Arms Control Wonk

Article

Mad Max MANPADS in Yemen

Given the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and Operation Rough Rider, the U.S. air campaign against the Houthis conducted from March to May, 2025, we have been thinking about Houthi missiles more than usual. A surprising detail which emerged…

Episode36 min

Iran’s Pathway to the Bomb

Aaron and Jeffrey finally deconflict their schedules to talk about the outcome of the Israeli-Iranian war, Iran’s pathway back to the bomb, and why they’re both irritated with the “fix it or nix it crowd.”

Article

Institute of Atomic Energy in Pyongyang

A post written with Allison Berke… While the locations of many of North Korea’s most important nuclear facilities are known to the general public, one of North Korea’s more obscure locations has remained a mystery. In the mid-1980s, North Korea…

Article

Recalling two mentors

1. Jonathan D. Pollack My father, Jonathan Pollack, died at the end of May after what’s politely called a long convalescence. He had worked over several decades as a scholar of Chinese foreign and defense policy. After completing his PhD…

Episode28 min

Israel Strikes Iran

Aaron and Jeffrey sat down to discuss the latest new from Iran, where Israel has been launching strike on leadership, nuclear, and missile targets.

Article

A New Enrichment Plant At Yongbyon?

By Jeffrey Lewis and Sam Lair On Monday, June 9, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi reported to the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna that “the Agency is monitoring the construction of a new building at Yongbyon which has dimensions…