It’s been long known that Klaus Fuchs, Theodore Hall, and David Greenglass committed espionage at Project Y—the Los Alamos branch of the Manhattan Project—during World War II. Each worked at the secret laboratory charged with creating the world’s first atomic bombs, each stole classified weapons information, and each shared it with the Soviet Union. Just recently though, in September 2019, historians confirmed a fourth wartime spy: Oscar Seborer.

In this episode of the National Security Science podcast, National Security Science writer Weston Phippen talks to Los Alamos National Laboratory senior historian Alan Carr about Seborer’s time at Los Alamos and the spy’s possible contributions to the Soviet nuclear weapons program. 

For more on Seborer at Los Alamos, make sure to read this article in the summer 2021 issue of National Security Science magazine.

The National Security Science podcast is a spin-off of National Security Science magazine at Los Alamos National Laboratory. We bring you stories from the Lab’s Weapons Program—stories that show how innovative science and engineering are the key to keeping America safe. Or, as we like to say, better science equals better security.

Read National Security Science magazine online here. Request a print copy or provide feedback by emailing [email protected].

Illustration for this episode's artwork: Los Alamos National Laboratory/Brenda Fleming

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Previous title: The fourth atomic spy

The National Security Science podcast is a spin-off of National Security Science magazine at Los Alamos National Laboratory. We bring you stories from the Lab’s Weapons programs—stories that show how innovative science and engineering are the key to keeping America safe. Or, as we like to say, better science equals better security.

In this episode of the National Security Science podcast, on the 76th anniversary of the Trinity test, we examine the test from two angles: from 1945, when the test occurred, and from 2021, when a group of Los Alamos employees traveled to the Trinity site to tour ground zero and the surrounding area.

Previous title: The Trinity Test: Then & Now

The National Security Science podcast is a spin-off of National Security Science magazine at Los Alamos National Laboratory. We bring you stories from the Lab’s Weapons programs—stories that show how innovative science and engineering are the key to keeping America safe. Or, as we like to say, better science equals better security.

It’s March, Women’s History Month. And for this podcast, we bring you the story of Jane Hall. Jane Hall came to the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in 1945. She had an incredible career as a nuclear physicist and as a manager. In 1955, she became the Lab’s first female assistant director, working closely with Director Norris Bradbury. In 1966, Jane was the first woman appointed to the General Advisory Committee if the Atomic Energy Commission, which offered guidance to top policy makers about scientific and technical matters relating to atomic energy.

Previous title: Jane Hall: Queen of the hill

The National Security Science podcast is a spin-off of National Security Science magazine at Los Alamos National Laboratory. We bring you stories from the Lab’s Weapons Program—stories that show how innovative science and engineering are the key to keeping America safe. Or, as we like to say, better science equals better security.

In this episode, siblings Joel and Candace Vargas siblings sing about some of the Laboratory's earliest computers. Read more about the Vargas siblings in “Math and music run in this family” in the winter 2020 issue of the National Security Science magazine. Read “Computing on the Mesa” for a comprehensive history of computing at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The bulk of this podcast features mathematician Mary Tsingou (now Mary Tsingou Menzel). In the 1950s, Tsingou programmed the MANIAC computer to solve a problem that Enrico Fermi, John Pasta, and Stan Ulam came up with—their famous vibrating string experiment. She went on to become a coding expert, working on many Los Alamos projects during her accomplished 30-year career. Today, she and her husband still live in Los Alamos, and in May of 2020, she talked with NSS writer Virginia Grant about her work at the Laboratory. Read the full story, “We thank Miss Mary Tsingou” in the winter 2020 issue of the National Security Science magazine.

Request a print copy or provide feedback by emailing [email protected].

Photo for this episode's artwork:  Dreamstime ID 60149534 Romolo Tavini

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Previous title: Holiday special featuring Mary Tsingou

The National Security Science podcast is a spin-off of National Security Science magazine at Los Alamos National Laboratory. We bring you stories from the Lab’s Weapons Program—stories that show how innovative science and engineering are the key to keeping America safe. Or, as we like to say, better science equals better security.

In this episode, Naval officer-turned-Laboratory employee Mark Levin recounts his time on board the USS Nebraska. "I order one prolonged blast on the ship’s whistle and we are underway, embarking on a 10-week strategic deterrence mission. Carrying 24 Trident II D5 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) armed with Los Alamos–designed nuclear warheads, the Nebraska will prowl the depths of the ocean, its exact location unknown to everyone but its crew. Our mission is to remain hidden at sea with our SLBMs, so as to deter a nuclear attack on the United States by demonstrating to other countries that the United States has an assured second-strike capability—a survivable system for carrying out a retaliatory nuclear attack."

Read National Security Science magazine online here. Request a print copy or provide feedback by emailing [email protected].

Photo for this episode's artwork: U.S. Department of Defense

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Previous title: Salt Life: Go on patrol with an Ohio-class submarine that's ready to launch nuclear warheads at a moment’s notice.

The National Security Science podcast is a spin-off of National Security Science magazine at Los Alamos National Laboratory. We bring you stories from the Lab’s Weapons Program—stories that show how innovative science and engineering are the key to keeping America safe. Or, as we like to say, better science equals better security.

In the summer of 2018, Major Nicholas Edwards was the weapons officer for 576th Flight Test Squadron, the sole group charged with test launching the Minuteman III, the military’s only ground-based nuclear ICBM. These occasional tests, called glory trips, are always done at Vandenberg Air Force Base and are the most exhilarating moments in any missileer’s career.

A glory trip is similar in every way to a real nuclear missile launch, except that the missile’s Los Alamos–designed W78 warhead has been replaced with a joint test assembly (JTA)—also designed and built by the Lab—that replicates a W78 in every way except that it’s filled with sensors, not a nuclear device. The JTA endures the freezing limits of outer space as it exits the atmosphere atop the missile, and after it has dislodged from the ICBM, it endures the molten heat of fall to Earth like a meteor, all the while relaying important flight information to the control center at Vandenberg.

Now that the Minuteman III system is 50 years old, nearing the end of its shelf life, these tests have become more important than ever. In fact, the government planned to retire the system in 2020, but Congress extended its service for another 10 years, at which point a replacement system will be deployed. So until then, the United States randomly picks four Minuteman III missiles annually to test from its stockpile, then compiles the data to share with the military and the Lab. “These glory trips give us a lot of information we can’t get otherwise, and in that way, they’re very useful,” says Jay Pepin, the W78 Systems Engineering group leader at Los Alamos.

There’s also the national defense angle. “Not only do these tests warn us if there are any issues that need to be addressed with the weapon,” says retired Air Force Colonel Michael Port, a former missileer who’s now director of the Lab’s Office of Nuclear and Military Affairs, “they also show our adversaries that we’re still quite capable of using our Minuteman III system, despite its age.”

Read National Security Science magazine online here. Request a print copy or provide feedback by emailing [email protected].

Photo for this episode's artwork: U.S. Air Force/Thomas Barley

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Previous title: A moment of glory: testing the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile

The National Security Science podcast is a spin-off of National Security Science magazine at Los Alamos National Laboratory. We bring you stories from the Lab’s Weapons Program—stories that show how innovative science and engineering are the key to keeping America safe. Or, as we like to say, better science equals better security.

In this episode, Los Alamos senior Air Force Fellow and B-2 pilot Lieutenant Colonel Geoffrey Steeves reads “A wealth of stealth,” a feature article that appeared in the Spring 2020 issue of the magazine. Steeves shares what it’s like to fly the B-2, a 31-year-old, 160,000-pound nuclear-capable bomber. B-2s are the only U.S. bombers currently capable of dropping a nuclear weapon, and most of the nuclear weapons a B-2 can carry were designed and are maintained at Los Alamos National Laboratory. 

Read National Security Science magazine online here. Request a print copy or provide feedback by emailing [email protected].

Photo for this episode's artwork: U.S. Air Force/Thomas Barley

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Previous title: A wealth of stealth: An inside perspective on flying the B-2 Spirit bomber