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A Commonsense Policy for Avoiding a Disastrous Nuclear Decision

September 10, 2019

Admiral Sandy Winnefeld, USN (ret.), a distinguished professor of the practice in the Sam Nunn School, wrote "A Commonsense Policy for Avoiding a Disastrous Nuclear Decision" published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

But the intense time pressure involved in accurately diagnosing, and then ordering and executing a response to a nuclear attack, could easily backfire catastrophically. Specifically, the time pressure inherent in this launch-under-attack approach creates two unacceptable risks: that the president might fail to respond to a real attack, or that he or she might order a nuclear response to a false warning. To address these risks, the president should be able to order a delayed response—an option I call “decide under attack.”

Find the post in the Carnegie Endowment website.

Published in: Carnegie Endowment
I Tried to Limit My Screen Time

September 9, 2019

Ian Bogost, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Literature, Media, and Communication, recently wrote an article entitled “I Tried to Limit My Screen Time” for The Atlantic.

Here's an excerpt:

There are people who hate Twitter, and there are people who also hate themselves for using it anyway. I’m the second kind. Maybe everyone who uses the service is now. It doesn’t have to be Twitter, either. For you it might be Facebook, or Instagram, or Snapchat, or whatever other app that was built to farm your attention and now successfully reaps it abundantly.

For me, the loathing is multiple. First, there’s the compulsion of loading the app at all: of flicking its infinite scroll whenever I’m idle, even just briefly—at a stoplight, in front of the microwave, in the bathroom. Then there are the things I see there: the angry or bitter or stupid posts that make me angry or bitter or stupid in turn. And the things I share on the service, too: things I regret, or come close enough to posting to produce a phantom guilt that feels equally bad.

Read the full story here.

The School of Literature, Media, and Communication is a unit of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

Published in: The Atlantic
NATO Nuclear Policy in a Post-INF World

September 9, 2019

Jessica Cox, a Sam Nunn School of International Affairs alumna and NATO Director of Nuclear Policy, was credited for the substance of NATO Deputy Secretary Amb. Rose Gottemoeller's remarks.

Find the NATO article on its website.

Published in: North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NATO diplomats and experts meet in Riga to discuss NATO’s nuclear deterrence

September 6, 2019

Jessica Cox, a Sam Nunn School of International Affairs alumna and NATO's Director of Nuclear Policy, was cited in "NATO diplomats and experts meet in Riga to discuss NATO’s nuclear deterrence" by NATO.

“This symposium takes place at a challenging time” said Jessica Cox, NATO’s Director of Nuclear Policy, who chairs the two-day event. “We face a complex world where evolving capabilities across domains combine with increasing nuclear threats to challenge nuclear deterrence. A month ago, we saw the demise of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty due to Russia’s development and deployment of the SSC-8 missile system, which is nuclear-capable, mobile, hard to detect, and lowers the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons. Russia has also increased its nuclear exercises and rhetoric. We must adapt to this new security environment.”

Find the article on NATO's website.

Published in: North Atlantic Treaty Organization
The Legend of Mickey Mantle

September 4, 2019

An essay, which was adapted from a book co-authored by Georgia Tech School of History and Sociology Julius C. “Bud” Shaw Professor of Sports History Johnny Smith, entitled “The Legend of Mickey Mantle” was published by American Heritage, September 3.

Here's an excerpt:

Look at the determination on Mickey Mantle’s face—the resolve in his fierce blue eyes, his flexed jaw, and the hardness around his mouth. Look at the power—the prizefighter’s cheekbones, the bull’s neck, and the hint of a slugger’s shoulders. Is it the face of weakness, the look of a man fragile enough to crack into a million pieces?

Read the full essay here.

The School of History and Sociology is a unit of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

Published in: American Heritage
Waffle House Has an Official Poet Laureate. For Real.

September 4, 2019

Karen Head, executive director of the Naugle Communication Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology, as well as the associate chair and associate professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, was interviewed by Atlanta Magazine in an article published on August 30 entitled "Waffle House Has an Official Poet Laureate. For Real."

Read an excerpt:

The phrase “scattered, smothered, and covered” has a certain poetic ring, so it’s fitting that Waffle House has its own poet laureate. Georgia Tech poetry professor Karen Head is the first to lay claim to that title. We caught up with the recently anointed scribe in advance of her appearance at this weekend’s Decatur Book Festival:

How did you become Waffle House Poet Laureate?
Georgia Tech and Waffle House are very firmly connected. All of the heads of Waffle House have been Georgia Tech graduates. The current CEO Walt Ehmer is a Georgia Tech graduate, and the former CEO Bert Thornton was a Tech graduate. Bert and I got to know each other through some alumni events. We talked about Georgia Tech’s guaranteed admission for any valedictorian or salutatorian in the state. The first year it was offered, there were 37 counties that did not send a single application. Many students just don’t have any examples of someone who has gone to college in their lives.

Read the full interview here.

The School of Literature, Media, and Communication is a unit of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

Published in: Atlanta Magazine
Millions of Children Exposed to Opioid Misuse at Home, New Study Reveals

September 3, 2019

Lindsey Bullinger, assistant professor in the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Public Policy, was recently quoted in an article originally written by Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts Media Relations Representative/Writer Michael Pearson, which was aggregated by the outlet Medical Xpress. The article, republished by Medical Xpress on August 26, is entitled "Millions of Children Exposed to Opioid Misuse at Home, New Study Reveals."

Here's an excerpt:

More than 3.8 million U.S. children live with an adult who is inappropriately using opioids, according to a new estimate from the Georgia Institute of Technology's School of Public Policy.

The study, which spans the years 2002 to 2017, also found that while fewer children are living with someone who casually misuses opioids, the number living with adults exhibiting signs of more serious abuse increased by 30 percent and the number living with heroin users rose 200 percent.

Read the full article here.

The School of Public Policy is a unit of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

Published in: Medical Xpress
The Return of Doomsday: The New Nuclear Arms Race—and How Washington and Moscow Can Stop It

September 3, 2019

Senator Sam Nunn, a Sam Nunn School of International Affairs distinguished professor and co-chair of NTI, and Ernest Moniz, the CEO and co-chair of NTI, have co-authored in "The Return of Doomsday" in the September/October 2019 edition of Foreign Affairs.

With both sides on high alert, a cyberattack of unknown origin is launched against Russian early warning systems, simulating an incoming air attack by NATO against air and naval bases in Kaliningrad. With only minutes to confirm the authenticity of the attack and no ongoing NATO-Russian crisis-management dialogue, Moscow decides it must respond immediately and launches conventional cruise missiles from Kaliningrad bases at NATO’s Baltic airfields; NATO also responds immediately, with air strikes on Kaliningrad.

Find the article on the Foreign Affairs website.

Published in: Foreign Affairs
Sen. Sam Nunn On Johnny Isakson’s Retirement, Daughter Michelle’s Interest In Seat

August 29, 2019

Senator Sam Nunn, a distinguished professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, was interviewed in "Sen. Sam Nunn On Johnny Isakson’s Retirement, Daughter Michelle’s Interest In Seat" by WABE.

Listen to the interview on WABE.

Published in: WABE
Let's not overreact to the economic slowdown

August 28, 2019

Dennis Lockhart, a distinguished professor of the practice in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, has written a coop entitled "Let's not overreact to the economic slowdown" in The Hill.

Recession fears have escalated in recent weeks along with volatility in U.S. financial markets. Volatility can undermine the confidence that fuels the main street economy’s momentum. But financial market volatility alone is unlikely to bring on a recession unless severe and prolonged. As things stand today, it’s reasonable to be cautiously optimistic that a recession can be avoided in the next several months.

Find the article on The Hill.

Published in: The Hill
Nobody’s Watching the Best Giant-Monster Movies

August 26, 2019

Lisa Yaszek, a professor in the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Literature, Media, and Communication, was interviewed on Wired's "Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast," August 24.

Here's an excerpt:

The recent films I Kill Giants, A Monster Calls, and Colossaleach present an original take on the idea of giant monsters. Science fiction author Seth Dickinson thinks that Colossal, about a struggling writer who finds herself in control of a city-smashing kaiju, is particularly clever.

“It does everything a romantic comedy does, but in a way that reveals how creepy a lot of these rom-com traits are,” Dickinson says in Episode 375 of the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast. “Colossal does an amazing job of taking every single one of these rom-com trajectories and just steering them right into horror, which I loved.”

Unfortunately, all three movies failed to connect with audiences. Science fiction professor Lisa Yaszek suspects that these movies, which deal with serious themes of grief and alienation, may have been too thoughtful for their own good.

Read the full article and listen to the episode here.

The School of Literature, Media, and Communication is a unit of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

Published in: Wired
Video Game Violence Once United Political Parties. Why Is It A Partisan Issue Now?

August 21, 2019

Ian Bogost, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Literature, Media, and Communication, was recently interviewed by Georgia Public Broadcasting in a segment entitled “Video Game Violence Once United Political Parties. Why Is It A Partisan Issue Now?”

Here's an excerpt:

In the aftermath of mass shootings, debate over why these massacres keep happening — and how to fix them — bubbles up again. And, after the shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, President Donald Trump again pointed to mental illness and violent video games.

Politicians singling out video games for inspiring violence isn't new. (Nor is the research debunking this connection.) In the past, however, moral outrage and blame came from both sides of the political aisle. Now, a recent article in The Atlantic argues that the topic has become an increasingly partisan issue.

Read the full story here.

The School of Literature, Media, and Communication is a unit of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

Published in: GPB News
Sam Nunn on U.S., China, Russia's Nuclear Strategy

August 20, 2019

Senator Sam Nunn, a distinguished professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, was interviewed in "Sam Nunn on U.S., China, Russia's Nuclear Strategy" by Bloomberg Television.

Find the interview on Bloomberg Television website.

Published in: Bloomberg Television
Living in a Plastic World

August 7, 2019

Katie Schaag, a Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, was recently interviewed on WORT FM in a segment entitled "Living in a Plastic World," August 5.

Read an excerpt here:

Plastic is all around us: our electronics, our furniture, our clothes, our shoes—and even our food. It’s hard to imagine a world without plastic. So what do we do with all of it?

On today’s show, we take a closer look at plastic through the lens of culture, health, and the environment with scholar and artist Katie Schaag, who taught a class on plastic at UW–Madison last year, and David Pinsky with Greenpeace USA. They discuss the ethics of global plastic production and pollution, microplastics and health, the growing movement to ditch plastic straws, and much more.

Katie Schaag is a Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Tech. She is currently working on a book project, American Plasticity,which draws upon eco-criticism, queer theory, and neuroscience to theorize synthetic plastic aesthetics in contemporary performance art, visual art, and pop culture.

Listen to the full episode here.

The School of Literature, Media, and Communication is a unit of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

Published in: WORT FM
Georgia Tech Expert Raises Concerns about Medical Crowdfunding for Advanced Cancer Therapies

August 7, 2019

Aaron Levine, an associate professor in the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Public Policy, was recently quoted in an article entitled “Georgia Tech Expert Raises Concerns about Medical Crowdfunding for Advanced Cancer Therapies” for Metro Atlanta CEO, August 7.

Here's an excerpt:

Personalized medicines that harness the power of our own immune cells to beat back advanced cancers offer great promise, but also raise concerns about how patients will pay for these costly therapies. A new paper from the Georgia Institute of Technology shows some patients are turning to crowdfunding.

That troubles Aaron Levine, a bioethicist in the School of Public Policy. He has written a new paper in The Lancet Oncology’s August 2019 issue examining the use of crowdfunding for a particular kind of cell-based cancer therapy.

“It’s kind of a canary in the coal mine situation,” he said. “These are highly effective therapies for very sick patients. But if patients have to deal with costs in this way when the number of people undergoing these treatments is small, what will happen when these therapies become more broadly available?

Read the full story here.

The School of Public Policy is a unit of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

Published in: Metro Atlanta CEO
Home Help: Dial Up Thermostat to Lower Energy Costs

August 5, 2019

Georgia Tech School of Public Policy Associate Professor Daniel Matisoff was quoted in "Home Help: Dial Up Thermostat to Lower Energy Costs" in The St. Augustine Record, August 5.

Excerpt:

"When the weather is hot, keeping the house cool leads to added energy costs. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the highest energy consumption of the year is recorded in July, followed by August.

Summer is not over yet, but there are plenty of simple tips to reduce your dependence on traditional energy sources and cut costs."

Public Policy is a unit of Georgia Tech's Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

Read the full article.

Published in: The St. Augustine Record
Smarten Up About the Economy

August 1, 2019

Georgia Tech School of Economics Associate Professor Tibor Besedes joined a panel of experts to talk about the economy on 1a, a radio show syndicated by NPR. The episode, entitled "Smarten Up About the Economy," aired on July 30.

Here's an excerpt:

It’s extremely likely that the Federal Reserve will decide to lower interest rates this year.

Lost already? Yup, us too. Here’s more about how the cut might affect you, per Gizmodo’s Lifehacker:

"When the Fed cuts interest rates, it usually means it’ll cost less to borrow money—whether you’re applying for a new credit card or taking out a mortgage.

However, interest rate cuts aren’t typically associated with a growing economy. As Ann Saphir at Reuters reminds us, the last time the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates was during 'the depths of the financial crisis more than a decade ago.'"

So what’s behind the Fed’s choice? Does the American economy need the support of an interest rate cut?

Listen here. Questions to Besedes start at the 24:28 mark.

The School of Economics is a unit of the Ivan Allen College of Libeal Arts.

Published in: The 1a
What "Yesterday" — and Everyone Else — Forgets About the Beatles

August 1, 2019

Jay Bolter, professor and director of computational media at the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Literature, Media, and Communication, recently wrote an article entitled “What "Yesterday" — and Everyone Else — Forgets About the Beatles” for Salon, July 29.

Here's an excerpt:

Fans of Richard Curtis’ rom-coms (and based on his box office numbers there must be tens of millions) will find in "Yesterday" many of the pleasures that drew them to "Four Weddings and a Funeral," "Notting Hill," "Love, Actually" and "Bridget Jones’s Diary." This film, however, has a fantasy dimension that the others did not. An unsuccessful singer-composer, Jack Malik, awakens from a bicycle accident into a world in which the Beatles never existed. Their catalog of songs is gone, and after a moment of moral hesitation, Jack resolves to present them as his own. In "Yesterday"’s universe, these quintessential 1960s songs are as popular as they were in our universe, and make Jack an overnight star. Some critics have liked "Yesterday," but many were disappointed that the film does not treat its clever premise more seriously — or that the film squanders the opportunity to explore the meaning of the Beatles' music today.

Read the full story here.

The School of Literature, Media, and Communication is a unit of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

Published in: Salon
California Stem-cell Agency’s Supporters Reveal Plan for $5.5-billion Ballot Initiative

July 29, 2019

Aaron Levine, an associate professor in the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Public Policy, was recently quoted in an article entitled “California Stem-cell Agency’s Supporters Reveal Plan for $5.5-billion Ballot Initiative” for Nature, July 24.

Here's an excerpt:

Advocates for stem-cell research in California are pushing ahead with a plan to save the struggling state-funded California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) by asking the state’s voters to approve a US$5.5-billion lifeline for the agency.

Americans for Cures, a group in Palo Alto, California, that advocates for stem-cell research, plans to form a non-profit lobbying arm in October or November to support the proposal, the group’s founder and chair, Robert Klein, told Nature. Its goal is to put the plan before California voters in November 2020 during the next state-wide election.

Read the full story here.

The School of Public Policy is a unit of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

Published in: Nature
False Assumptions Behind the Current Drive to Regulate Social Media

July 25, 2019

Georgia Institute of Technology School of Public Policy Professor Milton Mueller was recently quoted in the article "False Assumptions Behind the Current Drive to Regulate Social Media," which was published by the Cato Institute on July 23.

Here's an excerpt:

In the early days of the Internet, citing concerns about pedophiles and hackers, parents would worry about their children’s engagement on unfamiliar platforms. Now, those same parents have Facebook accounts and get their news from Twitter. However, one look at a newspaper shows op-eds aplenty castigating the platforms that host an ever-growing share of our social lives. Even after more than a decade of social media use, prominent politicians and individuals who lack critical awareness of the realities and limitations of social media platforms choose to scapegoat platforms—rather than people—for a litany of social problems. Hate speech on Facebook? Well, it’s obviously Facebook’s fault. Fake news? Obviously created by Twitter.

But, what if these political concerns are misplaced? In a new Cato Policy Analysis, Georgia Tech’s Milton Mueller argues that that the moral panic attending social media is misplaced.

Read the full story here.

The School of Public Policy is a unit of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

Published in: Cato Institute

Recent Press Coverage

A Commonsense Policy for Avoiding a Disastrous Nuclear Decision

I Tried to Limit My Screen Time

NATO Nuclear Policy in a Post-INF World

NATO diplomats and experts meet in Riga to discuss NATO’s nuclear deterrence

The Legend of Mickey Mantle

Waffle House Has an Official Poet Laureate. For Real.

Millions of Children Exposed to Opioid Misuse at Home, New Study Reveals

The Return of Doomsday: The New Nuclear Arms Race—and How Washington and Moscow Can Stop It

Sen. Sam Nunn On Johnny Isakson’s Retirement, Daughter Michelle’s Interest In Seat

Let's not overreact to the economic slowdown

Nobody’s Watching the Best Giant-Monster Movies

Video Game Violence Once United Political Parties. Why Is It A Partisan Issue Now?

Sam Nunn on U.S., China, Russia's Nuclear Strategy

Living in a Plastic World

Georgia Tech Expert Raises Concerns about Medical Crowdfunding for Advanced Cancer Therapies

Home Help: Dial Up Thermostat to Lower Energy Costs

Smarten Up About the Economy

What "Yesterday" — and Everyone Else — Forgets About the Beatles

California Stem-cell Agency’s Supporters Reveal Plan for $5.5-billion Ballot Initiative

False Assumptions Behind the Current Drive to Regulate Social Media

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