Description

In this episode, we watched the documentary False Alarm (2021) about that time in 2018 no one talks about anymore when the people of Hawaii received an erroneous warning on their phone that North Korea fired a nuclear-armed ballistic missile and they had minutes to live. What was the reaction of people who received this ominous message? How does this ordeal stack up to Hawaiians’ long history of being on the short end of the nuclear arms race? Have there ever been a worse case of Textmergency/Textastrophe than this nuclear attack warning appearing on every cell phone in Hawaii?

Learning Objectives

• Students will be able to describe Hawaii’s unique position and role within the nuclear arms race.
• They will be able to describe what happens in the event that there is notification of an incoming nuclear attack.

Description

In this episode, we called opened our nuclear launch code safes to pull out the DVD box for Crimson Tide (1995) about two leaders on a submarine butting heads about whether to launch nuclear missiles and possibly start and/or stop WWIII. How accurately did the film portray nuclear command and control launch procedures? What role do boomers play in nuclear deterrence? How does Captain Ramsey’s dog have such a keen sense of a person’s character? Tim Westmyer (@NuclearPodcast) and returning special guests Geoff Wilson of the Council for Arms Control and Nonproliferation (@NuclearWilson) and nuclear expert Will Saetren (@WillSaetren) answer these questions and more.

Learning Objectives

• Students will be introduced to information in the public realm about nuclear launch procedures.
• They will be able to describe the role of submarines in nuclear deterrence and the Cold War threat imaginary.

Description

In this episode, we called our sommelier for advice on the best atomic alcohol to drink while watching the Alfred Hitchcock movie Notorious (1946) telling a spy romance story that discovers uranium ore stashed in a wine bottle owned by ex-Nazis hiding out in Brazil. How did Hitchcock introduce the first major atomic MacGuffin plot device so soon after the reveal of the Manhattan Project? What could a rogue element do with uranium ore hidden in a wine cellar? Why don’t the ex-Nazis hide the uranium in a bottle of Wild Turkey because nobody would ever want to look closer at that bottle. Tim Westmyer (@NuclearPodcast) and co-host Gabe answer these questions and more.

Learning Objectives

• Students will learn about how filmmakers expressed and developed the nuclear threat imaginary.
• hey will be able to evaluate whether the quantity of uranium ore depicted in the film Notorious would present a genuine threat.
• They will also be about to identify different plot devices, such as the MacGuffin.