Nine countries, including North Korea, have nuclear weapons. What would happen if a nuclear bomb was dropped-- say, in New York City? We talk to nuclear historian Dr. Alex Wellerstein, nuclear engineer Dr. Tetsuji Imanaka, and epidemiologist Dr. Eric Grant.
UPDATE 04/27: We've adjusted this episode to correct the elevated risk of cancer in survivors of the H ... Show More
Sep 25
How to Smell like a Dog, with Ed Yong
Ever wonder why your dog just loves to sniff your junk? Well, it turns out it’s because other animals perceive the world in wild ways that we’re just beginning to understand. So today, we’re immersing ourselves in their world, talking about the cutting-edge science of how animals ... Show More
48m 10s
Sep 2022
NBN Classic: Kate Brown, "Manual for Survival: A Chernobyl Guide to the Future" (Norton, 2019)
This episode proved remarkably popular, so we're reposting it as an NBN classic for those who missed it the first time.We cannot learn from disasters we do not yet understand. That conviction motivated historian Kate Brown to conduct groundbreaking research into nuclear energy’s ... Show More
47m 27s
Aug 2023
#330 — The Doomsday Machine
Sam Harris speaks with Carl Robichaud about the ongoing threat of nuclear war. They discuss the film "Oppenheimer," the ethics of dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the false lessons of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the history and future of nuclear proliferation, the l ... Show More
1h 35m
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
28m 52s
Jun 2022
Checks and Balance: Breaking nukes
Since America dropped the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, a fragile balance of deterrence, treaties, fear and taboo has stopped the world’s nuclear powers from deploying their arsenals in anger. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has ushered in a new nuclear era. How should ... Show More
48m 56s
Oct 2022
What can we do with nuclear waste?
The race to reduce emissions has more and more nations reaching for the nuclear option. Nuclear power plants are being built around the world, generating carbon-free electricity day and night, windy or calm. But they also generate radioactive waste, some of which can remain deadl ... Show More
27m 35s
Jul 2020
Ep 53 Radiation: X-Ray Marks the Spot
“I have discovered something interesting, but I do not know whether or not my observations are correct.” With these words, Wilhelm Röntgen introduced the world to an invisible power, a power which would in turn be used to both harm and heal. This week, we take a tour of the wide ... Show More
1h 53m