The Back from the Brink Podcast
Jul 2, 2026 · 31 min · 12 segments
With treaties expiring and traditional diplomatic routes breaking down, it may be hard to imagine how countries could come together to confront an existential challenge like nuclear weapons. But…
Bonnie JenkinsGuestRyann Blackshire-VargasHostLet me just, uh, read for those who, uh, who have missed it, but I am quoting the President of the United States.
"Tuesday will be power plant day and bridge day all wrapped up in one in Iran.
There will be nothing like it.
Open the [beep] Strait, you crazy [beep], or you'll be living in hell.
Just watch.
Praise be to Allah." Zanny, when you, when you-
... listen to this-
That's just one example of why diplomacy lately has been feeling strained, inconsistent, and sidelined.
In that kind of environment, it can be hard to picture countries working together to confront an existential challenge like nuclear weapons.
But in spite of that, we know that international cooperation is not unchartered territory.
Nations have come together before to reduce and even eliminate entire classes of weapons.
Those efforts didn't happen overnight, and they didn't happen easily, but they did happen, and Ambassador Jenkins played a key role in making that possible.
She also worked on the New START treaty, which was a landmark agreement between the US and Russia to limit the size of their nuclear arsenals and delivery systems.
So heading into my conversation with Ambassador Jenkins today, I have just one question in mind.
Can countries work together to get rid of nuclear weapons? Most of us have spent our entire lives under the threat of nuclear war, so it can be hard to imagine things could be different.
But as Molly McGinty told us back in episode one, we really have no other choice.
If anyone has the answer for whether countries can work together diplomatically and solve big problems like getting rid of nuclear weapons, it's Bonnie.
Let me just, uh, read for those who, uh, who have missed it, but I am quoting the President of the United States.
"Tuesday will be power plant day and bridge day all wrapped up in one in Iran.
There will be nothing like it.
Open the [beep] Strait, you crazy [beep], or you'll be living in hell.
Just watch.
Praise be to Allah." Zanny, when you, when you-
... listen to this-
That's just one example of why diplomacy lately has been feeling strained, inconsistent, and sidelined.
In that kind of environment, it can be hard to picture countries working together to confront an existential challenge like nuclear weapons.
But in spite of that, we know that international cooperation is not unchartered territory.
Nations have come together before to reduce and even eliminate entire classes of weapons.
Those efforts didn't happen overnight, and they didn't happen easily, but they did happen, and Ambassador Jenkins played a key role in making that possible.
She also worked on the New START treaty, which was a landmark agreement between the US and Russia to limit the size of their nuclear arsenals and delivery systems.
So heading into my conversation with Ambassador Jenkins today, I have just one question in mind.
Can countries work together to get rid of nuclear weapons? Most of us have spent our entire lives under the threat of nuclear war, so it can be hard to imagine things could be different.
But as Molly McGinty told us back in episode one, we really have no other choice.
If anyone has the answer for whether countries can work together diplomatically and solve big problems like getting rid of nuclear weapons, it's Bonnie.
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