Culture and Nuclear Weapons

If we change our cultural conceptions of nuclear weapons, we can make the world safer from nuclear threats.

The dangers of nuclear weapons are rarely communicated in a way that is compelling and accessible, despite the fact that these risks affect us all. At Ploughshares Fund, we are exploring the power of media, technology, and popular culture to change perceptions and attitudes. Learn more about our Cultural Change Initiative here.

Latest News, Analysis and Explorations of Culture and Nuclear Weapons

The Button

Get started on your summer reading! You can now order a new book from former Secretary of Defense and Stanford professor of international relations William Perry and Ploughshares Fund policy director Tom Collina. The Button is a fascinating narrative of our living nuclear history—one in which...

May 8, 2020 - By Ploughshares Fund
Nuclear Weapons, Frontline Communities, and the COVID Stimulus. What You Need to Know.

The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing us to confront the vast inequities in our society that have made this virus more deadly in some communities than others. This is also true in the world of nuclear weapons policy: US nuclear weapons activities have, and continue to, hurt communities through...

May 7, 2020 - By Ploughshares Fund
The Consensual Straightjacket In The News

Laicie Heeley is the author of a fantastic new article in Newsweek, a piece that illuminates and validates the critical need for the Ploughshares Fund Women’s Initiative. The article, Has the Lack of Women at the Top Helped Cripple America's Response to the Pandemic? reflects on women, decision...

May 6, 2020 - By Ploughshares Fund
How Blocking Immigration Hurts US National Security

President Donald Trump’s new executive order barring broad categories of immigrants from entering the country may bring real harm to US national security. “The pandemic has highlighted for us that national security also involves the assets that we can harness and put against an invisible enemy...

April 27, 2020 - By Ploughshares Fund
The Moral Choice, the National Security Choice

In light of the increasingly dire situation in Iran as the country combats the COVID-19 pandemic, over 40 organizations – including NIAC Action, J Street, Truman National Security Project, MoveOn, Win Without War, and Ploughshares Fund – sent a letter calling on President Trump...

March 24, 2020 - By Ploughshares Fund
50 Ways to Stay Engaged to Prevent Nuclear War At Home

Staying engaged is important because getting staying informed and taking sustained action will take time to have an effect. Here are a few ideas to stay engaged while preventing nuclear war. Share with your friends. Preventing nuclear war will require persistent effort from many people, until...

March 17, 2020 - By Ploughshares Fund
Cynda Collins Arsenault

Cynda Collins Arsenault is the founder of Our Secure Future: Women Make the Difference, which is part of the operation foundation, One Earth Future. She is co-founder, Board Chair and President of Secure World Foundation, and co-founder and member of the boards of the Arsenault Family...

March 12, 2020 - By Ploughshares Fund
Grassroots Investments

Over the past three years, Ploughshares Fund has significantly expanded our investments in grassroots organizations. Grantees include influential national organizations as well as local groups focused on nuclear issues. Grassroots work by Ploughshares Fund grantees (including MoveOn.org,...

March 12, 2020 - By Ploughshares Fund
The Ploughshares Fund Women’s Initiative

The Ploughshares Fund Women’s Initiative works to increase the voices and roles of women in national security and to ensure their ability to craft and influence US nuclear policy. Today, 13,500 nuclear weapons rest in the hands of a few powerful men who have unchecked...

March 3, 2020 - By Ploughshares Fund
Americans Want Jobs, Not War

Joe Cirincione, president of Ploughshares Fund, recently published an article in The Nation with Guy T. Saperstein, Americans Want Jobs, Not War. It begins, "Last month, President Donald Trump signed a congressional authorization to spend over $738 billion on the Pentagon. This is more than was...

February 18, 2020 - By Ploughshares Fund