Over the course of our nuclear history, smaller (potentially more usable) nuclear weapons have come in all shapes and sizes — from so-called backpack bombs to the Davy Crockett nuclear rifle...

And last year, the US deployed a new one.

But, what exactly are these things? Do we need them? And what does the deployment of a new generation of them reveal about the US’s nuclear posture?

On this episode of Things That Go Boom, we talk about low-yield nuclear weapons -- or what we’ve affectionately termed, “baby nukes.”

GUESTS: Matt Korda, Federation of American Scientists; Rose Gottemoeller, Stanford University

ADDITIONAL READING:

The Littlest Boy, Adam Rawnsley and David Brown.

Nuclear Notebook: United States Nuclear Weapons, 2021, Hans Kristensen and Matt Korda.

After the Apocalypse: US Nuclear Policy, Heather Williams, Vipin Narang, Beatrice Finh, and Togzhan Kassenova.