Jeff Brumfield
Appearances
Consider This from NPR
AI and the Environment
These are just two super different engineering cultures. You know, and the way I've come to think about it is Silicon Valley loves to go fast and break things. The nuclear industry has to move very, very, very slowly because nothing can ever break.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-07-2025 4AM EDT
Lear de Bessonet takes over as artistic director of the Lincoln Center Theater with a restaging of her production of Ragtime, which was a hit in a limited run at New York City Center. We've got people talking. The show, which won several Tony Awards after it premiered in 1998, is an adaptation of E.L. Doctorow's audacious novel set in the early 20th century.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-07-2025 4AM EDT
It tells the story of upper-middle-class white suburbanites, African-Americans in Harlem, and Jewish immigrants weaving fictional characters with real-life figures. DeBassinet has had two other city-center revivals transferred to Broadway, Into the Woods and Once Upon a Mattress. For NPR News, I'm Jeff London.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-07-2025 2AM EDT
SpaceX is developing a massive rocket in Texas. It's called Starship. It's the largest spacecraft ever built, and Musk hopes it will someday carry people to Mars. But before it can, the company needs to complete a lot of test launches. It had been limited to just five launches a year, but a new ruling from the FAA would allow that number to jump to 25 launches.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-07-2025 2AM EDT
Local environmental groups have been concerned about the impact those extra launches would have on surrounding wetlands, but the FAA concluded they would not cause significant harm. The additional launches won't be coming soon. Starship exploded during its last two test flights, scattering debris across the Caribbean. SpaceX is still working to fix the root cause of those failures.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-29-2025 2PM EDT
Two sources told NPR that the Doge employees had appeared in a user directory for the classified networks. Their names are Adam Ramada and Luke Ferritore. Ramada is a Miami-based venture capitalist. Faridor is a 23-year-old former intern at SpaceX. Neither seems to have much experience with either nuclear weapons or classified information.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-29-2025 2PM EDT
The networks are used at the Department of Energy to transfer restricted data about nuclear weapons designs and materials. It's unclear why Ramada and Faridor would need the access, though Doge has been reviewing budgets and contracts across governments. An Energy Department spokesperson acknowledged the accounts were created, but said they were never used to access the networks.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-25-2025 6PM EDT
On Tuesday, the producers of Othello on Broadway announced that about 2,000 New York area school kids will be seeing the hottest show in town for free because of a partnership with the New York Department of Education, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and several anonymous donors. In addition, a limited number of $49 student rush tickets will be available for each performance.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-25-2025 6PM EDT
With tickets that top out at $921, Othello has been setting box office records for a play. Last week, it took in over $2.5 million. For NPR News, I'm Jeff London in New York.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-18-2025 4PM EDT
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams climbed aboard a capsule built by Elon Musk's company SpaceX and undocked from the station early this morning. They're now on their way home following more than nine months in space. Williams and Wilmore arrived in June of last year aboard an experimental capsule built by Boeing.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-18-2025 4PM EDT
After that capsule experienced technical problems, NASA decided to send it back to Earth empty. The space agency added Williams and Wilmore to the regular space station crew, whose rotation is now complete. In recent months, President Trump and Elon Musk have repeatedly claimed that the duo was deliberately stranded by the Biden administration.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-18-2025 4PM EDT
Former NASA leaders and other astronauts have disputed that claim. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-18-2025 4AM EST
Over the weekend, several employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration told NPR they've been hastily rehired after being fired last Thursday. Sources inside the agency said hundreds were fired at first, but in a statement sent late Sunday night, a Department of Energy spokesperson said that fewer than 50 employees ultimately lost their jobs.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-18-2025 4AM EST
Those jobs were in, quote, primarily administrative and clerical roles. Members of Congress were alarmed after learning of the mass layoffs at the agency, which oversees America's nuclear warheads and combats nuclear terrorism. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News, Washington.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-15-2025 2PM EDT
Shortly after Hamilton celebrates its 10th anniversary on Broadway in August, Leslie Odom Jr. will once again step into the role of Aaron Burr, the man who desperately wanted to be in the room where it happened and who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-15-2025 2PM EDT
Odom was involved in the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical through its developmental workshops and off-Broadway production and played Burr for a year on Broadway. Since leaving, he's been active in film and television and has written a memoir. He also produced and starred in Pearly Victorious on Broadway last season. For NPR News, I'm Jeff London in New York.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-29-2025 8PM EST
In Nevada, nearly 1,000 feet underground is a network of tunnels where American scientists studied nuclear weapons. David Funk is one of them. He says these shafts were dug for underground nuclear testing.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-29-2025 8PM EST
Subcritical experiments test the plutonium in nuclear bombs without setting them off. It's the way America has done it for more than 30 years, but some fear that could soon change. China and Russia may be preparing to test their weapons. And several people close to the Trump administration have also said that the U.S. should be ready to test again. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-13-2025 8AM EDT
It's not clear whether EPA plans to get rid of these rules or weaken them. Those details should come later.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-13-2025 8AM EDT
Zeldin said the agency will reconsider rules that limit climate pollution from power plants and from cars and trucks, also regulations that limit soot and mercury in the air. Other rules that Zelden claims are hurting the economy and costing trillions of dollars. But that leaves out the fact that pollution also costs the country, you know, and health costs and cleanup.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-03-2025 5PM EDT
Clooney and his partner Grant Heslov took their 2005 screenplay and adapted it for the stage. Both the film and play look at journalist Edward R. Murrow as he took on Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Red Scare in the 1950s. There are a certain kind of people wired a certain kind of way who know there's a story behind the story, if you're bold enough to search for it.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-03-2025 5PM EDT
Even before opening, the play has caused a sensation. For the last two weeks, it's brought in around $3.3 million. That's a record for a play on Broadway with tickets going for as much as $799. It runs through June. For NPR News, I'm Jeff London in New York.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-01-2025 4PM EDT
George Clooney got his first Tony nomination for Good Night and Good Luck as best actor in a play he co-authored, which has been breaking box office records. Sadie Sink picked up a best actress nomination for her role in John Proctor as the villain. In the musical category, Audra McDonald got her record-breaking 11th Tony nomination for best actress in Gypsy. Yeah!
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-01-2025 4PM EDT
Also in the Best Actress category, Nicole Scherzinger, formerly of the Pussycat Dolls, got a nod for Sunset Boulevard, and newcomer Jasmine Amy Rogers picked up a nomination for Boop. For NPR News, I'm Jeff London in New York.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-02-2025 6PM EST
The small probe was built by Firefly Aerospace. Early Sunday morning, it left its orbit around the moon and began its descent to the lunar surface. After a nail-biting few minutes, mission control confirmed touchdown. IMU reports lunar gravity and it is stable. Y'all select the landing. We're on the moon.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-02-2025 6PM EST
The landing makes the company the second commercial venture to land on the moon, and more private probes are on their way. In just a few days, the firm Intuitive Machines is set to make a landing attempt near the South Pole, and in May, a Japanese company will also try to get its probe to the surface of the moon. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-07-2025 8PM EST
The Argentine-born Jewish conductor and former piano prodigy resigned from his post at the Berlin State Opera in 2023, but is still committed to performing with the ensemble he co-founded with the late Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said in 1999, the West Eastern Divan Orchestra.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-07-2025 8PM EST
Baron Boehm said the orchestra, featuring Arab and Israeli musicians, and its school are his most important responsibility. The 82-year-old continues to teach at the musical academy he established in Berlin and plans to conduct the orchestra on tour in August, health permitting. For NPR News, I'm Jeff London in New York.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-10-2025 4PM EDT
Others worked in the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The space agency says it plans more layoffs in the near future to comply with an executive order from President Trump. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News, Washington.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-10-2025 4PM EDT
Stanley Kubrick's film 2001 A Space Odyssey made the Blue Danube Waltz synonymous with space. Now it's becoming a reality. When the Vienna Symphony plays the Johann Strauss Waltz live on the evening of May 31st, it will be transmitted by electromagnetic wave at the speed of light from a deep space antenna in Cebrero, Spain.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-10-2025 4PM EDT
According to the European Space Agency, the sound will reach NASA's Voyager 1 in deep space 23 hours later. For NPR News, I'm Jeff London.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-10-2025 4PM EDT
Dr. Kate Calvin had served as NASA's chief scientist since 2022. Her job was to advise senior leadership on the space agency's many scientific missions. She also served as the agency's senior advisor on climate change and was a leading government climate scientist. Calvin was one of 23 employees at NASA who lost their jobs, according to a statement from the agency.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-07-2025 3PM EDT
Those patients not only had a better overall survival if they were more physically active, they actually looked like they had a slightly better overall survival compared to the general population.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 12-27-2024 6PM EST
A lot of families, a lot of households, a lot of individuals are still struggling. I think we're still in, for deeply poor people, a real recovery from the pandemic.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 12-27-2024 6PM EST
Gypsy opened on December 19th. And everything was coming up roses. The reviews were raves. Audiences were flocking to see Gypsy on Broadway. And then on December 22nd, Audrey McDonald posted a picture of herself on Instagram breathing through a humidifier mask, asking audiences to be understanding as a bug was making its way through the cast and crew.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 12-27-2024 6PM EST
The next night, the show canceled its performance and hasn't played since. It comes at a critical time, as the week between Christmas and New Year's is the highest-grossing one every year, when tickets are sold at a premium for holiday theatergoers. For NPR News, I'm Jeff London in New York.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-23-2025 7PM EDT
One company called Oklo actually had its permit for a new reactor design denied by the NRC a few years ago. Today, its CEO was standing behind President Trump and its stock surged 25 percent. But despite that, I do want to say the fact remains nuclear power remains very, very expensive to build. And it's unclear whether these executive orders are really going to change that.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-23-2025 6PM EDT
It's someone who's curious, who's filled to the brim with optimism.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-23-2025 6PM EDT
It's important for me to let you all know that he was happy and his last moments were filled with joy.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-23-2025 6PM EDT
Three Emmy Award winners will play the friends whose relationships fray over a postmodern painting. James Corden, the former host of The Late Late Show and a Tony winner, Neil Patrick Harris of How I Met Your Mother, who's also a Tony winner, and Bobby Cannavale, recently of The Watcher.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-23-2025 6PM EDT
The play, written in France and premiered in Paris, was a Broadway hit in 1998, when Alan Alda, Victor Garber, and Alfred Molina headlined in it. The Broadway revival opens in September. For NPR News, I'm Jeff London in New York.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-11-2025 5PM EDT
The proposed cuts were first reported by The Washington Post and Ars Technica. They say that NASA's Science Missions Directorate, which runs everything from Mars rovers to the James Webb Space Telescope, would see funding slashed nearly in half, according to the White House budget proposal. Casey Dreyer is chief of space policy at the Planetary Society.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-11-2025 5PM EDT
The president's budget is only at a draft stage and will be finalized later this spring. Ultimately, Congress will set the funding level for the space agency. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-07-2025 4PM EST
The robotic lander, built by the company Intuitive Machines, sent one last picture before shutting down, an image of the gray lunar surface and planet Earth hanging on the horizon. Also visible were the lander's feet, which were supposed to be planted firmly in the lunar soil but were instead pointed skyward.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-07-2025 4PM EST
This is the second landing attempt for Intuitive Machines and the second time the lander has tipped over. A touchdown last year went wonky after a landing leg collapsed. In a press conference, CEO Steve Ultimus stood by the design.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-07-2025 4PM EST
Intuitive Machines is one of several companies trying to land stably on the moon. NASA hopes they might one day deliver supplies to astronauts. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-02-2025 3PM EDT
Despite Idina Menzel's considerable star power and a rave in the New York Times, Redwood has struggled to find audiences since it opened in February. The original story of a woman who travels to the California forest to deal with grief was one of 13 shows this season to not receive a single Tony nomination.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-02-2025 3PM EDT
For some, like the popular revival of Othello with Denzel Washington, the snub doesn't matter. It's already recouped its cost and brings in over $3 million a week. But for others, whose box office figures are lower than their running costs... Receiving few or no nominations means they may close prematurely as well. For NPR News, I'm Jeff London in New York.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
And recently, those two sides of my beat have been coming much closer together because the big tech companies who are all leading this AI revolution—I'm talking about Microsoft, Meta, Google, Amazon— They're also making big investments in nuclear power right now. And they're doing it because they need a lot more juice to run their AI programs.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
Yeah. So this all goes back 10 years or more when big tech companies started making some big commitments over climate change.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
You know, all these companies accept that climate change is real and they've pledged to reduce or eliminate their greenhouse gas emissions. And I wanted to dig into those pledges, so I called up Ted Nordhaus. He's executive director of the Breakthrough Institute, a Bay Area nonprofit that tracks some of these commitments.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
And he said initially, at least, the companies all wanted to do this with renewables.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
Now, this isn't normally done by building a bunch of solar panels next to a data center or something like that. What these companies did instead was buy power from renewable companies who then just put it out on the grid. But the tech firms could still claim that they were, in effect, covering their emissions with these power purchase agreements, which is what these things were called.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
Because AI is just way more power hungry than existing technology. The next generation of data centers are going to be total electricity hogs. Some of the next generation centers will end up using as much power as around one million U.S. households.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
The problem really here is scale. I mean, you need lots of energy storage, for example. You'd have to have absolutely massive batteries on site, say, to run a solar-powered data center at night. And the battery tech isn't there yet. And also, there's just a lot of demand for batteries elsewhere. So it'd end up being really, really expensive.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
Well, I think the best way to answer that question is with a field trip to the most well-known nuclear plant in America. I'm talking about Three Mile Island.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
That's right, in 1979. This was the biggest nuclear accident in American history. The reactor overheated, the fuel started to melt. It was mostly contained, but more than 100,000 people had to evacuate. But here's the thing that most people don't realize. Only one of the reactors at Three Mile Island melted down. The other reactor was restarted and it produced power for decades.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
It did it without emitting greenhouse gases because nuclear power for all its risks like meltdowns and nuclear waste generates just staggering amounts of electricity without any carbon dioxide emissions.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
Yeah, that's right. I was on a press tour with a handful of other reporters, and our guide was Brian Hansen, the chief generation officer for the Utility Constellation, which owns the plant. And Brian has a very close personal connection to TMI because in 2019, he was the guy who had to close it down.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
Some researchers estimate that a search using AI uses as much as 10 times the power of a normal Google search.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
It had become uneconomical to operate. Basically, nuclear energy is more expensive than natural gas and renewables in today's electricity market. And Three Mile Island became a casualty of that reality. So they actually had one of the operators who'd restarted the plant after the 1979 accident turn the reactor off. And then they just put the whole thing in mothballs.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
Yeah, right. Well, I mean, what's going on is in September, Microsoft came along and signed one of those power purchase agreements I was talking about, specifically for Three Mile Island. And all of a sudden, they were back in business. They're now working with regulators to restart the plant. They're trying to hire more people.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
And Constellation's given it a new name, the Crane Clean Energy Center.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
This is where the electricity was generated for decades using steam from the plant's nuclear reactor. And in a few years, Brian says it's going to start again.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
Now, restarting this plant isn't cheap. Constellation projects it's going to cost around $1.6 billion with a B. But they're willing to make the investment thanks to Microsoft.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
No. In fact, TMI puts out around 800 megawatts of electricity. And that all by itself is around the power consumption of what a single AI data center might eat. So these companies are going to need even more. Yeah. It's just the amount of power is really staggering here. And that's why Google, Meta, Amazon are all making investments towards new kinds of nuclear reactors.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
No, exactly, exactly. So to get a sense of that, I went just outside of D.C. to the headquarters of a company called X-Energy. It recently got somewhere around $250 million from Amazon for its reactor design. Clay Sell is the CEO.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
Yeah, I mean, in all the movies, you know, Terminator or whatever, when the AI gets a hold of the nukes, it all goes wrong. But in real life, we got a way to go because before AI can somehow use its nuclear power to destroy us all, Silicon Valley has to remake the nuclear industry, which has been, frankly, stagnant for years.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
So what do you think about in terms of large traditional nuclear power plants, Regina?
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
That's absolutely right. You know, I mean, you've just described Three Mile Island, actually, which I think was the template for The Simpsons. But this reactor won't have any big cooling towers. And critically, the fuel is not going to be in these rods, which is what traditional plants put them in, these long rods of uranium. X-Energy plans to run off little round balls of uranium instead.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
Clay says these reactors are going to be small and modular, and it's going to actually take several units to power a data center. But crucially, he says, this system has one really big advantage.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
Yeah, it sounds great. I mean, the question is, can they make it work? The thing is only on paper right now. There's never been a reactor like it built in the U.S. before. There is one operating in China, but that's only a demo project. There's a lot of things that can make this really tricky to get running. For example, normal reactors use water to cool their core. The water runs through.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
It turns into steam. The steam goes into a heat exchanger, and that heat runs a turbine. It's actually quite similar to how other kinds of power plants work. But this reactor is going to use high pressure helium gas. It's a completely new coolant. Also, these pebbles that they're fabricating haven't been used as reactor fuel before either. There's just a lot more uncertainty in the design.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
And so it's going to take time to make sure it works and then convince the regulators to let it operate.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
You know, that's exactly the question to ask, right? This AI revolution is happening right now. I mean, it's at breakneck speeds. And because of accidents like Three Mile Island, nothing in the nuclear industry ever happens quickly. Everything has to be scrutinized and done very, very carefully, regulated, overseen. These are just two super different engineering cultures.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
And the way I've come to think about it is Silicon Valley loves to go fast and break things. The nuclear industry has to move very, very, very slowly because nothing can ever break. Yeah. So Sharon Squassoni is a research professor at George Washington University who studied nuclear power's potential to fight climate change.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
And she wonders whether Silicon Valley really knows what they're getting into.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
Given the history of all the nuclear projects that have run behind schedule and gone over costs, she really wonders whether this is the right investment to be making.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
Because until these reactors are up and running, Gina, these AI data centers are going to operate using power from natural gas plants. And that means emissions are going to go up.
Short Wave
Why Big Tech Wants Nuclear Power
And is it really going to help with the big electricity crunch that's coming along with our AI revolution?
Short Wave
Could AI Go Green?
Silicon Valley loves to go fast and break things. The nuclear industry has to move very, very, very slowly because nothing can ever break.
Up First from NPR
India and Pakistan Agree Ceasefire, Food Stamps Data, Nuclear Reactor Watchdog
Good to be with you, Scott.
Up First from NPR
India and Pakistan Agree Ceasefire, Food Stamps Data, Nuclear Reactor Watchdog
So the NRC was set up back in 1974 by Congress as an independent agency, and it's operated under the purview of five commissioners, a mix of Democrats and Republicans. And their job is to enforce the rules of the nation's nuclear reactors. But now the White House is getting involved. Two U.S.
Up First from NPR
India and Pakistan Agree Ceasefire, Food Stamps Data, Nuclear Reactor Watchdog
officials tell NPR that any new rules for nuclear safety must now go through the White House Office of Management and Budget for review, which before they can be finalized. And the White House also reserves the right to change those nuclear safety rules if they see fit. This is a big departure. I spoke to a former chair of the NRC, Alison McFarland.
Up First from NPR
India and Pakistan Agree Ceasefire, Food Stamps Data, Nuclear Reactor Watchdog
She was appointed by President Obama, and here's what she had to say.
Up First from NPR
India and Pakistan Agree Ceasefire, Food Stamps Data, Nuclear Reactor Watchdog
She felt this kind of review should be off limits.
Up First from NPR
India and Pakistan Agree Ceasefire, Food Stamps Data, Nuclear Reactor Watchdog
Yeah, that's right. This executive order is entitled, quote, ordering reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It calls for a reduction in force at the NRC, a, quote, wholesale revision of nuclear safety regulations, speeding up review of licenses for new kinds of reactors. And lastly, it instructs the agency to look into relaxing its
Up First from NPR
India and Pakistan Agree Ceasefire, Food Stamps Data, Nuclear Reactor Watchdog
some of the radiation standards for workers and the public. Of course, this is a draft. We don't know what will be in the final version or even if Trump will sign a final version, but he is expected to sign some orders related to nuclear power relatively soon.
Up First from NPR
India and Pakistan Agree Ceasefire, Food Stamps Data, Nuclear Reactor Watchdog
You know, Scott, it's less about safety and more about independence. The administration really doesn't like independent agencies. It views them as bureaucracy run amok. Here's Russ Vogt, Trump's head of the Office of Management and Budget, speaking about it to Tucker Carlson.
Up First from NPR
India and Pakistan Agree Ceasefire, Food Stamps Data, Nuclear Reactor Watchdog
And the White House echoed that sentiment in a statement for this story. They said, quote, the president of the United States is head of the executive branch and then went on to say that it was he who was in charge of agencies like the NRC. Now, I should say the NRC has a reputation for being high bound and extremely strict.
Up First from NPR
India and Pakistan Agree Ceasefire, Food Stamps Data, Nuclear Reactor Watchdog
And in fact, Congress passed legislation last year to try to reform its regulatory process and But even critics of the agency said they really doubted the White House getting involved would help. For one thing, it'll just add another layer of bureaucracy when trying to deal with new regulations.
Up First from NPR
India and Pakistan Agree Ceasefire, Food Stamps Data, Nuclear Reactor Watchdog
Yeah. Well, McFarland, the former NRC chair, told me she did think this would impact safety.
Up First from NPR
India and Pakistan Agree Ceasefire, Food Stamps Data, Nuclear Reactor Watchdog
But at the same time, the NRC is maintaining very high existing standards at nuclear plants, and the industry has a decent safety track record. I really think this is more about what safety might look like five or ten years down the road.
Up First from NPR
India and Pakistan Agree Ceasefire, Food Stamps Data, Nuclear Reactor Watchdog
Thank you.
Up First from NPR
Plane Crash Latest, German Far Right, Nuclear Testing
Yeah, I went out to the Nevada National Security Site. It used to be the Nevada test site where America tested its nuclear warheads. That hasn't happened since the 1990s, but scientists are still studying nuclear weapons down there in a top-secret lab that's deep underground. To get there, you have to step into this mining elevator. And it drops you nearly a thousand feet below the desert.
Up First from NPR
Plane Crash Latest, German Far Right, Nuclear Testing
At the bottom is a network of tunnels that's been carved out of an ancient lake bed. David Funk is overseeing upgrades to the labs, and he told me these tunnels were originally dug for underground nuclear detonations.
Up First from NPR
Plane Crash Latest, German Far Right, Nuclear Testing
Well, subcritical experiments are experiments that use nuclear weapons material like plutonium, but they don't trigger a runaway nuclear chain reaction. That's the reaction that gives bombs their incredible power. The data from these experiments is fed into supercomputers that calculate how nuclear weapons are doing. Basically, they're simulating blowing up nukes inside these supercomputers.
Up First from NPR
Plane Crash Latest, German Far Right, Nuclear Testing
Now, in the tunnels, I spoke to Don Haynes, a nuclear weapons scientist from Los Alamos National Lab. He says this whole system works.
Up First from NPR
Plane Crash Latest, German Far Right, Nuclear Testing
But of course, Haynes is just a scientist. It's the politicians and generals who are going to decide whether the U.S. conducts another test.
Up First from NPR
Plane Crash Latest, German Far Right, Nuclear Testing
So during the first Trump administration, there was some discussion of testing. And over the summer, his former national security advisor wrote that the U.S. should conduct a full nuclear test under Trump 2.0. And then there's Project 2025, a conservative agenda whose authors have close ties to Trump. It also says the president should have the option to do a test if he needs to.
Up First from NPR
Plane Crash Latest, German Far Right, Nuclear Testing
Well, Jeff, why would he need to? Well, as we just heard, the scientists don't need to test, but there may be political reasons. You know, other countries might threaten the U.S. with nuclear weapons or the president might need to display his resolve. And one way to do that would be to conduct a test. So what would be the consequences of a return to testing?
Up First from NPR
Plane Crash Latest, German Far Right, Nuclear Testing
Arms control experts say this would be a huge mistake for America. And the reason is kind of interesting. Here's Jamie Kwong with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Up First from NPR
Plane Crash Latest, German Far Right, Nuclear Testing
And that's because the U.S. has done well over a thousand nuclear tests, while China has only done 45. So China will gain a lot more knowledge from test 46 than the U.S. will from its next test.