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

Seven Questions for Beatrice Fihn

Beatrice Fihn is the Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize-winning campaign coalition that works to prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons. She accepted the Nobel Peace Prize and delivered the Nobel Lecture in Oslo on...

May 7, 2019 - By Ploughshares Fund
Seven Questions for Marissa Conway

Marissa Conway is the Co-Founder and UK Director of Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy. She previously worked with Freedom House, a safe house for survivors of human trafficking and Living Water, a clean water charity. She is also a freelance writer and publishes pieces on feminist foreign...

May 3, 2019 - By Ploughshares Fund
Seven Questions for Christine Ahn

Christine Ahn is founder and International Coordinator of Ploughshares Fund grantee and partner, Women Cross DMZ, a global movement of women mobilizing to end the Korean War, reunite families, and ensure women’s leadership in peace building. She is the co-founder of the Korea Policy Institute...

April 22, 2019 - By Ploughshares Fund
Seven Questions for Cecili Thompson Williams

Cecili Thompson Williams is the Director of Ploughshares Fund grantee and partner, Beyond the Bomb, where she leads a team of campaigners and activists mobilizing against the threat of nuclear war and weapons. She has nearly two decades of experience leading mission-driven campaigns with...

April 22, 2019 - By Ploughshares Fund
Hollywood and Nuclear Weapons

Ploughshares Fund and Hollywood, Health & Society co-sponsored a discussion on building a world free from the threat of nuclear weapons that brought together activists, experts, policy-makers and top names in entertainment, including actor/producer Michael Douglas. The multi-award-winning...

April 17, 2019 - By Ploughshares Fund
Press the Button

Listen and subscribe to Press the Button, a weekly podcast from Ploughshares Fund dedicated to nuclear policy and national security. An engaging and dynamic look at one of the most critical issues of our time, Press the Button offers the latest news, insider...

April 12, 2019 - By Ploughshares Fund
Diversity Makes Better Policy

At a time when our global challenges are more complex than ever, it is particularly unfortunate that the decisionmaking levers of foreign and security policy do not reflect the rich diversity of cultures and perspectives that make up the United States. US foreign and security policy is...

April 3, 2019 - By Ploughshares Fund
A Feminist Nuclear Policy

I founded the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy because I kept seeing the same patterns in foreign policy: the exclusion of marginalized communities in policymaking, the pressure on women to bear the burden of peacekeeping and the insistence that gendered ideas (in particular those relying on...

April 3, 2019 - By Ploughshares Fund
Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Godzilla is coming to a screen near you on May 31, 2019. Hollywood’s latest action-packed thrill ride. But will it keep faith with the original Godzilla — one of the world’s first anti-nuclear movies? Despite dozens of sequels and reboots that got sillier with each iteration, the first “King of...

March 28, 2019 - By Ploughshares Fund
New Momentum for Saner Nuclear Policy

Nearly 200 people attended "New Momentum for Saner Nuclear Policy," an in-depth panel discussion with activists, actors and experts on Monday, March 18 at the SilverScreen Theater at the Pacific Design Center in Hollywood. The event featured award-winning actor Michael Douglas, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-...

March 20, 2019 - By Ploughshares Fund