In America, it’s the president who decides whether the country goes to nuclear war. In this audio essay, W.J. Hennigan argues against the United States’ sole decision-making authority on nuclear weapons. The country’s nuclear power structure, he says, is “too much power for one person to have, to decide whether or not the world as we know it will exist.”
(A full transcript of this audio essay will be available within 24 hours of publication in the audio player above.)
This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Jillian Weinberger. It was edited by Alison Bruzek, Kaari Pitkin and Annie-Rose Strasser. Mixing by Carole Sabouraud. Original music by Sonia Herrero and Carole Sabouraud. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta.
This Times Opinion series is funded through philanthropic grants from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Outrider Foundation and the Prospect Hill Foundation. Funders have no control over the selection or focus of articles or the editing process and do not review articles before publication. The Times retains full editorial control.
The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.
Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, X and Threads.