The War in Ukraine, Explained — Part 3: The nuclear threat

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

Vox Media Podcast Network

Society & Culture, News, Politics, News Commentary, Philosophy

4.6 • 10.8K Ratings

🗓️ 14 April 2022

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is one of the biggest and most confusing political events of our lifetimes. We aim to bring some clarity in this special four-part series from Vox Conversations and host Zack Beauchamp, The War in Ukraine, Explained. In part three, Zack speaks with professor, blogger, and nuclear arms expert Jeff Lewis about the looming nuclear threat of the conflict in Ukraine. They discuss the probability of escalation by both Russia and the U.S., what "tactical" nuclear weapons really are and how they're misunderstood, the double-edged sword of deterrence, and some of the ethical, political, and psychological realities of managing large stockpiles of devastating nuclear weapons. Host: Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), Senior Correspondent, Vox Guest: Jeff Lewis (@ArmsControlWonk), founder and contributor, Arms Control Wonk; director, East Asia Nonproliferation Program, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey References: "Is Russia committing genocide in Ukraine?" by Zack Beauchamp (Vox; Apr. 13) Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Conversations ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of Vox Conversations by subscribing in your favorite podcast app. Support Vox Conversations by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts This episode was made by: Producer: Erikk Geannikis Editor: Amy Drozdowska Engineer: Paul Robert Mounsey Deputy Editorial Director, Vox Talk: Amber Hall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:52.2	the original music by Dan Gillespie Cells. Subscription required. See audible.co.uk for terms.
1:00.4	Could the war in Ukraine be the first step on a pathway that leads us to nuclear war?
1:10.6	I'm Zach Beach. I'm in I rate for Vox about democracy and global politics. And today
1:14.5	I'm your host for a special series on Vox Conversations, the War New Crane Explained.
1:30.0	In this four-part series, we're going to attempt to bring clarity to one of the biggest
1:33.1	and most confusing political events of our lifetime. This week, for part three, we're
1:38.5	going to discuss nuclear weapons. How likely it is that they get used. What could cause
1:44.1	a nuclear war between the US and Russia to happen? And what we could do to prevent this
1:48.9	potentially apocalyptic event? My guess to help us understand this all is Jeff Lewis,
1:54.2	the director of the East Asian Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International
1:58.4	Studies at Monoray. He is the founder of the Arms Control Wang blog and one of my favorite
2:04.0	commentators on nuclear issues anywhere. We've been internet friends for a really long
2:08.9	time and it's really great to be able to bring Jeff onto the show and talk to him about
	...

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