The History of the US Nuclear Program at Oppenheimer

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer film made a huge $174 million internationally on its opening weekend. The three-hour biopic of the so-called “father of the atomic bomb” dives into the personal and professional relationships of J. Robert Oppenheimer. It’s centered around the 1945 Trinity test in the Jornada del Muerto desert of New Mexico and the development of the Manhattan Project that led up to it; and second the 1954 Atomic Energy Commission hearing that led to Oppenheimer’s security clearance being withdrawn.

On this episode, we welcome Greg Mello, Executive Director of the Los Alamos Study Group, to talk about the film, the hidden history of the U.S. nuclear program, and the terrifying reality that the U.S. government continues to develop these weapons today, threatening the very survival of the planet.

Find the Los Alamos Study Group at lasg.org.

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