At the end of last year, I traveled to Wilton Park, a UK government agency that organizes dialogues amongst leaders and experts on topics of importance. Nukes at Christmas, a four-day gathering on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty diplomacy, has been one of their regular events for decades, bringing together people with a very wide range of views on nuclear weapons. My task was to speak about the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

The Wiston House setting was right out of a Jane Austen novel, with a 16th century main building, stunning grounds, and a quaint church next door. Alas, my problems were very different than those of dear Elizabeth and Emma! This was not the first time that I faced disarmament skeptics, but it was unlike other experiences, as my entire days – including all meals – involved the group at hand. Not only did I feel that pushing back on dismissals of disarmament and the TPNW was important, but I also felt that the emptiness of the arguments that were aimed at me (and like-minded allies at the meeting) strengthened both my resolve and ability to push forward in this fight for our future.

Over the coming weeks, we will get to direct our energies to more friendly environs of the Third Meeting of States Parties (3MSP) to the TPNW (March 3-7 at the UN in New York) and at our Choose Hope Symposium (March 12-13), where we look forward to welcoming to Santa Barbara disarmament experts, diplomats, and activists. Organized in collaboration with Soka Gakkai International, the symposium is being held in honor of David Krieger and Daisaku Ikeda, both of whom passed away at the end of 2023. The symposium will also feature our 20th Frank K. Kelly Lecture on Humanity’s Future by Annie Jacobsen, author of Nuclear War: A Scenario. Please see below for more information about our activities at 3MSP and Choose Hope, and please join us!

I know that the Presidency of Donald Trump is on everyone’s minds and that people are concerned (an understatement in many cases!) about both the specifics and the direction of the country. As my good friend Alice Slater says, even a broken clock is right twice a day, and to me, the efforts to end the war in Ukraine and Trump’s statements about nuclear weapons and his desire to “de-nuclearize” are steps in the right direction. The world is at 89 seconds to midnight, according to the latest reading of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Doomsday Clock. We must not get to midnight. Please see below for an article that Professor Peter Kuznick and I wrote on this topic.

 Disarmament should have never been a partisan issue. Finding a way to come together in service of future generations is a critical task in this critical moment.