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Covering Nuclear Issues

A Workshop for Journalists

Schedule

Thursday, March 1, 2018

5:30 – 6:15 p.m.
Registration and reception
Nieman Foundation, One Francis Ave., Cambridge, Mass. | map
6:15 – 6:30 p.m.
Welcome remarks | Video
  • Ann Marie Lipinski, curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard
  • Angela Schlater, program officer for the Nuclear Challenges program at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
6:30 – 9:00 p.m.
Dinner and keynote speakers | Videos
  • David Sanger, national security correspondent, The New York Times; senior fellow for National Security and the Press at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; adjunct lecturer in public policy, Harvard Kennedy School
  • Gary Samore, executive director for research at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Friday, March 2, 2018

8:30 – 9:00 a.m.
Breakfast at Nieman Foundation
9:00 – 9:30 a.m.
Welcome and introductions
  • Facilitator: Samantha Henry, assistant director for programming and special projects, Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard
9:30 – 11:00 a.m.
Nuclear Literacy | Videos
What every reporter should know about covering nuclear issues
  • How nuclear weapons work
  • Nuclear materials and technology
  • Presidential authority/command and control
  • Q&A/discussion
Speakers:
  • Matthew Bunn, professor of practice at Harvard Kennedy School and co-principal investigator of The Project on Managing the Atom at the Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
  • Katlyn Turner, postdoctoral fellow at The Project on Managing the Atom and the International Security Program at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
  • Alex Wellerstein, assistant professor of science and technology studies, College of Arts and Letters at the Stevens Institute of Technology
Moderator:
  • David E. Sanger, national security correspondent, The New York Times; senior fellow for National Security and the Press at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; adjunct lecturer in public policy, Harvard Kennedy School
11:00 – 11:10 a.m.
Break
11:10 – 12:40 p.m.
Nuclear Risks | Videos 
Part 1: The Problem of Nuclear and Radiological Terrorism
An exploration of the evolution of the nuclear threat as well as a look at the history and current status of related issues
Speakers:
  • Matthew Bunn, professor of practice at Harvard Kennedy School and co-principal investigator of The Project on Managing the Atom at the Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
  • Corey Hinderstein, vice president of international fuel cycle strategies, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI)
Moderator:
  • Francesca Giovannini, program director for global security and international affairs, The American Academy of Arts & Sciences; associate of The Project on Managing the Atom at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
12:40 – 1:45 p.m.
Lunch
1:45 – 2:30 p.m.
Travel to Framingham to visit the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA)
Tour of MEMA 
A facility tour and discussion with top officials about how a major American city coordinates its response to a potential nuclear threat
  • Kurt Schwartz, director, MEMA
  • John Giarrusso, chief of the planning and nuclear section, MEMA
  • Rich LaTour, planning unit supervisor, MEMA
4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Return to Cambridge
5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Break time for participants at hotel
6:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Dinner and movie at Nieman Foundation
Screening of “Command and Control: The Long-Hidden Story of the Day Our Luck Almost Ran Out”

Saturday, March 3, 2018

8:30 – 9:00 a.m.
Breakfast at Nieman Foundation
9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Nuclear Risks | Videos 
Part 2: Escalation and Nuclear Use
  • The North Korean crisis
  • Strategic stability with Russia
  • South Asia
  • Q&A/discussion
Speakers:
  • Jim Walsh, senior research associate at MIT’s Security Studies Program
  • William Tobey, senior fellow, Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; former deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation at the National Nuclear Security Administration
  • Vipin Narang, associate professor of political science at MIT and a member of MIT’s Security Studies Program
Moderator:
  • Fiona Cunningham, predoctoral fellow in the Cyber Security Project at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
11:00 – 11:10 a.m.
Break
11:10 a.m. – 1:10 p.m.
Nuclear Risks | Videos 
Part 3: Nuclear Proliferation
A look at issues including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons; Iran and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA); the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); and the problem of illicit procurement
Speakers:
  • Jim Walsh, senior research associate at MIT’s Security Studies Program
  • Corey Hinderstein, vice president of international fuel cycle strategies at the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI)
  • Melissa Hanham, senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies
Moderator:
  • Mahsa Rouhi, postdoctoral fellow at the International Security Program and The Project on Managing the Atom at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
1:10 – 2:00 p.m.
Lunch and conclusion