How does it feel to write a plan that would kill tens of millions of people? I was in denial. I was part of a plan that should never have been made that was a crime against humanity. I once came to a disarmament press conference at the U.N., and Time had just had a picture on their cover of a terrorist, and I showed this picture from Time, and I said, “If I want to see a nuclear terrorist, I just have to look in the mirror.” Now if you say, “How do I feel about that?” Well, I feel terrible.

How surprised are you that there hasn’t been a nuclear apocalypse yet? I am surprised. On the whole, we’ve been incredibly lucky. It’s something like a miracle, but miracles, I guess, do happen. Could we survive another 70 or 100 years without nuclear winter? It’s unlikely, but it’s not impossible. But no matter how small the likelihood is, I’m working to try to double it.

Do you think President Trump is utilizing the madman theory with North Korea, purposely making them think he’s unstable, or is he just a madman? Oh, sure, he’s very explicit about it. He says he cannot reject first use of nuclear weapons, because you’ve got to keep it on the table. Well, that worried people, because he looks crazy, so people thought, Gee, he’s not just using the theory here, he is unfortunately making a very credible threat. But since the mid-’60s the idea of initiating nuclear war by the U.S. has been nothing other than a madman theory. It’s been insane to think of doing that.

You’re most famous for leaking the Pentagon Papers, which are the subject of the movie “The Post.” What do you think of how you were portrayed? Very, very well, because I was portrayed by a terrific actor who looks a lot as I did at the time, only better.