Matthew Bunn
@matthew-bunn.bsky.social
Father, husband, citizen, professor, focusing mainly on nuclear weapons and nuclear energy issues. Faculty lead for Harvard's Managing the Atom project: www.belfercenter.org/programs/managing-atom
My website: matthewbunn.scholars.harvard.edu
My website: matthewbunn.scholars.harvard.edu
Pinned
Inside the Kennedy School’s long fight to prevent nuclear catastrophe
For generations, the insights and engagement of Harvard Kennedy School scholars have strengthened nuclear strategies and reduced dangers.
www.hks.harvard.edu
Proud to have been part of 50 years of work to reduce the danger of nuclear war at the Harvard Kennedy School, detailed in this new account in the Kennedy School's magazine. The effort is more urgent and essential than ever. www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-rese...
2023 bleaching event—unprecedented in severity—killed 97.8-100% of elkhorn and staghorn coral in the Florida Keys. Both species now “functionally extinct” on Florida reefs. 😩😩😩
The 2023 bleaching on #Florida 's reef tract was *really* bad for #Elkhorn and #staghorn #Coral
Heat-driven functional extinction of Caribbean Acropora corals from Florida’s Coral Reef | Science share.google/w5sF235YYexo...
Heat-driven functional extinction of Caribbean Acropora corals from Florida’s Coral Reef | Science share.google/w5sF235YYexo...
Heat-driven functional extinction of Caribbean Acropora corals from Florida’s Coral Reef
In 2023, a record-setting marine heat wave triggered the ninth mass coral bleaching event on Florida’s Coral Reef (FCR). We examined spatial patterns of heat exposure along the ~560-kilometer length o...
share.google
November 11, 2025 at 6:11 PM
2023 bleaching event—unprecedented in severity—killed 97.8-100% of elkhorn and staghorn coral in the Florida Keys. Both species now “functionally extinct” on Florida reefs. 😩😩😩
ICYMI: The effort outlined here to undermine or bypass the NRC -- long the international gold standard of nuclear regulation -- is self-defeating. Only well-managed nuclear energy with strong safety and security regulation has a chance of growing enough to help mitigate climate change.
The Risky Movement to Make America Nuclear Again
A Silicon Valley startup called Oklo is leading the charge to bring nuclear power back to the US with small reactors. Its backers have wealth and political connections that could undermine nuclear saf...
www.bloomberg.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:36 PM
ICYMI: The effort outlined here to undermine or bypass the NRC -- long the international gold standard of nuclear regulation -- is self-defeating. Only well-managed nuclear energy with strong safety and security regulation has a chance of growing enough to help mitigate climate change.
Surprise, surprise: when you intentionally traumatize government employees it becomes harder to recruit good people for those jobs.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Justice Department struggles as thousands exit — and few are replaced
The Justice Department has lost thousands of experienced attorneys and backfilled a fraction of the open jobs, in part because of a lack of qualified candidates.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Surprise, surprise: when you intentionally traumatize government employees it becomes harder to recruit good people for those jobs.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
My friend @armscontrolwonk.bsky.social is brilliant. And he is gifted in his ability to explain the complex and dangerous realities of nuclear weapons in a way any could and everyone should understand. Congrats to the @thebulletin.org for making him do so.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=czyk...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=czyk...
What you should know about nuclear weapons
YouTube video by Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
www.youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:51 PM
My friend @armscontrolwonk.bsky.social is brilliant. And he is gifted in his ability to explain the complex and dangerous realities of nuclear weapons in a way any could and everyone should understand. Congrats to the @thebulletin.org for making him do so.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=czyk...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=czyk...
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
Please share with anyone in your organization or department who may be interested. Pre/postdoc and visiting scholars welcome. On sabbatical and want to join a great research community? Let us know
Please join MTA on November 14 at 1pm Eastern Time if you are interested in learning more about MTA fellowships and the application process. More information (including the Zoom registration link) can be found here: x.com/managingthea...
November 10, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Please share with anyone in your organization or department who may be interested. Pre/postdoc and visiting scholars welcome. On sabbatical and want to join a great research community? Let us know
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
With so much national political noise, it's easy to overlook successes close to home. My first article for @earthislandjournal.bsky.social Journal looks at the movement to build trails for people of all abilities, including those on wheels @appmtnclub.bsky.social www.earthisland.org/journal/inde...
Walk This Way — Or Roll
Amid federal cuts to alternative transportation projects, states like Massachusetts are leading the way in creating universally accessible trails for hikers of all abilities.
www.earthisland.org
November 10, 2025 at 6:50 PM
With so much national political noise, it's easy to overlook successes close to home. My first article for @earthislandjournal.bsky.social Journal looks at the movement to build trails for people of all abilities, including those on wheels @appmtnclub.bsky.social www.earthisland.org/journal/inde...
Any diplomatic agreement that left us with no agreed limits on Iran's program, no inspections of Iran's HEU, and completely dependent on intelligence success to determine if Iran was moving toward nuclear weapons would be seen as a terrible accord. But that's where the 12-day war left us.
The Dangerous Stalemate Over Iran’s Nuclear Program
www.nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Any diplomatic agreement that left us with no agreed limits on Iran's program, no inspections of Iran's HEU, and completely dependent on intelligence success to determine if Iran was moving toward nuclear weapons would be seen as a terrible accord. But that's where the 12-day war left us.
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
“If Trump wants to save the lives of Nigerian Christians… all Trump has to do is restore the American aid that was estimated to be saving the lives of more than a quarter-million Nigerians each year.”
Bang-on (as usual) from @nickkristof.bsky.social
Bang-on (as usual) from @nickkristof.bsky.social
Opinion | Trump Aid Cuts Kill More Christians Than Jihadists Do
www.nytimes.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:04 PM
“If Trump wants to save the lives of Nigerian Christians… all Trump has to do is restore the American aid that was estimated to be saving the lives of more than a quarter-million Nigerians each year.”
Bang-on (as usual) from @nickkristof.bsky.social
Bang-on (as usual) from @nickkristof.bsky.social
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
New post on the history of Soviet and Russian hydronuclear tests axesandatoms.substack.com/p/the-questi...
November 8, 2025 at 2:13 PM
New post on the history of Soviet and Russian hydronuclear tests axesandatoms.substack.com/p/the-questi...
ICYMI, NYT story a couple weeks ago on how China surged past the United States in building nuclear power plants.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
How China Raced Ahead of the U.S. on Nuclear Power
The United States was once the undisputed leader in atomic energy. Now it is trying to catch up.
www.nytimes.com
November 8, 2025 at 3:33 PM
ICYMI, NYT story a couple weeks ago on how China surged past the United States in building nuclear power plants.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Today's NYT story on where we are on climate today compared to when the Paris accord was signed is interesting in several ways -- including showing just how bad we collectively are at projecting energy futures. The solar and coal projections in they cite were hilariously wrong.
10 Years After the Paris Climate Agreement, Here's Where We Are
Has anything really changed in the decade since the Paris Agreement was reached? Actually, quite a lot.
www.nytimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Today's NYT story on where we are on climate today compared to when the Paris accord was signed is interesting in several ways -- including showing just how bad we collectively are at projecting energy futures. The solar and coal projections in they cite were hilariously wrong.
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
Jobs numbers, per ADP. Back in the black but not by much--and 3-month moving average basically zero.
November 5, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Jobs numbers, per ADP. Back in the black but not by much--and 3-month moving average basically zero.
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
The factional grifters will hate this, but the Mamdani-Spanberger-Sherrill axis actually suggests the outlines of a broad, emerging Dem coalition organized around both anti-Trump *and* affordability politics, not a party bitterly divided against itself.
These big wins will embolden Dems to take on Trump's lawbreaking and show there's a price for GOP enabling of him. Folks hate to hear this, but normal patterns are asserting themselves: Liberalism isn't dead, Rs are likely to lose in 2026, and Trump is really unpopular, not a magical exception.
November 5, 2025 at 2:48 AM
The factional grifters will hate this, but the Mamdani-Spanberger-Sherrill axis actually suggests the outlines of a broad, emerging Dem coalition organized around both anti-Trump *and* affordability politics, not a party bitterly divided against itself.
If we want nuclear energy to play a major role in addressing energy and climate challenges, we need to think through the key obstacles to, and risks of, large-scale growth, and what better technologies and policies might do to mitigate them. I offered some thoughts.
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1gkmt...
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1gkmt...
www.dropbox.com
November 4, 2025 at 10:46 PM
If we want nuclear energy to play a major role in addressing energy and climate challenges, we need to think through the key obstacles to, and risks of, large-scale growth, and what better technologies and policies might do to mitigate them. I offered some thoughts.
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1gkmt...
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1gkmt...
Often forgotten part of Dick Cheney’s legacy. For more, see Susan Koch’s excellent account.
ndupress.ndu.edu/portals/68/d...
ndupress.ndu.edu/portals/68/d...
November 4, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Often forgotten part of Dick Cheney’s legacy. For more, see Susan Koch’s excellent account.
ndupress.ndu.edu/portals/68/d...
ndupress.ndu.edu/portals/68/d...
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
President Trump's interview on 60 Minutes did very little to clarify his stance on the United States resuming full-scale nuclear tests for the first time in more than three decades. Let's look at some of his statements. 1/11
November 3, 2025 at 1:49 PM
President Trump's interview on 60 Minutes did very little to clarify his stance on the United States resuming full-scale nuclear tests for the first time in more than three decades. Let's look at some of his statements. 1/11
“It makes everyone afraid when the guy in charge of America’s nuclear weapons doesn’t appear to know what he’s talking about.” Quoted in NYT.
Trump Doubles Down on Nuclear Tests. His Energy Secretary Differs. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...
Trump Doubles Down on Nuclear Tests. His Energy Secretary Differs. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...
Trump Doubles Down on Nuclear Tests. His Energy Secretary Differs.
www.nytimes.com
November 4, 2025 at 11:47 AM
“It makes everyone afraid when the guy in charge of America’s nuclear weapons doesn’t appear to know what he’s talking about.” Quoted in NYT.
Trump Doubles Down on Nuclear Tests. His Energy Secretary Differs. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...
Trump Doubles Down on Nuclear Tests. His Energy Secretary Differs. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
Looks like extraordinary cowardice. "...following pressure from the Chinese state and a separate defamation law suit against the university, Sheffield Hallam decided not to publish a final piece of research by Prof Murphy and her team into forced labour." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
November 3, 2025 at 6:29 AM
Looks like extraordinary cowardice. "...following pressure from the Chinese state and a separate defamation law suit against the university, Sheffield Hallam decided not to publish a final piece of research by Prof Murphy and her team into forced labour." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Two studies from committees of the National Academies concluded there was no technical need to resume nuclear explosive testing.
2002: nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/1047...
2012: nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/1284...
2002: nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/1047...
2012: nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/1284...
nap.nationalacademies.org
November 3, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Two studies from committees of the National Academies concluded there was no technical need to resume nuclear explosive testing.
2002: nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/1047...
2012: nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/1284...
2002: nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/1047...
2012: nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/1284...
For the moment, Energy Secretary Chris Wright sensibly says the Trump admin. is NOT planning actual nuclear explosive tests -- just tests of all the other parts of the weapons. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Trump energy secretary says no nuclear explosions for now
After the president called for resuming nuclear testing “immediately,” the official said the administration is planning only system tests.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:06 AM
For the moment, Energy Secretary Chris Wright sensibly says the Trump admin. is NOT planning actual nuclear explosive tests -- just tests of all the other parts of the weapons. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
A Nature poll found that 75% of U.S. researchers are considering leaving the country.
Guyz, even the *historians* are leaving or contemplating / likely to go. Including, at least 3 historians that I know of in my subfield. 😢
Guyz, even the *historians* are leaving or contemplating / likely to go. Including, at least 3 historians that I know of in my subfield. 😢
Top researchers consider leaving U.S. amid funding cuts: 'The science world is ending'
A poll from the journal Nature found that 75% of researchers in the U.S. are considering leaving the country. That includes a man who’s been dubbed the "Mozart of Math." Stephanie Sy examines what’s b...
www.pbs.org
October 31, 2025 at 7:50 PM
A Nature poll found that 75% of U.S. researchers are considering leaving the country.
Guyz, even the *historians* are leaving or contemplating / likely to go. Including, at least 3 historians that I know of in my subfield. 😢
Guyz, even the *historians* are leaving or contemplating / likely to go. Including, at least 3 historians that I know of in my subfield. 😢
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
"US nuclear arsenal currently safe, reliable: STRATCOM nominee"
US nuclear arsenal currently safe, reliable: STRATCOM nominee - Breaking Defense
Vice Adm. Richard Correll said that Trump's announcement does not necessarily mean detonating a test weapon — noting that neither China nor Russia has conducted a nuclear explosive test in recent memo...
breakingdefense.com
October 31, 2025 at 3:10 AM
"US nuclear arsenal currently safe, reliable: STRATCOM nominee"
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
Children tear-gassed. Teenagers tackled to the ground. Bellingcat analysed footage of clashes between federal officers and civilians after a judge issued a restraining order on crowd-control tactics in Illinois: www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/10...
Tear Gas, Pepper Balls Among Weapons Deployed Against Illinois Protesters
A judge issued a restraining order on crowd-control tactics by federal agents, including those involved in Operation Midway Blitz in the Chicago region.
www.bellingcat.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Children tear-gassed. Teenagers tackled to the ground. Bellingcat analysed footage of clashes between federal officers and civilians after a judge issued a restraining order on crowd-control tactics in Illinois: www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/10...
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
A checklist: "The Times editorial board has compiled a list of 12 markers of democratic erosion, with help from scholars who have studied this phenomenon."
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
An authoritarian...
stifles dissent/speech
persecutes opponents
bypasses legislature
uses military domestically
defies courts
declares false emergencies
vilifies groups
controls info/media
controls universities
creates cult of personality
uses power for profit
manipulates law to stay in power
stifles dissent/speech
persecutes opponents
bypasses legislature
uses military domestically
defies courts
declares false emergencies
vilifies groups
controls info/media
controls universities
creates cult of personality
uses power for profit
manipulates law to stay in power
Opinion | In Trump’s America, Are We Losing Our Democracy? (Gift Article)
Donald Trump has wielded power as no previous president has.
www.nytimes.com
October 31, 2025 at 2:14 PM
A checklist: "The Times editorial board has compiled a list of 12 markers of democratic erosion, with help from scholars who have studied this phenomenon."
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Matthew Bunn
Honored to be on this list from @forbes.com.
"Taylor packs a wealth of analysis and interesting facts into a compact book.. The book is ideal for anyone who wants a better context for understanding news reports about Putin and Russia."
www.forbes.com/sites/stuart...
"Taylor packs a wealth of analysis and interesting facts into a compact book.. The book is ideal for anyone who wants a better context for understanding news reports about Putin and Russia."
www.forbes.com/sites/stuart...
5 Must-Read Books To Understand Russia And The War In Ukraine
Recently published books can help readers better understand Russia and the war in Ukraine. Here is a list of must-read books.
www.forbes.com
February 13, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Honored to be on this list from @forbes.com.
"Taylor packs a wealth of analysis and interesting facts into a compact book.. The book is ideal for anyone who wants a better context for understanding news reports about Putin and Russia."
www.forbes.com/sites/stuart...
"Taylor packs a wealth of analysis and interesting facts into a compact book.. The book is ideal for anyone who wants a better context for understanding news reports about Putin and Russia."
www.forbes.com/sites/stuart...