The show featured an interview with writer and public policy analyst at the firm Consultant, William Lanouette. He earned his Masters and Doctorate at the London School of Economics. His doctoral thesis studied the abuse of scientific information by British and American legislators. During that SALT talks of 1969, Lanouette’s analysis began to focus on nuclear weapons and power. Prior to his current consulting position, he supported Congress as a Senior Analyst at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (1991-2006). In both positions, he has focused on energy and science issues. His writing has largely analyzed the work of Leo Szilard, the man who developed the theory behind nuclear chain reactions and the critical mass need to sustain them.

A well-respected scholar in the field, he has worked for many reputable publications including Newsweek, the National Observer, the National Journal, and he was the Washington Correspondent for The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists – with freelance pieces for The Atlantic, The Economist, and Scientific American. He is also the author of Genius in the Shadows: A Biography of Leo Szilard, The Man Behind the Bomb.

Mr. Lanouette talk to Richard and Joe about the amazing life and times of this monumental physicist, biologist and arms-control activist. In his writing, Mr. Lanouette’s asks which is better for society: scientists working within the government or outside it?

“In both science and politics, Szilard took a uniquely original approach, advancing not by evolution or by revolution – but by subversion. “

“He [Leo Szilard] was one of the most intelligent people I have ever known. His mind worked quickly and profoundly, and he was able to come to ideas that most of us appreciated only after many hours of talk. This was his strength and, of course, also his weakness. He was always ahead of his time. His ideas often were expressed in paradoxes, and the paradoxes were not always understood.” –Hans Bethe (Nobel laureate in physics)

LISTEN TO PODCAST

Listen to a podcast of Bill Lanouette’s interview!