BBC World Service podcast to mark anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
A new podcast and radio series from the BBC World Service will tell the story of Leo Szilard, a pioneering scientist in the development of the nuclear bomb and a man who, having worked to unleash its potential, vocally opposed its use in World War Two.
Marking the 75th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, The Bomb will chart how, after a moment of terrible inspiration on a London street in 1933, the Hungarian scientist Leo Szilard conceived the idea of a nuclear chain reaction.
Fearing Nazi Germany would figure out how to produce an atomic bomb first, Szilard turned to his friend Albert Einstein to help convince the USA to invest in a uranium research programme.
That programme became the Manhattan Project, and as America was drawn into the Second World War, Szilard realised the horrifying potential of an atomic weapon.
Campaigning against its use, he recruited 70 top scientists for a letter to US President Truman – begging him not to use the bombs against Japan. But Szilard’s petition never reached the President, and on August 6th 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and a few days later on Nagasaki.
Simon Pitts, Commissioning Editor BBC World Service said: “Featuring archive material and interviews with historians and experts, the podcast explores a gripping and secretive race for the bomb, as science sprints in parallel with politics and lays the foundations for the Cold War. As we tell the story of Szilard and his race to stop the horror that he had helped unleash, the series touches on issues which were vital in 1945 and are still important today.”
The series is presented by Emily Strasser – an American writer and journalist whose grandfather worked on the Manhattan Project, and who explores questions of morality and responsibility throughout. She says: “As the granddaughter of a man who worked on the Manhattan Project, I have long grappled with the ethics of the bomb. In this podcast, I continue that journey, delving into the life and work of the scientist at the centre of both the bomb’s inception and the moral debates around its creation and use.”
The Bomb will launch as a 7-part podcast on 1 August when the first episode is released and continue weekly.
The podcast will be available in the UK on BBC Sounds, and most podcast and audio streaming platforms around the globe. It will also air on the BBC World Service as two one-hour programmes also beginning 1 August, 7pm.