Why is there so much talk about nuclear weapons this week?

This was a big week to get more afraid about nuclear weapons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the testing of a new nuclear-capable missile.

President Donald Trump responded by calling for the US to resume the testing of nuclear weapons.

Neither country has tested nuclear weapons since the ‘90s, and Russia was quick to clarify that Putin did not announce new nuclear testing. During a trip to Asia, Trump did not meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, who has rejected demands that his country denuclearize.

North Korea is one potential villain in a fictional movie about nuclear war on Netflix, Kathryn Bigelow’s “A House of Dynamite.” It is a “Rashomon”-style thriller about the concept of mutually assured destruction that the filmmakers mean to be a wakeup call for nuclear powers.