Episode description

In the mid-1990s, global treaties and a U.S. moratorium on nuclear testing marked a turning point in reducing the nuclear threat. As Cold War tensions eased, U.S. nuclear test and production sites fell silent for the first time since 1945. But, as the years passed, a new threat to U.S. nuclear deterrence emerged—one that no technology has ever escaped: time.

To address this, the U.S. government launched the Stockpile Stewardship Program. This groundbreaking initiative shifted the focus from building new weapons to using cutting-edge science and technology to maintain the nation’s nuclear stockpile. By leveraging advanced, science-based methods, the program ensures the safety, security, and reliability of its aging weapons—all without the need for nuclear testing.

Today, we’re taking you behind the scenes of a key component of the Stockpile Stewardship Program: modernization. We’ll explore how this effort works, why it’s essential, and what it means for the future of national security.

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Big Ideas Lab is a Mission.org original series. 

Executive Produced by Lacey Peace. 

Sound Design, Music Edit and Mix by Daniel Brunelle. 

Story Editing by Daniel Brunelle. 

Audio Engineering and Editing by Matthew Powell. 

Narrated by Matthew Powell. 

Video Production by Levi Hanusch. 

Guests featured in this episode (in order of appearance): 

• Derek Wapman, Associate Deputy Director for Stockpile Modernization at LLNL
• Peter Raboin, Program Manager for the W80-4 Life Extension Program at LLNL
• Juliana Hsu, Program Manager for the W87-1 Warhead Modification Program at LLNL

Brought to you in partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.