Author | Lightnews

Dylan Spaulding

@dkspaulding.bsky.social

1.5K followers 2K 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 · 2d

Please check out this great piece - the first by our talented Scoville Fellow, Sean Manning - on the new Netflix film "House of Dynamite" in which he shows that ".. the quest for absolute security through missile defense exacerbates the very cycle of insecurity it aims to end." Nor does it work.

Don't Get the Wrong Takeaway from 'A House of Dynamite'

Director Kathryn Bigelow's new nuclear thriller 'A House of Dynamite' hinges on the failure of the US anti-missile system.

inkstickmedia.com

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Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · 4d

"We silence so much when we tear down places that are there to teach us, inspire us, humble us. Ghosts and memories drift away in the dust, the wreckage, and we are all poorer as a result."

Opinion | When My Family Lived in the White House I Resented It. Now I Mourn It.

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Dylan Spaulding

Nature @nature.com · 6d

Some doctoral programmes in the US are admitting no students at all amid uncertainty about federal science funding

go.nature.com/4o63boK

US PhD admissions shrink as fears over Trump’s cuts take hold

Some doctoral programmes are admitting no students at all amid uncertainty about federal science funding.

go.nature.com

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Reposted by Dylan Spaulding

Kingston Reif @kingstonareif.bsky.social · 5d

"US offers nuclear energy companies access to weapons-grade plutonium"

US offers nuclear energy companies access to weapons-grade plutonium

Expert warns commercial use of the radioactive material from cold war-era warheads carries safety risks

www.ft.com

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Reposted by Dylan Spaulding

Chad O'Carroll @chadocl.bsky.social · 6d

North Korea launches ballistic missile, first in five months: JCS

This is a developing news story. Please check back for further updates. North Korea has launched an unidentified ballistic missile “toward the east” on Wednesday morning, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) around 8:20 a.m. KST. If confirmed as a ballistic missile test, it would be the country’s first since May. JCS […]

dlvr.it

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Reposted by Dylan Spaulding

Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social · 7d

"Viewpoint diversity" about whether human activity is warming the planet, or whether vaccines work, is like "viewpoint diversity" about whether the sky is blue or whether the Earth is round. It falls outside the range of good faith scientific and academic discourse.
#ScienceUnderSiege

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Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · 9d

No Kings

Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · 10d

Shocking..

Fox News employees expressed concerns network was intentionally aiding Trump, legal filings reveal

Survey responses cited in $2.7bn defamation lawsuit filed against Fox by voting technology company Smartmatic

www.theguardian.com

Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · 11d

I spoke with USA Today for this story on impending furloughs. Nuclear weapons programs transcend administrations but lost workers may never return. The best and brightest will take opportunities in industry rather than leaving their careers at the whim of this admin’s political charades.

Layoffs begin Monday for nuclear weapons workforce, Energy Secretary says

Energy Secretary Chris Wright detailed the pending moves in an interview with USA TODAY.

www.usatoday.com

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Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · 13d

DOE is 'consolidating' its expert advisory committees in a move that will undoubtedly harm foresight and US competitiveness in physics and energy research. These committees identify what is (and will be) cutting edge and are led by experts in their respective fields. This admin prefers to fly blind.

DOE Consolidates Office of Science Advisory Committees

Six long-standing committees advising the Department of Energy’s Office of Science have been rolled into one.

www.aip.org

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Dylan Spaulding @dkspaulding.bsky.social · 24d

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 · 24d

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 · 26d

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 · 27d

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 · 27d

“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 · 28d

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 · 29d

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 · Sep 24

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 · Sep 24

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 · Sep 23

“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 · Sep 21

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 · Sep 19

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 · Sep 17

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 · Sep 15

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 · Sep 12

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.