About this episode
Senator Harry Reid from the small Nevada town of Searchlight joins Art to discuss the controversial proposal to transport and store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, just 90 miles from Las Vegas. Reid expresses strong opposition to the federal government's plan to haul radioactive materials across the country to Nevada, calling it a dangerous precedent that puts millions of Americans at risk during transport. The conversation delves into the ethics of government decision-making and the power dynamics between federal authorities and state sovereignty. Reid argues that Nevada is being treated unfairly by Washington, with the state having little say in a decision that could affect its residents for hundreds of thousands of years. As the deadline approaches for Nevada's governor to veto the proposal, Reid warns about the long-term implications of this nuclear storage facility and questions whether America can truly be trusted as custodians of such deadly materials. The discussion reveals the complex political maneuvering behind one of the most contentious environmental issues of the early 2000s.