Oppenheimer" (2023), films have been a particularly potent medium for exploring the impact and history of nuclear weapons. This session brings together the filmmakers behind two forthcoming documentaries — How to Stop a Nuclear War and Bombshell — for a discussion of how documentaries can confront nuclear history, expose hidden narratives, and spark dialogue about the dangers we face today.

There is not—nor has there ever been—a single line item in the federal budget for nuclear weapons. As a result, government officials, journalists, and the public have no clear idea how many taxpayer dollars are spent annually to build and sustain the U.S. nuclear arsenal. With a new administration in power and the U.S. military undergoing a complete overhaul of its nuclear arsenal, it’s worth examining how these projects are funded, approved, and implemented.

At a time when scientific principles and institutions are under attack by the government, it can be easy to forget that the tools and language of legitimate science have also been used as weapons of government policy. How can journalists and other nonfiction writers responsibly discuss—or even criticize—the misuse of scientific expertise while still defending its core values?

The fields of nuclear energy and nuclear risk mitigation have traditionally been siloed, but this panel aims to break down those walls. The session will address shared security concerns, such as uranium pipeline security, the reprocessing of plutonium, the proliferation of small modular reactors, and opportunities for collaboration between these fields.