What Happens Inside A Top-Secret U.S. Nuclear Facility?

Short Wave

NPR

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4.7 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 11 February 2025

⏱️ 15 minutes

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Summary

The U.S. tested nuclear weapons until the early 1990s. Since then, scientists have been using supercomputers and experiments to simulate nuclear test detonations, without detonating any nukes. But there are signs the world's nuclear powers may be readying to test again: Russia, China and the U.S. are all upgrading their nuclear test sites.

NPR science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel was among a small group of journalists allowed to tour an underground laboratory where this research happens.

Read more of science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel's reporting here.

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Transcript

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0:46.1	You're listening to Shortwave from NPR. Hey, Gina. Hey, NPR science correspondent, Jeff Brumfield.
0:54.6	Why are you darkening my doorstep?
0:56.3	To talk about one of my all-time favorite topics, nuclear weapons testing.
1:01.0	And I got a question for you.
1:02.4	Okay.
1:02.9	When do you think is the last time the U.S. tested a nuclear weapon?
1:08.3	I'm going to say possibly in the late 70s.
1:11.7	They actually stopped a lot later than that.
1:13.5	They stopped in 1992.
1:15.5	Wow.
1:16.2	And they've been pursuing a very different program based on science.
1:21.7	Okay.
1:22.3	And recently I got a very, very unusual look at that program and all its facets and sort of how the U.S. continues to verify its nuclear weapons work without having to set any of them off.
1:36.7	Are they thinking about testing again?
1:38.3	I would say the official answer is no, but there is more concern that the U.S. or another country might soon test another
1:47.8	nuclear weapon.
	...

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