Events | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

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Program Description

Join Elisabeth Eaves, Thomas Countryman, and Katrina vanden Heuvel as they discuss Eaves’s newest Bulletin piece “Why is America getting a new $100 billion nuclear weapon?” Together, we will consider whether huge investments in nuclear modernization are advancing US national security.

Speakers

Thomas Countryman

Thomas Countryman is Chairman of the Board of the Arms Control Association, a nonpartisan NGO which analyzes key security issues and advises the executive branch, Congress, and the public on choices to promote global security and reduce the risk that weapons of mass destruction will be used. He retired from the Senior Foreign Service in January 2017 after 35 years of service. At that time, he served simultaneously as acting Undersecretary for Arms Control and as Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN). After serving in Belgrade, Washington and Cairo, he advised Ambassador Albright on Middle East affairs at the US Mission to the United Nations and was Director for Near East affairs at the National Security Council. Prior to his appointment to ISN, he served in Rome, Athens, the Bureau of European Affairs, and the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.

Elisabeth Eaves

Elisabeth Eaves is a contributing editor for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Before joining the Bulletin in 2013, she worked in writing and editing roles at Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, and Reuters. She has freelanced widely, including for Foreign Policy, Harper’s, the New York Times, Slate, the Washington Post, and Wired. She holds a masters degree from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. In 2020, the Bulletin published her investigative story "Hot Zone in the Heartland?" about risks posed by biodefense labs.

Moderator

Katrina vanden Heuvel

Katrina vanden Heuvel is editorial director and publisher of The Nation. She served as editor of the magazine from 1995 to 2019. She writes a weekly column for The Washington Post. A frequent commentator on U.S. and international politics for ABC, MSNBC, CNN, and PBS, her articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Boston Globe. Vanden Heuvel is also the author of several books, including "The Change I Believe In: Fighting for Progress in The Age of Obama," and co-author (with Stephen F. Cohen) of "Voices of Glasnost: Interviews with Gorbachev’s Reformers."

Vanden Heuvel has been recognized for her journalism and public service by organizations such as Planned Parenthood, the National Women's Political Caucus, the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Community Change, the Norman Mailer Center, the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill, American Rights at Work, Progressive Congress, and more. During her tenure, The Nation's journalism has been recognized for excellence by the National Magazine Awards, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Maggie Awards, GLAAD, and the National Association of Black Journalists, among others.

Vanden Heuvel serves on the boards of The Progressive Caucus Center, The Institute for Policy Studies, Type Media Center, The Sidney Hillman Media Foundation, The American Committee for US-Russian Accord, Inequality Media, Brave New Films, The Osborne Association, Research to Prevent Blindness, The Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, and The Four Freedoms Park Conservancy. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and The Century Association. Vanden Heuvel is a summa cum laude graduate of Princeton University, and she lives in New York City.