Uncommon Knowledge

Uncommon Knowledge Archive: Oppenheimer’s Edward Teller and Sid Drell on ICBM Defense Systems | Uncommon Knowledge | Peter Robinson | Hoover Institution

Jan 30, 2024

Edward Teller, a nuclear physicist and key figure in Oppenheimer, and Sidney Drell, a nuclear arms control expert, debate the necessity and regulations of nuclear weapons in the late 20th century. They discuss President Reagan's defense systems proposal, the wastefulness of his defense program, and the complexities of developing and implementing a defense system. Former CIA Director James Woolsey joins them to emphasize the importance of missile defense against threats to allies and terrorism.

28:08

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Episode guests

Edward Teller

Sidney Drell

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Quick takeaways

Edward Teller supports the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) while Sidney Drell opposes it, showcasing differing opinions on the feasibility of a missile defense system.

The deployment of a missile defense system raises diplomatic concerns and requires international collaboration due to the implications of treaties and potential threats from multiple nations.

Deep dives

The Strategic Defense Initiative and Differing Perspectives

Physicists Edward Teller and Sidney Drell discuss the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), also known as Star Wars. Teller supports SDI, while Drell opposes it. Teller believes that the technological advancements make a defense system against ballistic missiles possible, while Drell argues that the technology does not exist yet. They had similar disagreements when President Reagan first proposed SDI in 1983.

Introduction

5min

Support for Ronald Reagan's Proposal on Defense Systems and Hope for Non-Nuclear Defense

2min

Discussion on President Reagan's Expensive Defense Program

2min

Protecting the United States: Efforts, Impact, and Political Challenges

2min

The Threat of Ballistic Missiles and the Need for Defense

16min

With the recent announcement that Oppenheimer, the film directed by Christopher Nolan, had garnered 11 Academy Award nominations, it seemed timely to pull from the archives this rarely seen episode of Uncommon Knowledge with Peter Robinson from 1996 (the third episode ever shot), featuring nuclear physicists and Hoover senior fellows Edward Teller and Sidney Drell. Teller was involved in the development of the first atomic bomb and is prominently featured in Oppenheimer. Drell was an expert in the field of nuclear arms control and cofounder of the Center for International Security and Arms Control, now the Center for International Security and Cooperation. He later was deputy director of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC) from 1969 until his retirement from the lab in 1998. In this episode, Teller and Drell engage in a lively debate about the role of nuclear weapons and how they should be regulated in the late 20th century.

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