BBC World Service

The Bomb

History EN ↓ 32 episodes

How the nuclear bomb shaped world history. The scientists who raced to build weapons, the spies who stole the technology and the superpowers who grappled with deployment. In Season 3, nuclear war is terrifyingly close. Can the superpowers of the Soviet Union and the USA prevent apocalypse? Nina Khrushcheva and Max Kennedy, relatives of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and US President John F Kennedy, tell the story of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Season 2 is about Klaus Fuchs, the brilliant young physicist from a pacifist German family whose spying for Russia changed history. Season 1 tells the s...

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BBC World Service

Episodes

Leo Szilard: 6. The first atomic bomb 04.09.2020 26:15

Time is running out. As Manhattan Project scientists test the world’s first nuclear bomb, Leo Szilard knows it’s the last chance to stop the US government from dropping the bomb on Japanese civilians. Working with colleagues at Chicago’s Met Lab, Szilard does all he can to alert the US president. But will his message get there in time? #thebomb

Leo Szilard: 5. Enemy alien 28.08.2020 24:47

The FBI pursues Leo Szilard as he loses control of the project to create a nuclear bomb. With his influence waning, the leaders of the Manhattan Project now threaten his liberty. But as the world’s first nuclear bomb comes within touching distance, Szilard fears it might soon be used on a city in Japan. #thebomb

Leo Szilard: 4. Pearl Harbour 21.08.2020 31:53

An attack on Pearl Harbour changes everything. After a surprise Japanese attack destroys US ships, the US declares war on Japan, and intensifies its efforts to create the first nuclear bomb. Caught in the middle of it all, Leo Szilard starts to lose his grip on the project. #thebomb

Leo Szilard: 3. The Einstein letter 14.08.2020 21:10

A vital message must be delivered to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Fearing the Nazis are on the verge of creating the first nuclear bomb, Leo Szilard needs to convince the US Government to take the threat seriously. In his hour of need, he reaches out to an old friend, Albert Einstein. #thebomb

Leo Szilard: 2. Race to the bomb 07.08.2020 18:20

It’s a race against time to beat the Nazis to the first nuclear bomb. After his epiphany in London, Leo Szilard must convince the scientific establishment to take the nuclear threat seriously. He turns to Frederick Lindemann, a friend of Winston Churchill. Meanwhile, in Germany, two scientists are about to make a discovery that will change the rules of science. #thebomb

Leo Szilard: 1. Moonshine 31.07.2020 27:58

A little-known scientist discovers something that will change the course of human history. After befriending some of the world’s greatest physicists in 1920s Berlin, Albert Einstein among them, Leo Szilard is forced to flee when the Nazis come to power. In London, he discovers the destructive possibilities of harnessing nuclear power; setting the course for the world’s first atomic bomb. #thebomb

Leo Szilard: The prologue 23.07.2020 2:57

“My grandfather in front of a mushroom cloud”. This is the story of why I wanted to know if the Bomb could have been stopped. Episode 1 available from 1 August. #thebomb