Tue 17 Feb 2026 05.30
The White House/Flickr
By removing guardrails around nuclear weapons, the Trump administration is making the world a far more dangerous place.
On this episode of After America, Jon B Wolfsthal, former Special Assistant to President Obama for National Security Affairs, joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the expiry of the New START nuclear weapons treaty between the United States and Russia, AUKUS and Australia’s nuclear capabilities, and why “nuclear weapons are back with avengeance”.
This discussion was recorded on Thursday 12 February 2026 Australian time.
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Guest: Jon B Wolfsthal, former Director of Global Risk, Federation of American Scientists // @jonatomic
Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis
Show notes:
Trump has scrapped the long-standing legal basis for tackling climate emissions by Robyn Eckersley, The Conversation (February 2026)
It is now 85 seconds to midnight, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (February 2026)
The nuclear option, After America, the Australia Institute (December 2025)
Photo: The White House/Flickr (U.S. Government work)
Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions
We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au.
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