Dr. Ivana Hughes

This is Dr. Ivana Hughes.

She's a chemist at Columbia University and the president of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

She's advised on nuclear issues tied to the United Nations, studied the real-world fallout of nuclear testing, and spends her life thinking about one uncomfortable truth.

The fact that a tiny group of humans controls the fate of the entire world.

We often talk about nukes like they're just big bombs, a mushroom cloud, but that's not what actually kills you.

What matters is what happens after.

Firestorms, ashes, darkened skies, and potentially even nuclear winter.

And here's the part that should bother you the most.

The fate of the planet doesn't sit with the voters or with the people of nations.

It sits with maybe 10 people.

We're told that the system is safe because if everyone has nukes, everyone will be calm.

But this system only works if everyone stays rational forever.

And history suggests that that might be optimistic.

And today, Dr. Hughes explains what a nuclear bomb would actually feel like, what the colors would look like in the sky, how the heat would actually affect your skin.

She also explains how current wars happening right now in Europe and in the Middle East are pushing us closer to a nuclear disaster.

This episode is absolutely fascinating.

Dr. Hughes is brilliant and extremely eloquent, and I really enjoyed hearing her perspective and her passion for humanity.

So if you were interested in the global state of affairs, the most up-to-date information on nuclear wars and nuclear technology, and why it matters to you, and maybe just a glimmer of hope about how we can actually overcome this, well, this is the episode for you.

So sit back, relax, and welcome to camp.

Ivana, thank you so much for joining me.