The creation of nuclear weapons we see in the Oscar-nominated film isn’t just an issue of the past. We’re still working to avert a nuclear catastrophe.
By Curtis Asplund, The Progressive
As a physicist concerned about nuclear policy, I have been amazed by the success of a three-hour movie about scientists struggling with the creation and consequences of nuclear weapons. “Oppenheimer” is nominated for 13 Academy Awards and is expected to crown its success with a Best Picture win at the Oscars. The film’s story, however, is far from over: Nuclear weapons still threaten us all, and they are a major reason the Doomsday Clock was recently kept at 90 seconds to midnight.

The good news is we can join the efforts of scientists, activists and members of Congress working to avert eventual nuclear catastrophe.
Decades after the Cold War, the United States today still has more than 1,500 nuclear weapons ready to attack, and each weapon is many times more destructive than the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, which killed more than 110,000 people. Even a fraction of our arsenal could cause the death of billions of people through nuclear winter and the resulting famine.
To nations around Russia and North Korea, which are threatened by nuclear saber-rattling and missile tests, these weapons are a real and present danger. The nuclear weapons build-up by these nations is profoundly misguided and is making their people less safe, not to mention chewing up money and resources. We should in no way look to them as examples to follow.
Recent Posts
By Retreating In The Funding Fight, Democrats Have Abandoned Their Most Loyal Constituents: D.C. Voters
March 15, 2025
Take Action Now In capitulating on the GOP funding bill, Democrats have hung their most core constituents out to dry.By Sam Rosenthal On Friday,…
We Can’t Assume That Trump Will Author His Own Undoing
March 14, 2025
Take Action Now There will surely be turf wars and palace intrigue within the administration, but there is little reason to think that its core…
The Arrest Of Mahmoud Khalil, A Zero Hour Conversation With Sonali Kolhatkar
March 13, 2025
Take Action Now Eskow and Kolhatkar argue that if this repression is not challenged, it will escalate, targeting more individuals and further eroding…
Five Years After COVID, The GOP Is The Anti-Vaccine Party
March 12, 2025
Take Action Now Despite the ongoing spread of COVID, measles and bird flu, Trump has handed power to anti-vaxxers and vaccine skeptics.By Sasha…