Trump, Xi on track to meet in South Korea
According to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, President Donald Trump remains on track to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea during a trip to the country in late October. This will be the pair’s first meeting since Trump reclaimed the presidency.
Washington state radioactive waste plant makes history
On October 15, 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant in Hanford, Washington has successfully turned radioactive and hazardous chemical waste into a stable glass form for disposal. Officials said this is a milestone in the effort to clean up and responsible dispose of over 56 million gallons of radioactive waste held in underground tanks.
Amazon funding 12 SMRs for Washington nuclear facility
On October 16, 2025, Amazon announced that it will fund the deployment of 12 small modular reactors (SMR) from X-Energy at the planned Cascade Advanced Energy Facility in Washington state. The SMRs will be split into three 320-MW sections to comprise the 960-MW plant.
Pew Poll: Support for expanding nuclear energy in the US up in both parties
About six-in-ten U.S. adults now say they favor more nuclear power plants to generate electricity, according to a Pew Research Center survey fielded in April and May. That’s up from 43% in 2020, driven by increasing support among both Republicans and Democrats.
Podcast of the Week: Lucas
This week, I listened to a new episode of the Ones & Tooze podcast from Foreign Policy magazine, hosted by Columbia University history professor Adam Tooze and FP deputy editor Cameron Abadi. In this episode, Abadi spoke with the American political philosopher Michael Sandel, the recipient of the 2025 Berggruen Prize for Philosophy & Culture, to discuss Sandel’s critique of American liberalism and identify how it might be adjusted to address contemporary circumstances.