Ideas

A photo collage in red, white, and black showing Richard Nixon in side profile and explosions
Photo-illustration by Mike McQuade. Sources: Wally McNamee / Getty; Corbis / Getty.

The President’s Weapon

Why does the power to launch nuclear weapons rest with a single American?

A graphic featuring Pauline Shanks Kaurin, a silhouette of Kaurin with an X penned over, and two buildings at the Naval War College
Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Erica Denhoff / Getty; Carol M. Highsmith / Getty; U.S. Naval War College.

A Military-Ethics Professor Resigns in Protest

Over the course of several months, Pauline Shanks Kaurin concluded that she no longer had the academic freedom necessary for doing her job.