During the Cold war, the USA and USSR build up nuclear stockpiles of tens of thousands of warheads and developed a suite of potentially destabilising technologies. Then, through a series of agreements (most recently New START), arsenals were dramatically cut while some types of system were heavily restricted or banned outright. Now though, the treaty regime is breaking down. Russia closed to door on mutual inspections, 'suspended' the treaty in 2023 and the agreement as a whole is due to expire in Feb 2026. With the caps on US and Russian nukes faltering, other nations pushing up warhead counts and technologies like MIRVs proliferating, today we're going to talk arms treaties, missile math, and the future of nuclear strategic armaments.