This is an L.A. Times Studios podcast.

Hi, I'm Faith Pino from L.A. Times Studios in New York City.

We begin with reports that the United States and Russia are reportedly closing in on a deal to continue the expiring arms control treaty called

New Start, according to reporting from Axios.

We're at the point now where the two sides could, with the expiration of this treaty,

for the first time in about 35 years, increase the number of nuclear weapons that are deployed on each side.

And this would open up the possibility of an unconstrained, dangerous three-way arms race,

not just between the U.S. and Russia, but also involving China, which is also increasing its

smaller but still deadly nuclear arsenal.

While negotiations are ongoing, the plan still needs approval from the presidents of both countries.

The bulletin of the atomic scientists uses a symbolic clock to show humanity's risk of disaster.

The closer to midnight, the graver the risk.

At the end of January, Alexandra Bell, the bulletins president and CEO, set the clock

just past 11.58 p.m. 85 seconds to midnight. Now, at the end of the Cold War, the clock was set

at 17 minutes to midnight. It is the determination of the Cold War, the clock was set at 17 minutes to midnight.

It is the determination of the bulletins' science and security board

that humanity has not made sufficient progress on the existential risks that endanger us all.

We thus move the clock forward.

The doomsday clock is a tool for communicating how close we are to destroying the

world with technologies of our own making. The risks we face from nuclear weapons, climate change,

and disruptive technologies are all growing. Every second counts, and we are running out of time.

And in New York, the city's Health Department has joined the World Health Organization's

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