Show Notes
Welcome to “Avoiding Accidental Armageddon: Nuclear Fail-Safe Reviews”, the second episode of our second Ok, Doomer! podcast series. Hosted by the ELN’s Deputy Executive Director Bekki Field and outgoing Project and Communications Officer Edan Simpson, this episode explores how nuclear fail-safe reviews can reduce the risk of accidental, mistaken or unauthorised nuclear use.
To begin, Bekki and Edan are joined once again by Julia Berghofer, Programme Lead for the ELN’s Nuclear Weapons and New Technologies programme, who explains what “fail-safe” means in the nuclear realm and why safeguards must be regularly reviewed.
Julia also outlines the ELN and Asia-Pacific Leadership Network’s work since 2024 examining how different nuclear-armed states understand fail- safe, what terminology they use, what measures they have adopted and how openly they discuss them.
Edan’s panel features Deborah Rosenblum, Joel Petersson Ivre and Héloïse Fayet. Together, they discuss:
Why fail-safe reviews can be politically controversial.
How trust, deterrence and geopolitical competition shape states’ approaches.
Whether fail-safe reviews can serve as confidence - and security-building measures.
How much transparency is useful or realistic.
What role non-nuclear-weapon states can play in supporting wider discussion.
Moving on to “Turn Back the Clock”, Bekki is joined by Tom McKane. They discuss the history of nuclear fail-safe reviews, the reasons non-nuclear-weapon states have had limited engagement with the issue, and what earlier efforts can teach policymakers seeking to reduce nuclear risks today.
Finally, in “The Debrief”, Bekki, Edan and Julia reflect on the tensions between secrecy and transparency and the different national approaches to fail-safe.
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