The increasing miniaturization of nuclear weapons poses a major challenge to powers such as China. But the situation is complicated: nuclear technology is increasingly applied to commercial problems by companies which can safely navigate the byzantine regulations surrounding the export and sale of dual-use technologies.

We don't usually cover such serious topics at the elementary level, but if you're studying Chinese a little nuclear physics isn't going to be much of a challenge. So grab your mp3 player and get ready for a podcast that looks nuclear proliferation in the eye and calls it what it is: nuclear proliferation. We don't know if this will make you feel better or worse about living in the nuclear age, but it will make you sound a lot more educated.