The threat of nuclear war never went away

With world at brink of war, a thriller explores security and deterrence

- JERRY BROWN AND ALEXANDRA BELL GUEST CONTRIBUTORS

T THE END of the Cold War, global powers reached the consensus that the world would be better off with fewer nuclear weapons. That era is now over.

That is the chilling opening line of Kathryn Bigelow's new film, “A House of Dynamite.” It sets the stage for what follows, and spoiler alert — there’s no Hollywood ending. The cold, hard truth it illuminates is that after a half century of work to lower the threat of nuclear catastrophe, we are heading in the wrong direction.

Unsettling and intense, this film envisions just one of the ways millions of people could be wiped off the face of the Earth in the span of a single morning. Military experts and nuclear insiders will no doubt quibble with some of the details and dialogue, but this film is not for them, it is for everyone else. And we hope it serves as a warning that we are speeding closer to the brink.

Despite these dangers, the vast majority of political leaders, foreign policy and defense experts, and for-profit news organizations exited the nuclear conversation a few decades ago. Apart from Christopher Nolan's 2023 biopic “Oppenheimer,” Hollywood did, as well. Yet, this lack of attention did nothing to reduce the nuclear threat, which, in many ways, is worse than it has ever been.