Podcast
The Bomb
Hosted by BBC World Service · EN
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 story of Leo Szilard, and the scientist’s discovery of the lethal potential for nuclear weapons in the race to beat Nazi Germany.
22episodes
Episodes
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S2.3 Unstable elements
Jul 22, 202200:31:24Tap to summarizeThe fate of the world is decided: Klaus Fuchs joins a top-secret atomic mission. The race to build the bomb is on. In Birmingham, England, Klaus Fuchs is working on “TUBE ALLOYS” – the codename for the British atomic bomb project. But at the same time, he’s slipping secrets to the Soviets. Host Rosa Ellis finds out how he did it. #thebomb
Transcribe →S2.2 A split life
Jul 15, 202200:40:02Tap to summarizeThe world’s most dangerous spy? A young scientist’s journey into espionage. From a German pacifist family to a Soviet spy ring. Physicist Klaus Fuchs flees Nazi rule for England and joins the race to develop an atomic bomb – whoever gets there first wins the war. Presenter Rosa Ellis discovers how Fuchs’ double life begins. #thebombThis podcast has been edited for accuracy. Audio was updated on 20th July 2022.
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