Welcome to the episode number 16 of the Authors of Mass Destruction podcast. My name is Natasha Bajema, aka WMDgirl on Twitter. I’m a fiction author, national security expert and your host for this podcast.

• If you’re interested in science &technology, in reading good fiction, or want to write fiction based on technology, you’re in the right place.
• Before we get started, a few notes:
  • The views expressed on this podcast are my own and do not reflect the official policy or position of the National Defense University, the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government.
  • The AOMD podcast is proud to be part of the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network. Check us out at www.authorsontheair.com
• My headline for this week is “Facebook acknowledges Pelosi video is faked but declines to delete it,” from the Washington Post on May 24. 
  • A video of Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, offering remarks was intentionally altered to make her speech stilted and slurred. The creator of the video took an authentic video clip of Pelosi, slowed its speed and altered the tone of her voice to make it sound real.
  • The video clip went viral on social media including Facebook.
  • Facebook refused to take it down, stating that there is no requirement that posts be true.
• I want to take a moment to share some big personal news, particularly since it will have an impact on the podcast in June. 
  • After ten and a half years, I’ve moved on from my job at the National Defense University to start up my own consulting company where I’ll focus on national security consulting, entertainment and publishing.
  • I’m also leaving Washington DC next weekend. I’ll be moving to Texas by the end of June. 
  • In the meantime, I’ll be hanging out in my home state of Michigan for a few weeks. I’ll be staying out in the countryside where Internet is a bit sketchy. 
  • What does this mean for the podcast? Unfortunately, I will be unable to put out an episode next weekend since I’ll be in the car. I hope to return to the airwaves on June 16, assuming I can find sufficient bandwidth. I promise to do my best and hope you hang tight until I can get back to the show.
• Let’s get to the interview. This week, I have Paul Carroll who is the Director, Nuclear Partnerships at N Square. He also spent 17 years as Program Director at the Ploughshares Fund and is an expert on nuclear weapons and North Korea. We talk about the secrecy of the U.S. nuclear weapons program, the cost of modernization and his two visits to North Korea.