The Daily
The Shadowy Story of Oppenheimer and Congress
Jan 23, 2024
Catie Edmondson, a Congressional correspondent for The New York Times, dives into the shadows of history surrounding the Manhattan Project's funding. She shares her investigative journey sparked by the film 'Oppenheimer,' uncovering how Congress managed to finance a $2 billion secret project during WWII. Edmondson reveals the covert tactics used to secure funding, the hidden figures like Elmer Thomas who shaped military appropriations, and the balance of national security against press freedom in a time of urgency.
21:48
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Quick takeaways
- Congress secretly funded the atomic bomb project by diverting funds from different appropriations and including the money in the budget under an innocuous-sounding line item.
- A small group of lawmakers were briefed on the project's significance and sworn to secrecy to maintain the concealment of $800 million in funding for the atomic bomb project.
Deep dives
The Origins of the Movie Oppenheimer
The podcast explores the movie Oppenheimer, which tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb. The film sparked the curiosity of congressional correspondent Katie Edmondson and led her on a quest to uncover how Congress secretly funded the project. She became intrigued by the question of how such a massive undertaking could be concealed from the public and decided to investigate further.
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