The Block Club Chicago Podcast What Would Happen If Chicago Got Nuked?
Nov 4, 2025
Freelance reporter Clint Worthington dives into the gripping premise of a nuclear strike on Chicago, based on his recent piece about the film "A House of Dynamite." He discusses how the movie portrays government responses with a mix of suspense and realism. The conversation explores the plausibility of such an attack, including real-world missile tracking and the limits of interception technology. Clint also highlights the ethical dilemmas leaders face in retaliation decisions and what a nuclear blast would mean for downtown Chicago.
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Simulations Are Best-Guess Exercises
- Simulations of nuclear strikes rely on limited historical data from Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
- Alexandra Bell and Clint Worthington stress planning is conjecture, not certainty.
Reporter Consulted Experts After Watching Film
- Clint watched A House of Dynamite and consulted Alexandra Bell from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
- He combined film critique with expert interviews to explore realism versus dramatization.
Attribution Would Likely Be Clearer
- In the film the missile's origin remains unknown, creating dramatic uncertainty.
- Experts say in real life tracking and attribution would likely be clearer because of constant surveillance.