Ploughshares

🚨 CHAIN REACTION SPEAKER UPDATE 🚨

We are delighted to welcome Charles Oppenheimer (choppen5.bsky.social) and Philip W. Yun to our speaker slate, alongside rhodesben.bsky.social and lesleymmblume.bsky.social

⛓️ 3 days left to secure your spot in SF: ploughshares.org/chainreaction2025

What happens when we go to war with ourselves? - Ploughshares What happens when we start to tear at the seams, breaking apart the bonds of trust and objective truth? Writing and artwork by MacKenzie Cordova

MacKenzie Cordova is an artist, Tularosa Basin Downwinder, and 5th generation cancer survivor. In this piece, MacKenzie wrestles with a question that defines both U.S. history and its present condition: What happens when we go to war with ourselves? ⬇️
https://loom.ly/mEZdt0Y

As Nuclear Tensions Reach New Heights, How Can We Win Global Disarmament? Nuclear deterrence is untenable. We need to pursue anti-colonial disarmament.

"The rising threat of authoritarianism makes nuclear war far more likely ... It’s deeply alarming."

📰 From truthout.org: shaghdoosti.bsky.social, Executive Director of grantee winwithoutwar.bsky.social, interviewed about today's dangers surrounding nuclear weapons ⬇️
https://loom.ly/FbhdZTE

Home - Scoville Fellowship Scoville Peace Fellowship Creating the next generation of scholars, activists, and practitioners in international peace and security. We aim to bring the knowledge, perspective, and passion of a diver...

📣 Calling all early career international peace & security professionals! Two(ish) weeks left to apply to the @scovillepf.bsky.social Fellowship. Ploughshares is a proud supporter of this impactful opportunity—don't miss your chance! ⬇️

scoville.org

Reality check: North Korea won’t give up its nukes If diplomatic efforts are to succeed, Washington cannot expect Pyongyang will give up its only security guarantee

"Reality check: North Korea won’t give up its nukes"

New, must-read analysis from James Park of grantee @quincyinst.bsky.social ⬇️
responsiblestatecraft.org/north-korea-...

UNGA Beyond the Conflicts The U.N. forges ahead on climate and AI despite U.S. ambivalence and mixed messaging.

“We need to do a better job of bringing the discussions together and recognizing how each of these issues exacerbate each other.”

📰 In @foreignpolicy.com: @emlbelcher.bsky.social on the interconnected challenges addressed by Women Transforming Global Security ⬇️
foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/25/u...

Ploughshares Announces Global Security Network for International Women Leaders to Reduce Nuclear Threats The initiative recognizes the need for women-centered leadership to address the interconnected nuclear crises threatening human security through collaboration over coercion

📰 The press release for the Women Transforming Global Security launch is live on @apnews.com courtesy of @prnewswire.bsky.social ⬇️ Thanks to @theelders.bsky.social & Horizon 2045 for their ongoing partnership!

apnews.com/press-releas...

This past weekend, I was honored to join the inaugural group of "Women Transforming Global Security" a new initiative by @ploughshares.bsky.social The Elders & Horizon2045 to help build a comprehensive framework to address interconnected global security threats.Learn more: transformingsecurity.org

Erika Gregory, President of Horizon 2045: "We are thrilled that we have brought together a group of people who really believe in and understand the inseparability of living systems, human and planetary systems, and to be doing this on the 25th anniversary of UN Resolution 1325."

@helenclarknz.bsky.social member of @theelders.bsky.social: : "Here we are 80 years down the track, and people still wave the threat of nuclear weapons. What have we learned? Hopefully, with the new generation's energy ... we can make more progress & joined up thinking about these issues."

Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland & member of
@theelders.bsky.social: "You are a wonderful group of women, but you were brought to a certain level where you could give feedback to us and use words like spirituality and love and nature and the real meaning of collaboration."

@hillaryclinton.bsky.social: "It is time to have a view about what global security actually means, and that means putting all of the hard issues on the table … nuclear weapons, their proliferation, their continuing threat to global security has to be on the table."

@emlbelcher.bsky.social: "WTGS brings together women working across sectors, intergenerationally, with a view that security needs to be grounded not just in weapons and borders, but in people, dignity and the systems that help communities thrive."

We are overwhelmed with gratitude for the support of yesterday's Women Transforming Global Security launch. We could go on about what this trailblazing network will mean for the interconnected global security community, but don’t take our word for it...

... Take it from ⬇️ 🧵

Learn more, join the movement, and get inspired ⬇️

transformingsecurity.org

We are honored to announce the launch of Women Transforming Global Security, in partnership with Horizon 2045 & @theelders.bsky.social

Our deep gratitude to all who got this one-of-a-kind network off the ground. Much more to come.

Women. Leadership. Global Security—Reimagined.

A special message from @emlbelcher.bsky.social about a BIG announcement this Monday—mark your calendars & follow our partners Horizon 2045 & @theelders.bsky.social for more 🗓️

We are delighted to announce Samara Dun as Ploughshares’ new Executive Director!

Samara's journey spans the nuclear freeze movement as a child activist, to a tenure as Ploughshares’ Director of Development, & she returns now to lead our mission with vision & optimism.

This infographic is based on a roundtable on Asia-Pacific Geopolitics and the US-China Strategic Competition, with experts from the Asia-Pacific, conducted as part of APLN’s project on Voices from the Pacific Island Countries. The project is supported by @ploughshares.bsky.social.

Washington should lower temperature on Taiwan attack threat, US report says China said to be ‘highly unlikely’ to attack the island, according to report.

The latest report from grantee @stimsoncenter.bsky.social's National Security Reform Program, "Rethinking the Threat", says China is ‘highly unlikely’ to attack Taiwan. The report was recently covered in @scmpnews.bsky.social ⬇️
www.scmp.com/news/us/dipl...

Washington DC Chain Reaction 2025 | Mobilize. Act. Disarm. Join Ploughshares for the Chain Reaction 2025: Mobilize. Act. Disarm. luncheon in Washington DC.

DC-area friends: No better time than now to rally around the theme of Chain Reaction 2025: Mobilize. Act. Disarm.

On Oct 22, join us alongside @yobencohen.bsky.social and Habib Bako, our Director of Field Building. Tix ⬇️ 🎟️
https://loom.ly/jT5igcc

Seattle Chain Reaction 2025 | Mobilize. Act. Disarm. Join Ploughshares for the Chain Reaction 2025: Mobilize. Act. Disarm. luncheon in Seattle.

🏙️ East Coast, 🌊 West Coast, or somewhere in between—we have ❗3❗opportunities for you to join Ploughshares for Chain Reaction 2025: Mobilize. Act. Disarm. On Thursday, October 16, you can join us in Seattle for a gala luncheon! Reserve your ticket ⬇️
https://loom.ly/kHAUYzw

Need more Golden Dome in your life? On the Ploughshares Story Center, a Golden Dome deep dive with a Star Wars twist: ploughshares.org/article/gold...

What’s the Plan for ‘Golden Dome’? Even Experts Aren’t Sure A sweeping U.S. missile defense program comes with many risks, costs and uncertainties, analysts say

"Irrespective of cost, any space-based system would also be very vulnerable to counterattack."

Expertise from @ucs.org's @lauraegrego.bsky.social's in yesterday's Scientific American piece about the plans—or lack thereof—for the U.S.'s Golden Dome 🟡
www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-...

San Francisco Chain Reaction 2025 | Mobilize. Act. Disarm. Join Ploughshares for the Chain Reaction 2025: Mobilize. Act. Disarm. luncheon in San Francisco.

“Mobilize. Act. Disarm.”—this year’s Chain Reaction theme is a call to action & to fight for a safe and secure future, free from the threat of nuclear weapons. Join us in San Francisco for one of our signature gala luncheons!

Tix through Eventbrite ⬇️ 🎟️
https://loom.ly/KKOxCHU

The @basicint.bsky.social report—surveying the next generation nuclear experts—asks *the* questions facing our field today ⬇️

What pathways lead beyond nuclear deterrence? How could they inform policy? How does the next generation of nuclear experts envision a world without nuclear weapons?

De-siloing Existential Threats III: Future Pathways To A World Beyond Nuclear Deterrence Report - BASIC

📊 Ploughshares is a proud supporter of a new report from @basicint.bsky.social, authored by 2024 Nuclear Futures Fellow Declan Penrose: "De-siloing Existential Threats III: Future Pathways to a World Beyond Nuclear Deterrence"
basicint.org/de-siloing-e...

Thank you @ploughshares.bsky.social for sponsoring the 2025 WPSR Health Justice Gala!
event.auctria.com/5ca76dea-13d...

All the King’s Weapons: Nuclear Launch Authority in the U.S. Is sole authority solvable, or is it truly the best system possible for nuclear launch authority? If the latter, should we accept that reality?

We are delighted to share a new report by grantee @mknight.bsky.social of @scientistsorg.bsky.social's Nuclear Information Project. "All the King's Weapons" dives into the issue of sole authority & breaks down the US's nuclear launch system. A must-read ⬇️
fas.org/publication/...

I published this interview with the disarmament community in mind, particularly those who think about right-left coalitions and engaging conservatives.

I was blown away Ed Jr.'s telling of how the church moved on such a major issue (nukes in Utah) and how racism/misogyny loomed larger than WMDs