Nominations for the Oscars are announced on Tuesday and “Oppenheimer,” a film about the father of the atomic bomb, is expected to be among the front-runners. 

Catie Edmondson, a congressional correspondent for The Times, explains how the film sent her on a quest to find the secret story of how Congress paid for the bomb, and what it reveals about the inner workings of Washington.  

Guest: Catie Edmondson, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Watching “Oppenheimer,” a journalist wondered: How did the president get the $2 billion secret project past Congress?
• What to expect from the Oscar nominations.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

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