Matthew Bunn
@matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Father, husband, citizen, professor, focusing mainly on nuclear weapons and nuclear energy issues. Faculty lead for Harvard's Managing the Atom project: www.belfercenter.org/programs/managing-atom
My website: matthewbunn.scholars.harvard.edu
My website: matthewbunn.scholars.harvard.edu
Pinned
Matthew Bunn
@matthew-bunn.bsky.social
· Oct 23
Inside the Kennedy School’s long fight to prevent nuclear catastrophe
For generations, the insights and engagement of Harvard Kennedy School scholars have strengthened nuclear strategies and reduced dangers.
www.hks.harvard.edu
Proud to have been part of 50 years of work to reduce the danger of nuclear war at the Harvard Kennedy School, detailed in this new account in the Kennedy School's magazine. The effort is more urgent and essential than ever. www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-rese...
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
This isn’t a “peace plan.” It’s a blueprint for Ukraine’s capitulation. If implemented, it would turn this pro-Western, democratic nation, which has been courageously resisting Russian aggression since 2014, into a Kremlin colony. wapo.st/3XcRot6
Opinion | Ukraine needs Russia’s frozen $200 billion immediately, Europe
With Trump seeking Kyiv’s capitulation to Russia, now is the moment for decisive European action.
wapo.st
November 22, 2025 at 9:39 PM
This isn’t a “peace plan.” It’s a blueprint for Ukraine’s capitulation. If implemented, it would turn this pro-Western, democratic nation, which has been courageously resisting Russian aggression since 2014, into a Kremlin colony. wapo.st/3XcRot6
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
Faculty searches at Harvard Kennedy School in applied microeconomics and in technology and public policy www.hks.harvard.edu/more/about/l...
Faculty Appointments
The Academic Deans' Office recruits new faculty members who have strong teaching and research records and are intellectual leaders in their field.
www.hks.harvard.edu
November 22, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Faculty searches at Harvard Kennedy School in applied microeconomics and in technology and public policy www.hks.harvard.edu/more/about/l...
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
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?
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
Trump: “We had a meeting today that actually surprised me. He wants to see no crime. He wants to see housing being built. He wants to see rents coming down…I expect to be helping him, not hurting him…I think this mayor can do some things that are going to be really great.”
November 21, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Trump: “We had a meeting today that actually surprised me. He wants to see no crime. He wants to see housing being built. He wants to see rents coming down…I expect to be helping him, not hurting him…I think this mayor can do some things that are going to be really great.”
A "peace plan" that offers security guarantees for Ukraine without ANY troops on the ground to back them up reflects a profound lack of understanding of Putin's Russia and of what is needed for credible deterrence of future Russian attacks.
The chairman of the Senate Armed Services is not a fan of the Trump admin’s Ukraine peace plan.
November 21, 2025 at 10:22 PM
A "peace plan" that offers security guarantees for Ukraine without ANY troops on the ground to back them up reflects a profound lack of understanding of Putin's Russia and of what is needed for credible deterrence of future Russian attacks.
Concerning how little has been made public about the nuclear energy deal with Saudi Arabia that the Trump administration announced had been reached during MBS's visit. What does it include about uranium enrichment, about strengthened safeguards?
www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/...
www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/...
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Solidifies Economic and Defense Partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
STRENGTHENING OUR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP: Today, President Donald J. Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Saudi
www.whitehouse.gov
November 21, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Concerning how little has been made public about the nuclear energy deal with Saudi Arabia that the Trump administration announced had been reached during MBS's visit. What does it include about uranium enrichment, about strengthened safeguards?
www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/...
www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/...
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
“17. The United States and Russia will agree to extend the validity of treaties on the non-proliferation and control of nuclear weapons, including the START I Treaty.”
Trump's full 28-point Ukraine-Russia peace plan
The full plan was obtained by Axios and verified by Ukrainian and U.S. officials.
www.axios.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:54 AM
“17. The United States and Russia will agree to extend the validity of treaties on the non-proliferation and control of nuclear weapons, including the START I Treaty.”
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
Earlier this morning, President Trump threatened me and a group of service and veteran Members of Congress with arrest, trial, and death by hanging.
Here’s my response:
Here’s my response:
November 20, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Earlier this morning, President Trump threatened me and a group of service and veteran Members of Congress with arrest, trial, and death by hanging.
Here’s my response:
Here’s my response:
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
Interesting podcast in which @armscontrolwonk.bsky.social & @wslafoy.bsky.social discuss (and tear apart) 'A House of Dynamite'. The fundamental problem is the unrealistic scenario -- who would fire one missile at the continental US? And why would this necessitate immediate retaliation?
November 18, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Interesting podcast in which @armscontrolwonk.bsky.social & @wslafoy.bsky.social discuss (and tear apart) 'A House of Dynamite'. The fundamental problem is the unrealistic scenario -- who would fire one missile at the continental US? And why would this necessitate immediate retaliation?
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
Good morning, New York. While you were sleeping, this was the most-read story on.ft.com/47WDgKJ
November 18, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Good morning, New York. While you were sleeping, this was the most-read story on.ft.com/47WDgKJ
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
‘This Is Corruption’: ’60 Minutes’ Reports Trump Pardoned Binance Boss After He ‘Enriched’ Crypto Business Tied to Trump Family
‘This Is Corruption’: ’60 Minutes’ Reports Trump Pardoned Binance Boss After He ‘Enriched’ Crypto Business Tied to Trump Family
"60 Minutes" reported President Trump pardoned the founder of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange after he "enriched" the Trump family during its crypto push
The post ‘This Is Corruption’: ’60 Minutes’ Reports Trump Pardoned Binance Boss After He ‘Enriched’ Crypto Business Tied to Trump Family first appeared on Mediaite.
dlvr.it
November 17, 2025 at 2:08 AM
‘This Is Corruption’: ’60 Minutes’ Reports Trump Pardoned Binance Boss After He ‘Enriched’ Crypto Business Tied to Trump Family
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
Prohibited activities include advising Chinese graduate students. For reference, a recent Georgetown report estimated 16% of STEM graduate students in the US are Chinese nationals.
This would take out entire fields at the knees, which is perhaps the point.
This would take out entire fields at the knees, which is perhaps the point.
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations
Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students
www.science.org
November 14, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Prohibited activities include advising Chinese graduate students. For reference, a recent Georgetown report estimated 16% of STEM graduate students in the US are Chinese nationals.
This would take out entire fields at the knees, which is perhaps the point.
This would take out entire fields at the knees, which is perhaps the point.
A new fellowship for historians looking to profile key figures of the nuclear age, named for the remarkable nuclear historian Marty Sherwin:
www.gc.cuny.edu/news/generou...
www.gc.cuny.edu/news/generou...
Generous Gift to the CUNY Graduate Center Endows New Biography Fellowship
The family of Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Martin J. Sherwin establishes a fellowship for nuclear age biography at the Leon Levy Center for Biography.
www.gc.cuny.edu
November 13, 2025 at 5:20 PM
A new fellowship for historians looking to profile key figures of the nuclear age, named for the remarkable nuclear historian Marty Sherwin:
www.gc.cuny.edu/news/generou...
www.gc.cuny.edu/news/generou...
While the US failed for 26 years to fix Penn Station, China built 30,000 miles of high-speed rail and 1,000 new rail stations.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Why Is It So Hard to Fix Penn Station?
The nation’s busiest transit hub stands as a symbol of a condition that afflicts so many attempts to get big things done in America: inertia.
www.nytimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:14 PM
While the US failed for 26 years to fix Penn Station, China built 30,000 miles of high-speed rail and 1,000 new rail stations.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
Have had a post in Substack drafts now for months that I need to finish on why SBIs invite a world of fast-ascending (think Sprint ABM), nuclear-tipped DA-ASAT weapons.
SBIs will require defensive capabilities to help protect them from adversary ASATS -- and that is a cost factor/tech challenge that is not often included in ongoing discussions about investment requirements. breakingdefense.com/2025/11/gold...
Golden Dome SBIs will need to be defended from adversary attack: Experts - Breaking Defense
The satellites will need to be defended "not only from adversary kinetic or local orbital issues, but also from cyber attacks, electronic jamming and laser attacks," said Patrick Binning, a professor ...
breakingdefense.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:04 AM
Have had a post in Substack drafts now for months that I need to finish on why SBIs invite a world of fast-ascending (think Sprint ABM), nuclear-tipped DA-ASAT weapons.
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
"what began as a way to increase the pace of deportations has come to look like a national police force, answerable to the president, that is at least as focused on bullying the residents of Democrat-run cities as it is on deporting undocumented migrants" www.economist.com/interactive/...
See how Donald Trump is creating his own police force
Immigration agents are operating in cities with few legal constraints
www.economist.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:45 AM
"what began as a way to increase the pace of deportations has come to look like a national police force, answerable to the president, that is at least as focused on bullying the residents of Democrat-run cities as it is on deporting undocumented migrants" www.economist.com/interactive/...
Looking forward to reading this one. Sole presidential responsibility for nuclear use needs to be moderated in some way -- literally EVERY other thing involving nuclear weapons requires at least two people to be involved.
The new book... exists!!! Got my author copies in the mail today! Looks quite readable! Spelled my name right on the cover, even!!!
harpercollins.com/products/the-most-awful-responsibility-alex-wellerstein
harpercollins.com/products/the-most-awful-responsibility-alex-wellerstein
November 12, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Looking forward to reading this one. Sole presidential responsibility for nuclear use needs to be moderated in some way -- literally EVERY other thing involving nuclear weapons requires at least two people to be involved.
Aurora in New Mexico?? Amazing.
November 12, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Aurora in New Mexico?? Amazing.
2023 bleaching event—unprecedented in severity—killed 97.8-100% of elkhorn and staghorn coral in the Florida Keys. Both species now “functionally extinct” on Florida reefs. 😩😩😩
The 2023 bleaching on #Florida 's reef tract was *really* bad for #Elkhorn and #staghorn #Coral
Heat-driven functional extinction of Caribbean Acropora corals from Florida’s Coral Reef | Science share.google/w5sF235YYexo...
Heat-driven functional extinction of Caribbean Acropora corals from Florida’s Coral Reef | Science share.google/w5sF235YYexo...
Heat-driven functional extinction of Caribbean Acropora corals from Florida’s Coral Reef
In 2023, a record-setting marine heat wave triggered the ninth mass coral bleaching event on Florida’s Coral Reef (FCR). We examined spatial patterns of heat exposure along the ~560-kilometer length o...
share.google
November 11, 2025 at 6:11 PM
2023 bleaching event—unprecedented in severity—killed 97.8-100% of elkhorn and staghorn coral in the Florida Keys. Both species now “functionally extinct” on Florida reefs. 😩😩😩
ICYMI: The effort outlined here to undermine or bypass the NRC -- long the international gold standard of nuclear regulation -- is self-defeating. Only well-managed nuclear energy with strong safety and security regulation has a chance of growing enough to help mitigate climate change.
The Risky Movement to Make America Nuclear Again
A Silicon Valley startup called Oklo is leading the charge to bring nuclear power back to the US with small reactors. Its backers have wealth and political connections that could undermine nuclear saf...
www.bloomberg.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:36 PM
ICYMI: The effort outlined here to undermine or bypass the NRC -- long the international gold standard of nuclear regulation -- is self-defeating. Only well-managed nuclear energy with strong safety and security regulation has a chance of growing enough to help mitigate climate change.
Surprise, surprise: when you intentionally traumatize government employees it becomes harder to recruit good people for those jobs.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Justice Department struggles as thousands exit — and few are replaced
The Justice Department has lost thousands of experienced attorneys and backfilled a fraction of the open jobs, in part because of a lack of qualified candidates.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Surprise, surprise: when you intentionally traumatize government employees it becomes harder to recruit good people for those jobs.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
My friend @armscontrolwonk.bsky.social is brilliant. And he is gifted in his ability to explain the complex and dangerous realities of nuclear weapons in a way any could and everyone should understand. Congrats to the @thebulletin.org for making him do so.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=czyk...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=czyk...
What you should know about nuclear weapons
YouTube video by Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
www.youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:51 PM
My friend @armscontrolwonk.bsky.social is brilliant. And he is gifted in his ability to explain the complex and dangerous realities of nuclear weapons in a way any could and everyone should understand. Congrats to the @thebulletin.org for making him do so.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=czyk...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=czyk...
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
Please share with anyone in your organization or department who may be interested. Pre/postdoc and visiting scholars welcome. On sabbatical and want to join a great research community? Let us know
Please join MTA on November 14 at 1pm Eastern Time if you are interested in learning more about MTA fellowships and the application process. More information (including the Zoom registration link) can be found here: x.com/managingthea...
November 10, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Please share with anyone in your organization or department who may be interested. Pre/postdoc and visiting scholars welcome. On sabbatical and want to join a great research community? Let us know
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
With so much national political noise, it's easy to overlook successes close to home. My first article for @earthislandjournal.bsky.social Journal looks at the movement to build trails for people of all abilities, including those on wheels @appmtnclub.bsky.social www.earthisland.org/journal/inde...
Walk This Way — Or Roll
Amid federal cuts to alternative transportation projects, states like Massachusetts are leading the way in creating universally accessible trails for hikers of all abilities.
www.earthisland.org
November 10, 2025 at 6:50 PM
With so much national political noise, it's easy to overlook successes close to home. My first article for @earthislandjournal.bsky.social Journal looks at the movement to build trails for people of all abilities, including those on wheels @appmtnclub.bsky.social www.earthisland.org/journal/inde...