EPISODE · Jun 22, 2021 · 32 MIN
17-The Little-Known History of Radiological Weapons
from The International Security Podcast · host Morgan Kaplan, Usha Sahay, Sarah Bidgood
Guests:Sarah Bidgood is Director of the Eurasia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.Usha Sahay is Senior Editor at POLITICO Magazine, where she focuses on foreign affairs and global issues. She is also the host of “A Most Terrible Weapon,” a podcast produced by War on the Rocks about the dawn of the nuclear age. Previously, she was Managing Editor of War on the Rocks.International Security Article:This podcast is based on Samuel Meyer, Sarah Bidgood, and William C. Potter, “Death Dust: The Little-Known Story of U.S. and Soviet Pursuit of Radiological Weapons,” International Security, Vol. 45, No. 2 (Fall 2020), pp. 51– 94.Related Readings:Alex Wellerstein, “Death Dust, 1941,” Restricted Data: The Nuclear Secrecy Blog, March 7, 2014. Usha Sahay, “A Most Terrible Weapon,” War on the Rocks, 2020. Sarah Bidgood, Sam Meyer, and William Potter, “It’s Time to Prohibit Radiological Weapons,” European Leadership Network, February 1, 2021. Kyle Mizokami, “Russia Is Still Testing Its Terrifying Apocalypse Torpedo,” Popular Mechanics, April 14, 2021.Originally released on June 22, 2021.
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What this episode covers
In this episode, we examine the rise and demise of radiological weapons programs in the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1940s and 1950s. In particular, we discuss how this underexplored history informs the pursuit of radiological weapons by state actors today. What are radiological weapons and how are they different from nuclear weapons? What factors led to the rise and decline of radiological weapons programs in the United States and the Soviet Union? Are radiological weapons a thing of the past, or do they remain an attractive option for countries today? Listen to find out!
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17-The Little-Known History of Radiological Weapons
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