Super Critical Podcast

We want to share with Super Critical Podcast listeners an episode of the Authors of Mass Destruction podcast run by Dr. Natasha Bajema. Her awesome new podcast helps writers and authors tell compelling fiction about nukes while getting the details right. Tim Westmyer was a guest on the podcast – along with Dr. Justin Anderson – to talk about the movie Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

We will still try to release a regular episode of the Super Critical Podcast in April 2019. We hope you enjoy this episode, which you can also find on the Authors of Mass Destruction podcast feed. Follow Natasha’s show on Twitter at @WMDgirl and @authorsmass.

Enjoy!

In this episode, we wanted to learn more about the mobile infantry, so we talked about Starship Troopers, both the 1997 movie and 1959 book. How does the story deploy tactical nuclear weapons in the war against the bugs? Why was the book’s author inspired to write a protest against the campaign to end nuclear testing? Who would Herman Kahn enjoy talking to more: Carl or the brain bug? Tim Westmyer (@nuclearpodcast), Will Saetren (@WillSaetren), and Geoff Wilson (@nuclearwilson) answer these questions and more.

This is the 12th in our Mini-Nuke episode series, where we overthink pop culture with a smaller slice of nukes than our usual full-sized episodes.

Before we take a walk down washout lane, we recommend checking out:

-John Scalzi, Old Man’s War, 2005

-Joe Halderman, The Forever War, 1974

-Robocop (1987 movie)

-Helldivers (video game)

-The Day After (1983 movie)

-Robert A. Heinlein, Expanded Universe, 1980

Check out our website, SuperCriticalPodcast.com, for more resources and related items. We aim to have at least one new episode every month. Let us know what you think about the podcast and any ideas you may have about future episodes and guests by reaching out at on Twitter @NuclearPodcast, Spotify, GooglePlay, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Stitcher Radio, Facebook, [email protected], and YouTube.

Enjoy!

In this episode, we convened a team of nuke nerd to play an Escape Room with a nuclear weapon scenario. Did it help (or hurt) to have a background in nuclear weapons policy? How accurate can an Escape Room capture the complexities of nuclear war? How many red buttons were pushed to the limit in the making of this episode? Tim Westmyer and special guest Will Saetren (@willsaetren) answer these questions and more.

Before we look for more clues, we recommend checking out:

-BGNlab YouTube series by Scott Nicholson

-Spin Master Games - Escape Room The Game - “Nuclear Countdown”

-Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes - VR game

Check out our website, SuperCriticalPodcast.com, for more resources and related items. We aim to have at least one new episode every month. Let us know what you think about the podcast and any ideas you may have about future episodes and guests by reaching out at on Twitter @NuclearPodcast, GooglePlay, Spotify, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Stitcher Radio, Facebook, [email protected], and YouTube.

Enjoy!

In this episode, we tuned the radio to the song 99 Luftballons (or 99 Red Balloons) by the band Nena and talked about its connections to nuclear weapons, the Cold War arms race, and anti-nuclear protests. How did the threat of intermediate range nuclear missiles in Europe inspire Nena to write this catchy dirge? What happens when early warning systems confuse 99 balloons for UFOs and nukes? What artist will win their Grammy with a song about the dangers of Gamma Rays? Tim Westmyer and returning special guest Will Saetren (@WillSaetren) answer these questions and more.

This is the 11th in our Mini-Nuke episode series, where we overthink pop culture with a smaller slice of nukes than our usual full-sized episodes.

Playlist of nuke songs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frAEmhqdLFs&list=PLXh-L52NGj3wWH92cBVAjeW-7giQ2B4vW

Before we hit shuffle on our nuke war mix to lament the death of the INF Treaty, we recommend checking out:

-The Man Who Saved the World (2014 documentary)

-Rush, “Distant Early Warning,” Grace Under Pressure, 1984

-No Nukes: The Muse Concerts for a Non-Nuclear Future (1979)

-Jeffrey Lewis, The 2020 Commission Report on the North Korean Nuclear Attacks Against the United States, 2018

-Eric Schlosser, Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety, 2014

Check out our website, SuperCriticalPodcast.com, for more resources and related items. We aim to have at least one new episode every month. Let us know what you think about the podcast and any ideas you may have about future episodes and guests by reaching out at on Twitter @NuclearPodcast, Spotify, GooglePlay, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Stitcher Radio, Facebook, [email protected], and YouTube.

Enjoy!

In this episode, we tuned the radio to the song 99 Luftballons (or 99 Red Balloons) by the band Nena and talked about its connections to nuclear weapons, the Cold War arms race, and anti-nuclear protests. How did the threat of intermediate range nuclear missiles in Europe inspire Nena to write this catchy dirge? What happens when early warning systems confuse 99 balloons for UFOs and nukes? What artist will win their Grammy with a song about the dangers of Gamma Rays? Tim Westmyer and returning special guest Will Saetren (@WillSaetren) answer these questions and more.

This is the 11th in our Mini-Nuke episode series, where we overthink pop culture with a smaller slice of nukes than our usual full-sized episodes.

Playlist of nuke songs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frAEmhqdLFs&list=PLXh-L52NGj3wWH92cBVAjeW-7giQ2B4vW

Before we hit shuffle on our nuke war mix to lament the death of the INF Treaty, we recommend checking out:

-The Man Who Saved the World (2014 documentary)

-Rush, “Distant Early Warning,” Grace Under Pressure, 1984

-No Nukes: The Muse Concerts for a Non-Nuclear Future (1979)

-Jeffrey Lewis, The 2020 Commission Report on the North Korean Nuclear Attacks Against the United States, 2018

-Eric Schlosser, Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety, 2014

Check out our website, SuperCriticalPodcast.com, for more resources and related items. We aim to have at least one new episode every month. Let us know what you think about the podcast and any ideas you may have about future episodes and guests by reaching out at on Twitter @NuclearPodcast, Spotify, GooglePlay, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Stitcher Radio, Facebook, [email protected], and YouTube.

Enjoy!

In this episode, we did the math about what happens when you add a missing nuclear weapon together with neo-fascists and an unassuming CIA desk analyst in the Sum of All Fears (2002). How can terrorists get their hands on a plutonium core? Why did Russia allow the United States so many inspections of its nukes? Why won’t America just let Jack Ryan finish writing his memo. Tim Westmyer, Gabe, and special guest Jon Duke (@VortexAeroMedia) answer these questions and more.

Before we nuke more insects to see what happens, we recommend checking out:

-Peter Feaver, Guarding the Guardians: Civilian Control of Nuclear Weapons in the United States, 1992

-Cresson H. Kearney, “Chapter 13: Surviving Without Doctors,” Nuclear War Survival Guide, 1987, http://www.madisoncountyema.com/nwss.pdf

-The Fourth Protocol (1987 movie)

-Peter Hennessey, The Secret State: Whitehall and the Cold War, 2002

-War Book (2014 movie)

-The Letter of Last Resort, BBC Radio 4, 2013, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0210spc

Check out our website, SuperCriticalPodcast.com, for more resources and related items. We aim to have at least one new episode every month. Let us know what you think about the podcast and any ideas you may have about future episodes and guests by reaching out at on Twitter @NuclearPodcast, GooglePlay, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Stitcher Radio, Facebook, [email protected], and YouTube.

Enjoy!

In this episode, we followed chirping sounds in the desert and discovered GIANT RADIOACTIVE ANTS in the movie THEM! (1954). What happens to insects exposed to radiation in the real world? How did nuclear testing and atomic monster movies change public opinion on nuclear weapons? Where was Ant-man when the people Alamogordo needed him to calm these killer atomic ants? Tim Westmyer and returning special guest Tim Collins (@WarAndCake), PhD candidate studying British nuclear history, answer these questions and more.

Before we nuke more insects to see what happens, we recommend checking out:

-Jonathan Schell, The Fate of the Earth, 1982

-Barry Atkinson, Atomic Age Cinema: The Offbeat, the Classic and the Obscure, 2018

-Spencer Weart, The Rise of Nuclear Fear, 2012

--Richa Malhotra, “Ants Trapped in Nuclear Bunker are Developing Their Own Society,” NewScientist, September 5, 2016

-Gerard J. DeGroot, The Bomb: A Life, 2006

-Richard Rhodes, Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb, 1996

-Godzilla (1954 movie)

Check out our website, SuperCriticalPodcast.com, for more resources and related items. We aim to have at least one new episode every month. Let us know what you think about the podcast and any ideas you may have about future episodes and guests by reaching out at on Twitter @NuclearPodcast, GooglePlay, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Stitcher Radio, Facebook, [email protected], and YouTube.

Enjoy!

In this episode, we worked out our plutonium cores while watching the movie Mission: Impossible –Fallout. How easy is it for a rogue scientist – Norwegian or otherwise – to build a nuclear bomb if they got access to a plutonium core? Why do apocalyptic terrorist organizations seek nuclear weapons? When does Wolf Blitzer find time to report the news between all his movie shoots? Tim Westmyer, Gabe, and special guest James Finnegan answer these questions and more.

Before we nuke more insects to see what happens, we recommend checking out:

-Ronin (1998 movie)

-Fatman and Littleboy (1989 movie)

-Matthew Gault, “Mission Impossible Fallout Missed its Chance to Tell a Good Story,” The National Interest, July 30, 2018

-C'était un Rendezvous (1976 movie)

-Mythbusters, Episode 160 about Mission: Impossible Masks

Check out our website, SuperCriticalPodcast.com, for more resources and related items. We aim to have at least one new episode every month. Let us know what you think about the podcast and any ideas you may have about future episodes and guests by reaching out at on Twitter @NuclearPodcast, GooglePlay, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Stitcher Radio, Facebook, [email protected], and YouTube.

Enjoy!

In this episode, we place bets on the biggest fight in the cinematic universe: nuclear weapons vs. asteroids. What do the movies Armageddon, Deep Impact, and Meteor tell us about how planet Earth will defend itself against space rocks? How effective would nukes in these doomsday scenarios? How can we thank the dinosaurs for becoming oil so that the drill team in Armageddon learned the skills necessary to save us from another asteroid extinction event? Tim Westmyer and returning special guest Boris (@bmelnikov) answer these questions and more.

Before we decide to violate the Outer Space Treaty, we recommend checking out:

-“Chicxulub crater,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicxulub_crater

-Vladimir Rubtsov, “The Tunguska Mystery,” 2009, https://www.amazon.com/Tunguska-Mystery-Astronomers-Universe/dp/0387765735

-“Space Weapons Earth Wars,” Rand Corporation, 2002, https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monograph_reports/2011/RAND_MR1209.pdf

-Force Majeure (2014 movie)

-Meteor Man (1993 movie)

Thanks to Brgfx for creating and hosting the meteor image graphic on Freepik.com used in the podcast thumbnail.

Check out our website, SuperCriticalPodcast.com, for more resources and related items. We aim to have at least one new episode every month. Let us know what you think about the podcast and any ideas you may have about future episodes and guests by reaching out at on Twitter @NuclearPodcast, GooglePlay, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Stitcher Radio, Facebook, [email protected], and YouTube.

Enjoy!

In this episode, we took a break from studying our nuclear attack plans binder to watch an episode from the TV show Madam Secretary called Night Watch (Season 4, Episode 22). What happens when the President gets the call that nuclear missiles are incoming to the United States? What systems are in place to prevent mistakes and accidents from signaling false reports? Why don’t they rename the Presidential Emergency Satchel to the Nuclear Skeeball? Tim Westmyer and special guest Jamie Withorne (@JamieWithorne) answer these questions and more.

Before we receive our text message notifying us about our all expenses paid trip to Mount Weather, we recommend checking out:

-Women of Mass Destruction at https://www.womenofmassdestruction.org/

-Fail-Safe (1964), Ladybug Ladybug (1963), WarGames (1983)

-Matt Stevens and Christopher Mele, “Causes of False Missile Alerts: The Sun, the Moon, and a 46-cent Chip,” New York Times, January 13, 2018

-Terry L. Deibel, “The Death of a Treaty,” Foreign Affairs 81 no. 5, September/October 2002

-The Man Who Saved the World (2018)

Check out our website, SuperCriticalPodcast.com, for more resources and related items. We aim to have at least one new episode every month. Let us know what you think about the podcast and any ideas you may have about future episodes and guests by reaching out at on Twitter @NuclearPodcast, GooglePlay, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Stitcher Radio, Facebook, [email protected], and YouTube.

Enjoy!