Davidson College: The Nuclear Debate No One Is Having

On Wednesday, March 9, 2016, journalists Dan Sagalyn and Jamie McIntyre take their audience at Campus Consortium partner Davidson College behind the scenes into their series on Pentagon plans to spend an estimated $1 trillion to buy a new generation of nuclear weapons to replace the current arsenal.

Their two-day visit to Davidson comes on the heels of the third installment of their multi-part series for PBS NewsHour. This latest segment examines the thinking behind America's nuclear triad—a strategic set-up that relies on aircraft, submarines and land-based missiles to strike an adversary—and the Pentagon's plans for the nuclear arsenal over the next three decades.

Military commanders and administration officials say nuclear weapons are used every day to deter a nuclear attack against the U.S. and that the current stockpile needs to be replaced and modernized. But two leading critics, former defense secretary William Perry and retired Gen. James Cartwright, say one leg of the triad—land-based nuclear tipped missiles—should be scrapped because it poses almost as much of a threat to the U.S. as it does to an enemy. As part of their Pulitzer Center-supported reporting project, Sagalyn and McIntyre showed NewsHour viewers the inside of an underground bunker.

Dan Sagalyn and Jamie McIntyre
"The Nuclear Debate No One Is Having"
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Davidson College
Knobloch Campus Center – Alvarez College Union
C. Shaw Smith 900 Room
207 Faculty Drive
Davidson, NC