Mass Defect

mass defect: life in the new nuclear age

Mass Defect, which I'll be reporting from 2021-2022 for Bold Type Books, will bring conversations about the nuclear complex to the public square, not just the think-tank table. In four parts, the book will investigate nuclear policy and politics; the scientific research scene; the next-generation nuclear physicists; and the communities, culture, and philosophies underpinning all of that.

We live in a time when nuclear culture is more important than it has been since the Cold War. Mass Defect aims to illuminate the scientific and societal issues swirling around the topic.

Contact me here if you have thoughts, ideas, insights, tips, or reading suggestions.

Read some of my previous work on nuclear science and weapons technology:

"What New Insights about Our First Nuclear Test Reveal about the Future of War," Popular Science

"Alarm Will Sound," Popular Science

"Inside the Extreme Machine That Mimics Bombs and Black Holes," Wired

"An American Tail," Popular Science

"A Model to Detect Explosions Big and Small," Physics Today

"US Continues Push to Restart Pit Production," Physics Today

"Navigating a Career in Secret Physics," Physics Today

"ARPA-E Program Brings Diagnostics to Fusion Companies," Physics Today

"Radioactive Material is Basically Everywhere, and that's a Problem," Scientific American

"Nuclear Testing Downwinders Speak abo ut History and Fear," Scientific American

"An Inside Look at the Radiation-Sensing Material that’s on the Pentagon’s Radar," Popular Science

"The Looming Revival of Wyoming’s Uranium Mining for Nuclear Power," Wyoming Truth

"The Forgotten History of Radiometric Dating," Physics Today

"Neutrino Detectors Could Spot Nuclear Rogues," Wired

"This Bomb-Simulating Supercomputer Just Broke a Record," Wired

"How a Uranium Hunter Sniffs out Nuclear Weapons," Wired

"Cosmic Ray Showers Crash Computers. Here's What to Do about It," Wired

"Inside the Government's Quantum Computing Summer School," VICE

"Companies and Government Agencies Propose Nuclear Reactors for Space," Physics Today

"Are We Doing Enough to Protect Earth from Asteroids?" Scientific American

"Here Be Dragons: Meet the Radioactive Rock Collectors," Atlas Obscura

Photo Credits, top left to bottom right: LeRoy Sanchez/LANL; LANL; US Government; LANL; Randy Montoya/Sandia National Laboratories; Nevada National Security Site. Background: Nevada National Security Site