Twelve Thousand Bombs

J. Robert Oppenheimer chose a remote spot in south central New Mexico to build and test the world's first atomic bomb. The people who lived in the surrounding Tularosa Basin were not asked for permission or warned of the risk posed to their health and safety. Nearly 80 years later, proposed legislation giving one-time payments to New Mexicans who contracted cancer as a consequence of nuclear testing has been allowed to expire, blocked by House Speaker Mike Johnson. The congressional stalemate comes as testing programs ramp up and the world braces for the possibility of nuclear war. Tina Cordova of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Association joins Lauren Warnecke and Matt Caplan.

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On this episode of WGLT's Twelve Thousand Bombs, you'll hear from climatologist Lili Xia of Rutgers University. Xia was the leading author on a landmark 2022 research paper in Nature Food detailing climate models and the potential for widespread famine in the aftermath of a nuclear conflict.

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WGLT's Twelve Thousand Bombs podcast examines the history, science and policy behind the United States nuclear program—and why the threat of a nuclear conflict is as high as it’s ever been. The first episode explores the current presidential candidates’ platforms—or lack thereof—on nuclear weapons, plus a primer on questions like: What is the football? Why is the president the only one who can authorize a nuclear strike? What are the checks and balances around a president’s use of nuclear weapons should he/she become compromised in some way? (Spoiler: Not many.)

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WGLT’s Twelve Thousand Bombs podcast features conversations with leading scholars and policy advocates on the real and hypothetical impacts of nuclear war. New episodes each month start September 2024.

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