Part Three: The Men Who Might Have Killed Us All
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What is the harrowing story behind the men who decided to unleash nuclear weapons?
Welcome back to Behind the Bastards, the special episodes on how we're all possibly going to die in nuclear hellfire. I'm Robert Evans. This is a series we'll be doing over the course of two weeks, five episodes. We're in our second week, so you'll be getting a bonus episode this week about the sons of bitches who created the doomsday device that, again, could kill every single person you've ever known and loved and every animal on Earth except for, you know, Cockroaches and the like. 15 minutes from now or right now, you know, we'd have no way of knowing unless you're, I don't know, in the White House at this exact moment. Margaret Kiljoy, welcome to the show. How are you doing? You thinking about nukes?
Well, I got promised this was about Warhammer 40K, but I suppose we're learning about the nuclear apocalypse. I'll bring you on when we do our Warhammer show. Oh, yeah. Yeah, there's a lot of genocide in that, too. I could be the podcast editor for that, because I actually don't know anything about Warhammer. It does involve a lot of nukes and radiation poisoning, which is what we ended our last episode talking about. Our friend Louis Slotin, who was the partial father of the first atomic bomb, had his innards dissolved due to a horrible nuclear error. Oh, yeah, and he got to, like, kind of, like... leave a record for science because he was a pretty cool guy like that that's badass like when you know that like okay well i have just taken an immediately fatal dose of radiation i'm going to die the most nightmarish death imaginable time to take notes like fucking that's cool that's cool like
Also, acting with agency is a really good way to not stress. Right, yes. I have a job. I'm just doing my job. I'd say it takes him off the perpetrator. He did help build that first nuke, but as we've discussed, there's some mitigating factors. I think dying to it afterwards, you know. Yeah, his comeuppance happened.
I'm taking him off the list of guys I'm pissed at.
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A new true crime podcast from Tenderfoot TV. In the city of Mons in Belgium, women began to go missing. It was only after their dismembered remains began turning up in various places that residents realized a sadistic serial killer was lurking among them. The murders have never been solved. Three decades later, we've unearthed new evidence. Le Monstre, Season 2, is available now. Listen for free on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Malcolm Gladwell here. This season on Revisionist History, we're going back to the spring of 1988 to a town in northwest Alabama where a man committed a crime that would spiral out of control.
And he said, I've been in prison 24, 25 years. That's probably not long enough. And I didn't kill him.
From Revisionist History, this is The Alabama Murders. Listen to Revisionist History, The Alabama Murders on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Dr. Laurie Santos from the Happiness Lab here. It's the season of giving, and this year my podcast, The Happiness Lab, is partnering with GiveDirectly, a nonprofit that provides people in extreme poverty with the cash they need as part of the Pods Fight Poverty campaign. Our goal this year is to raise $1 million, which will bring over 700 families out of extreme poverty. Your donation will put cash directly in the hands of these families in need. And they'll get to decide how to use it, whether that's school transportation, purchasing livestock, or starting a business. Plus, if you're a first-time donor, your gift will be matched by giving multiplier, which means more money for those in need.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the harrowing story behind the men who decided to unleash nuclear weapons?
0:06–6:02
2
How did the use of atomic weapons impact Japan's surrender during WWII?
6:02–21:03
3
What arguments exist regarding the necessity of dropping atomic bombs?
21:03–35:23
4
How did military leaders justify the use of nuclear weapons post-WWII?
35:23–42:09
5
What role did Curtis LeMay play in shaping nuclear strategy?
42:09–1:15:52
6
How did the Korean War escalate the nuclear arms race?
1:15:52–1:21:01