For 3 years, scientists in secret cities around the U.S. had been in a race against time to complete the world’s first atomic weapon. And in July of 1945, the very first plutonium bomb was ready. Constructing “The Gadget” as it was called, had taken 2 billion dollars and the collective work of 400,000 people. It was ready to be tested. And it needed to work. Join us to hear more about the infamous Trinity test, and what followed for our women scientists who finally had a clearer picture about the work they had been doing.

She was WWII's most decorated spy: a woman whose spirit and determination in the face of danger is unparalleled. Born in France, Odette Sansom joined Britain's SOE and used her unassuming, motherly demeanor to successfully grow the resistance network throughout the French countryside. But the work was perilous, and the Nazis closed in on Odette and her team. Tune in to learn her survival story.

Together, let's hear from author Christopher Gorham, whose new book, The Confidante, is the first-ever biography written about one of the United State's most powerful women: Anna Rosenberg. Join us as Christopher and Sharon share about Anna's life and contributions to the modern shaping of our American Government.

Shakespeare and Al Capone. What could possibly be a link between these two men who were born centuries apart? A master codebreaker named Elizebeth Smith Friedman. If her name doesn’t sound familiar, there’s a reason for that. Even though she is one of the pioneers of cryptanalysis, very few people knew about her war-changing contributions until after her files were declassified in 2008.

It's time to return to the art of espionage. During World War II, Prime Minister Winston Churchill understood that boots on the ground were only one piece of the puzzle to drive out the enemy. In order to sabotage German operations across Europe, he knew Britain needed to build an army of secret agents. And one of its most successful leaders was a Romanian-born Jewish woman named Vera Atkins.

In a previous episode of our series, we had a conversation about the combined efforts of the Allied science community to beat Germany in the race to understand and build atomic weapons. It was a team effort, and you know what? We barely scratched the surface. Today, we’ll peek into the minds of some of the greatest women scientists during World War II.

Let’s head to Great Britain and learn about a military organization that recruited women into the war effort all across the country. Women volunteered in great numbers and, throughout the war, thousands of women participated. You might even call them…a flock.

How did the United States successfully produce and detonate the first atomic bomb? That success happened through a combination of random events and intricately planned schemes that fed into the speeding train that was atomic technology. The U.S. pops up along those tracks, but the spark that would lead to the bomb began across the Atlantic.

She was a larger than life woman who utilized her fame and charm to secretly gather intel for the Allies during World War II. She put herself in danger, fought for freedom, saved countless lives… and she did it all while she shimmied her way across Europe in tiny sequined costumes. Join us while we learn about the one and only Josephine Baker.

The Manhattan Project. It was a top-secret program ran for three war-filled years and employed over 120 thousand people. Most of those people had no idea that they were working on one of the most powerful projects of all time: creating nuclear weapons.