Fault Lines Episode 554: A New New START?
Fri Feb 06 2026
Today Jess, Les, Morgan, and Matt unpack the expiration of New START, the 2010 arms control treaty long described as the last remaining guardrail on U.S. and Russian nuclear forces. Washington and Moscow together hold roughly 85% of the world’s nuclear weapons but Russia has proven an inconsistent arms control partner, raising questions of what, if anything, comes next.
Is negotiating a new agreement worthwhile if Russia and China show little interest in being constrained? What would a credible next framework need to include? And absent a formal treaty, what informal mechanism can realistically prevent a new arms race?
@morganlroach
@lestermunson
@NotTVJessJones
@WMattHayden
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Today Jess, Les, Morgan, and Matt unpack the expiration of New START, the 2010 arms control treaty long described as the last remaining guardrail on U.S. and Russian nuclear forces. Washington and Moscow together hold roughly 85% of the world’s nuclear weapons but Russia has proven an inconsistent arms control partner, raising questions of what, if anything, comes next. Is negotiating a new agreement worthwhile if Russia and China show little interest in being constrained? What would a credible next framework need to include? And absent a formal treaty, what informal mechanism can realistically prevent a new arms race? @morganlroach @lestermunson @NotTVJessJones @WMattHayden Like what we're doing here? Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe. And don't forget to follow @faultlines_pod and @masonnatsec on Twitter! We are also on YouTube, and watch today's episode here: https://youtu.be/SzqhtbLQ1EQ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.