logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2023
12m 27s

'Oppenheimer' And The Science Of Atomic ...

NPR
About this episode
Christopher Nolan's new film 'Oppenheimer' chronicles the life and legacy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the first director of Los Alamos National Laboratory and so-called "Father of the Atomic Bomb." The movie does not shy away from science — and neither do we. We talked to current scientists at Los Alamos about the past and present science of nuclear weapons like the atomic bomb.

Read more about the Manhattan Project.

Want us to cover other historical science or science in pop culture? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear from you!

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
Up next
Jun 12
Why your sunscreen is finally getting a major upgrade
Until this week, the United States hadn’t approved a new sunscreen ingredient in over 20 years. That changed Tuesday, when the FDA approved a new chemical for U.S. sunscreens. It’s called bemotrizinol, and NPR science correspondent Maria Godoy joins us to tell us all about it — i ... Show More
9m 30s
Jun 10
How a single flu shot could protect you for decades
Every year, tens of millions of people in the U.S. get the flu vaccine. That’s because the virus changes year-to-year and protection only lasts around six months. Adolfo Garcia-Sastre wants to change that. He’s one scientist working on a universal flu vaccine that could provide d ... Show More
11m 26s
Jun 9
Your DNA is changing all the time. Here’s why
We tend to think of the DNA strands that contain our genetic code as consistent, stable units. But in reality, the cells that make up our bodies are constantly replicating and changing. Even as you read this sentence, in fact, the genes within your cells are mutating. So, what ca ... Show More
14m 12s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2023
CultureLab: Oppenheimer – The rise and fall of the “father of the atomic bomb”
First J. Robert Oppenheimer created the weapon, then he fought for years to warn of its dangers. During the second world war, the so-called “father of the atomic bomb”, led a team of scientists in the US in a race against Nazi Germany to create the first nuclear weapon. Then it w ... Show More
27m 52s
Dec 2019
Qui est Robert Oppenheimer ?
Le physicien américain Robert Oppenheimer est surtout connu pour avoir été, selon l'expression consacrée, "le père de la bombe atomique", dans le cadre du projet Manhattan. Cependant, avant comme après la guerre, la contribution à la science de ce grand savant ne se limite pas à ... Show More
2m 3s
Jul 2020
Destroyer of Worlds
July 16, 1945. It happened within a millionth of a second. In the New Mexico desert in the early morning hours, a group of scientists watched in anticipation as the countdown began. It was silent at first, yet hot and unbelievably bright. Then came the sound. The first-ever atomi ... Show More
27m 11s
Jul 2023
Destroyer of Worlds (Replay)
July 16, 1945. It happened within a millionth of a second. In the New Mexico desert in the early morning hours, a group of scientists watched in anticipation as the countdown began. It was silent at first, yet hot and unbelievably bright. Then came the sound. The first-ever atomi ... Show More
28m 17s
Jul 2023
Here's What 'Oppenheimer' Gets Right--And Wrong--About Nuclear History
Here’s what a historian who has studied J. Robert Oppenheimer for two decades has to say about the new Christopher Nolan film on the father of the atomic bomb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 
15m 27s
Jul 2023
Oppenheimer
<p>On a summer morning in 1945, a device known simply as 'Gadget' was detonated. An enormous explosion tore a crater into the New Mexico desert, melting sand into radioactive green glass and sending a mushroom cloud 7.5 miles into the sky. This was the first controlled detonation ... Show More
33m 21s
Jun 2023
343: Oppenheimer: The Father of the Atom Bomb (Part 1)
“Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” This was J. Robert Oppenheimer’s reaction to the first atomic bomb test in July 1945, marking the beginning of the nuclear age. Oppenheimer, an American theoretical physicist of Jewish-German descent, was in charge of the American ... Show More
55m 8s
Jul 2023
Oppenheimer
Often referred to as the father of the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer's work in the field of theoretical physics changed the world as we knew it. Working in Los Alamos, New Mexico during the Second World War, the Manhattan Project and the scientific advancements achieved ther ... Show More
29m 51s