“I felt burning in my throat”: Preparing for nuclear war in Livermore

In February, America’s nuclear arms treaty with Russia expired, ushering in “a global rush for new weapons,” according to New York Times. Much of the next generation of the US nuclear arsenal will be developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which has been designing and testing nuclear weapons since the early 1950s. The Lab’s history of hiding hazardous health impacts, security failures, and other troubling behavior should raise concerns not only in eastern Alameda County, but across the entire region. This episode features interviews with Marylia Kelley and Scott Yundt of Tri-Valley CARES, a watchdog group that’s been monitoring the Livermore Lab and advocating for community safety since 1983. Additionally, Sherry Pratt, a retired Lab employee and cancer survivor, joins the program to share her story. Listen now to hear about the stunning history of Lawrence Livermore National Lab, the origins of the nuclear weapons complex, and why transparency around the Lab’s operations is shrinking while its budget is booming. To see photos and links related to this episode, visit: Don’t forget to follow the East Bay Yesterday Substack for updates on events, boat tours, exhibits, and other local history news: Donate to keep this show alive: To learn more about Tri-Valley CARES, visit:

You can listen to “I felt burning in my throat”: Preparing for nuclear war in Livermore online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

“I felt burning in my throat”: Preparing for nuclear war in Livermore is an episode from East Bay Yesterday by East Bay Yesterday.

This episode is 01:16:09 long.

This episode was published on Mar 4, 2026.

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