Experts React to Netflix's 'A House of Dynamite' 🔥

A nuclear missile is headed towards the United States in 'A House of Dynamite', Netflix’s new movie from director Kathryn Bigelow. Tension builds as leaders from different branches of the military and government realize the gravity of the moment and react both as officials with a duty, and as humans faced with the unthinkable.

The film explores real-world questions around the chain of command and defense strategy if a nuclear weapon were fired at the US. The story unfolds from the Pentagon to the White House , and around the world.

How accurately does the movie depict the initial reactions of a known launch? What is America’s capacity to defend against a direct nuclear strike? And perhaps most importantly, what conversations can the movie spark about arms control and deterrence?

Speakers include:

Alexandra Bell, president and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Jill Hruby, member of the  Science and Security Board at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. She previously served as the Under Secretary for Nuclear Security at the Department of Energy and Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration from 2021 to 2025. Previously, Hruby  had a 34-year career at Sandia National Laboratories retiring in 2017 as the Laboratories Director.

Major General Robert H. Latiff, USAF (Ret.), member of the Science and Security Board at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and an adjunct professor at the University of Notre Dame. He retired from the US Air Force as a major general in 2006.

Alex Wellerstein, Associate Professor and Director of the Science and Technology Studies program at the Stevens Institute of Technology. He is currently on leave to serve as a visiting researcher with the Nuclear Knowledges group at the Center for International Studies at Sciences Po in Paris, France.