Summary: <p>Russian President Vladimir Putin has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/09/world/europe/russia-putin-nuclear-threat.html">launched rhetoric</a> about nuclear war in recent weeks, while escalating air missile attacks on Ukrainian cities after Russian forces suffered on-the-ground defeats. President Biden <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2022/10/07/biden-warns-of-nuclear-armageddon-00060904">recently remarked</a> that the world has only felt closer to nuclear war in 1962, at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Though U.S. officials <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/07/pentagon-no-sign-putin-is-planning-to-use-nukes-after-biden-armageddon-comment-00060922">have stated</a> they see no indication that Putin will follow through on his threats to use nuclear weapons, and Biden <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/11/biden-putin-nuclear-weapons-00061355">recently tempered</a> his own response, the rhetoric has still left many<a href="https://thehill.com/policy/international/3671258-putin-puts-us-officials-on-edge-with-nuclear-saber-rattling/"> on edge</a>. We’re taking a look at what’s prompting Putin to escalate now and the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/07/opinions/biden-nuclear-armageddon-new-arms-control-zelizer/index.html">rising stakes</a> of Russia's war in Ukraine.</p> <p>We're joined by <a href="https://twitter.com/julianzelizer">Julian E. Zelizer</a>, p<a href="https://history.princeton.edu/people/julian-e-zelizer">rofessor of history and public affairs</a> in the Princeton School of Public & International Affairs and <a href="https://twitter.com/FPRI_Orbis">Nikolas Gvosdev</a><a href="https://twitter.com/FPRI_Orbis">,</a> <a href="https://usnwc.edu/Faculty-and-Departments/Directory/Nikolas-K-Gvosdev">professor of national security affairs</a> at the Naval War College and editor of "<a href="https://www.fpri.org/orbis/">Orbis</a>," a journal of world affairs by the Foreign Policy Research Institute.</p>
