A Citizen’s Guide to the Bomb
These videos are the best introductions I have found anywhere on how nuclear weapons work and the key policy issues they present, told by experts in the field. Watch these and you will gain the foundations to understanding–and participating in–the great questions involving nuclear weapons.
Living at the Nuclear Brink
This edX class is an extraordinary set of lecture videos from Stanford University. Led by former Secretary of Defense William Perry, the class covers the basics of nuclear weapons technology and policy. The numerous lecturers, including Perry himself, are not only top experts in the field but also practitioners in nuclear weapons policy who share their experiences with the students.
Note that this class, filmed in the second half of 2016, is an archived class and you can start at any time (despite what the edX web page may suggest). In addition, you have a paid or audit option. The paid option includes a set of completely worthless quiz options but does allow the video lectures to be downloaded.
This class is well worth the investment of your time.
Nuclear 101: How Nuclear Bombs Work
Trust me, after taking the edX class (above), you will be craving more and Nuclear 101, a two-part lecture by Prof. Matthew Bunn at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, delivers. It’s a deep dive into the technology of nuclear weapons, aimed at the layperson. He doesn’t dumb it down (and at times you sort of wonder if he is sharing more than he should) and gives his lectures with a refreshing clarity.
In addition, Prof. Bunn has a second version of this lecture, made to a roomful of journalists at Tufts University. Although covering much of the same material, there are enough differences that watching both versions might be worthwhile: How Nuclear Bombs Work (second version)
Nuclear Historian Answers Nuclear War Questions
Looking for quick answers to short questions? Look no further. In this video from Wired, nuclear historian Alex Wellerstein shoots out the answers as fast as social media users can ask them. Despite the “hot take” format, the questions are good ones and Wellerstein’s responses are illuminating, perhaps even surprising. How much fallout did Japan suffer after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings? How does a nuclear bomb damage people and things? Was the 1950s “Duck and Cover” program as stupid as it sounds? Watch Wellerstein’s video.