Host of "The Intercepted" podcast, Jeremy Scahill, had "Pentagon Papers" whistleblower Dan Ellsberg on to discuss his new book, "The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner." The interview takes place from the 44:00 minute mark to the 1:06:00 minute mark on the podcast entitled "Full Metal Jackass."
Ellsberg discusses Nuclear Winter at various points throughout the interview. He remarks that a nuclear war between India and Pakistan, utilizing "just" fission weapons, could cause a Nuclear Winter that would kill two billion people due to crop failures.
He warns, however, that a Nuclear Winter caused by a large exchange of thermonuclear weapons could last a decade, and kill most human beings on the planet.
Nuclear Winter would be caused by the smoke and soot of burning cities polluting the atmosphere to the point where the sun's light and warmth would be largely blocked out for an extended period of time. The failure of crops would then cause widespread famine.