logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2023
56m 46s

Oppenheimer: The Genius, the Film, and t...

The Ringer
About this episode

Richard Rhodes, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 'The Making of the Atomic Bomb,' discusses the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Manhattan Project, the history of nuclear weapons, and the new film on his life by Christopher Nolan.

If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. You can find us on TikTok at www.tiktok.com/@plainenglish_

Host: Derek Thompson

Guest: Richard Rhodes

Producer: Devon Manze

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Up next
Today
The Future of Entertainment, Part 1: Is Hollywood's Business Model Broken?
The film and TV business has quietly—or, if you work in the industry, not so quietly—been in a depression for the past few years. Original TV work has plummeted. In 2024, Americans bought about 40 percent fewer movie tickets than they did in 2019, the year before the pandemic. Th ... Show More
46m 22s
Oct 7
Why Money Doesn't Buy Happiness in America
America is rich—richer than ever. Yet Americans are more anxious, lonelier, and less satisfied than people in many poorer nations. The 2025 World Happiness Report ranked the U.S. 24th in life satisfaction, its lowest on record. Maybe, as social scientists say, we’ve traded commun ... Show More
48m 38s
Oct 3
Is AI Really About to Solve Human Disease?
I’ve had the privilege of talking to many brilliant people about artificial intelligence. And when you ask them to imagine the most beneficial consequences of this technology, they almost always give the same answer: medicine. The dream is dazzling. Superintelligent AI will cure ... Show More
53m 41s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2023
Oppenheimer
Learn the true story behind the father of the atomic bomb. This episode explores not only his groundbreaking achievements as the inventor of the nuclear bomb but also the profound lessons his life and work offer. From his relentless pursuit of knowledge to his remarkable ability ... Show More
1h 14m
Jul 2023
Oppenheimer: “destroyer of worlds”
When the atom bomb was dropped in 1945, how did its inventor, J Robert Oppenheimer, feel? To mark the release of Christopher Nolan’s new blockbuster Oppenheimer, biographer Kai Bird joins Elinor Evans to discuss the man behind the creation of nuclear weaponry, and the difficult m ... Show More
37m 56s
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
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
58m 8s
Sep 2023
Oppenheimer: Birth of the Atomic Age with Kai Bird
If someone else led the Manhattan Project, would it have gone differently? Neil deGrasse Tyson discusses theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s film, and the creation of the atomic bomb with biographer Kai Bird.For more information about the new book: ht ... Show More
52m 22s
Jul 2023
Oppenheimer
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 of ... Show More
33m 21s
Dec 2023
Elon, Kissinger, Cuban, Haley, IPOs, and Guest Rob Copeland
We have a newspalooza for you today. Kara and Scott discuss Elon Musk's decision to put advertisers on blast, Henry Kissinger's death, Nikki Haley's next steps, those Mark Cuban political rumors, and Microsoft's non-voting seat at OpenAI. Then, guest Rob Copeland joins to discuss ... Show More
1h 20m
Aug 2023
REAL Story Behind J. Robert Oppenheimer – Abhijit Chavda Explains | The Ranveer Show 328
Check out my Meditation app: Level SuperMind Android - https://lvl.fit/androiddownload Ios - https://lvl.fit/iosdownload Join the Level Community Here: https://linktr.ee/levelsupermindcommunity Use my referral code RANVEER to get 1 week of free premium access. Welcome to another ... Show More
52m 38s
Jul 2023
'Oppenheimer' And The Science Of Atomic Bombs
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 s ... Show More
12m 27s