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The Bomb

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The story of the atomic bomb. Told through the scientists and spies who changed history

The story of the atomic bomb. Told through the scientists and spies who changed history. The race to beat the Nazis and stolen secrets.

The story of the atomic bomb. Told through the scientists and spies who changed history. Season 1 follows the scientist who discovers the destructive possibilities of harnessing nuclear power. It leads to the race to beat the Nazis to the first atomic bomb. Season 2 tells of a brilliant scientist who lives a double life, stealing atomic secrets for the Soviet Union. Season 3 is coming soon.

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The Bomb: The first atomic bomb

22/11/2023 GMT

The first atomic bomb

BBC World Service - The Bomb, The first atomic bomb

To listen online, visit bbcworldservice.com/thebomb

Christopher Nolan's Hollywood film Oppenheimer tells the story of the father of the atomic bomb. And one of the other key players in the creation of the bomb was the scientist Leo Szilard – he was instrumental to both the creation of the bomb, and later, the fight to stop it being used. The writer Emily Strasser’s family was involved too, and she tells the story of the chain reaction onwards from the splitting of the atom.

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?

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