Executive Director, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Executive Director of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists; former director of International Peace and Security at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
PROFILE
Kennette Benedict
Guest
FROM Kennette Benedict
To the Point
Doomsday Scenarios When the Soviet Union developed nuclear weapons, the magazine Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists created the Doomsday Clock . As the prospect of nuclear war gets more likely, the minute hand gets closer to midnight. In January, when this program first aired, the hand was moved from seven minutes until midnight to five—the closest it's been since the Cold War. But there's a new twist: global warming has been added as an imminent threat to human kind.
To the Point
Doomsday Scenarios: What to Believe? When the Soviet Union developed nuclear weapons, the magazine Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists created the "Doomsday Clock." As the prospect of nuclear war gets more likely, the minute hand gets closer to midnight. This week, the hand was moved from seven minutes to night to five --the closest it's been since the Cold War. But in a new twist, global warming has been added as an imminent threat to human kind. Are recent predictions about the end of our species any more credible than those we've already survived? Can we count on unforeseen circumstances and human ingenuity? Does popular culture convey the right message or promote unnecessary anxiety?
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Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.
To the Point
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?