Las Vegas & Atomic Tourism

In the 1950s, the US government conducted a series of nuclear bomb tests in the Mojave desert, right next door to Las Vegas. Tourists flocked to the luxurious hotels of America's gambling capital to watch mushroom clouds billow over the horizon. These tests sparked an obsession with a chemical element that still inspires fear and fascination to this day - uranium.

Dan is joined by Lucy Jane Santos, author of 'The Atomic City: Las Vegas, Nuclear Energy, and the Uranium Era'. Lucy takes us through the highlights of the history of uranium and explains why Las Vegas exemplifies our fascination with this element.

Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Max Carrey.

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code DANSNOW - sign up at https://historyhit.com/subscription/.

We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.

You can take part in our listener survey here.