TOMORROW @ 5 pm — The Threat of Nuclear War: Four Decades After 'The Day After'

Co-sponsored by the Quincy Institute, The Intercept, and The Nation

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its nuclear threats against the United States and NATO have made nuclear war a top-of-mind issue for Americans once again. Nearly 70 percent of Americans now worry about a nuclear attack, a level of concern unparalleled since the Cold War.

Back then, the ever-present risk of nuclear annihilation was popular culture fare. On a Sunday night in 1983, more than 100 million people in the United States tuned in to ABC’s made for TV film “The Day After.” The film dramatized the fictional account of a Kansas town caught in the terror of a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. The film is said to have led then-President Ronald Reagan to support his first arms control agreement with the USSR, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (which President Trump withdrew from in 2019).

Please join a webinar cohosted by the Quincy Institute, The Intercept and The Nation for a discussion with Jeff Daniels, who made a documentary on the making of “The Day After” and its impact; Katrina vanden Heuvel, publisher of The Nation; and nuclear weapons expert Professor Sharon K. Weiner to explore the history and the legacy of the film and its lessons for today. Nausicaa Renner of The Intercept will moderate.

How Much Is Enough: Reining in Runaway Pentagon Spending

The Biden administration’s proposal for Fiscal Year 2023 of $813 billion for national defense is far higher than the peaks of the Korean or Vietnam Wars, and is well over $100 billion more than at the height of the Cold War.  And if hawks in Congress have their way, these staggering figures could be increased by an additional $50 to $100 billion.

Rather than being based on a carefully considered assessment of U.S. security interests, these enormous sums for the Pentagon are driven by a misguided defense strategy that seeks global military primacy; pork barrel politics and corporate influence over members of Congress with military factories or bases in their states or districts; and waste, fraud and abuse in the expenditure of defense dollars. 

This Quincy Institute panel will analyze the factors behind overspending on the Pentagon and propose reforms that can make America and the world safer at a considerably lower cost. The discussion will feature Gordon Adams, Distinguished Non-Resident Fellow at the Quincy Institute; Shailly Gupta Barnes, Policy Director, Kairos Center and the Poor People’s Campaign; and Julia Gledhill, analyst at the Project on Government Oversight. QI’s William Hartung will moderate.