Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 15th December 2025

Posted: 16th December 2025

December 15, 2025

President Trump announces the Golden Dome missile defense system initiative on May 20, 2025. Many observers believe the system would cost many times its purported $175 billion budget and fuel an arms race with Russia and China. (Image courtesy of The White House)

A National Security Strategy with no strategy for managing existential risks

The Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy document justifies isolationism while almost entirely ignoring existential risks, writes BulletinPresident and CEO Alexandra Bell. “A world in which every country acts solely in its own narrow self-interest … is the quickest way to make sure the Doomsday Clock strikes midnight.” Read more.

Curing a chemical hangover

Many tons of chemical warfare agents from Syria’s chemical weapons program are still unaccounted for, reports Gregory D. Koblentz. The longer suspected weapons sites remain unexamined and insecure, the higher the risk that whatever chemical weapons may be left will fall into the wrong hands. Read more.

Nuclear power’s role in Japan is fading. The myths of reactor safety and energy needs can’t change that reality

The partial restart of the world’s largest nuclear power plant in Japan was recently approved by the Niigata Prefecture, reports Tadahiro Katsuta. As decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi plant falls behind schedule, Japan continues to focus on the promises of nuclear power while carefully avoiding talking about learning from past failures. Read more.

How nuclear submarines could pave the way for nuclear weapons in South Korea

In a region already bristling with all types of nuclear weapons, bestowing latent nuclear-weapon-state status upon South Korea is needlessly destabilizing, writes former Bulletin Science and Security Board member Sharon Squassoni. Read more.

Catholic bishops remind political leaders that nuclear weapons are immoral

Eighty years after the atomic bombings, American Catholic bishops visited Japan to demand nuclear disarmament—and called for political leaders to do the same, writes Most Rev. John Wester, Archbishop of Sante Fe. “People of all faiths—as well as people of no faith at all—need to know that the American Catholic Church is deeply engaged in nuclear disarmament issues.” Read more.

The Bulletin’s 80th anniversary magazine issue

Last Wednesday marked 80 years since scientists who helped create the world’s first atomic bomb published a “bulletin” and our nonprofit newsroom began. From managing nuclear risk in an AI world to preparing for the next pandemic, this issue covers all the Bulletin’s topics—in the past and present. Read more.

Nuclear Notebook: The changing nuclear landscape in Europe

Russia’s invasions of Ukraine—in 2014 and 2022—drastically changed Europe’s approach to its nuclear weapons posture. The latest edition of the Nuclear Notebook reflects this, examining the status of nuclear weapons and nuclear operations in Europe. Read more.

The brightest light at the end of the tunnel

The Bulletin has championed renewable energy nearly as long as it has warned about the dangers of nuclear weapons, writes author and environmentalist Bill McKibben. “In the face of political resistance and potent disinformation, it must continue to match its dire warnings with optimism grounded in facts.” This magazine article is available to all readers for a limited time.

Division begets division in the age of algorithmic classification

The online information landscape, driven in large part by social media, rewards engagement and is curated by classification algorithms, writes former Bulletineditorial fellow Trenton W. Ford. This simple combination is the problem at the heart of society’s fracturing and discord. This magazine article is available to all readers for a limited time.

Recent articles

• A CDC committee led by RFK Jr. allies votes to stop recommending newborns get the hepatitis B vaccine
• New START’s death is around the corner. Please, someone, tell the President
• When it all comes crashing down: The aftermath of the AI boom
• The looming missile crisis in the Arctic
• Ukraine’s Energoatom, Holtec International, and the US retreat from fighting corruption abroad

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The AI EO will go down as an unmitigated disaster that puts the Trump administration at odds with over two-thirds of Americans, and his AI-skeptic MAGA base.”

— Sacha Haworth, executive director of the Tech Oversight Project, “Trump signs executive order aimed at preventing states from regulating AI,” The Guardian