Editor’s Note: In light of Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” winning Best Picture at the 96th Academy Awards, ScheerPost has put together a package on some of the most important interviews on the development of the atomic bomb and nuclear weaponry we have published over the years.
Ted Hall: The Los Alamos Scientist Who Gave the Atomic Bomb to the Soviets
Host Robert Scheer sits down with James and journalist David Lindorff, who originally broke the story about the character in question, to discuss the film and the life of Ted Hall. The young, brilliant physicist turned atomic Soviet spy made a decision at an age where most college-bound people would be making their first change in major. This fateful decision to share nuclear secrets with the Soviet Union proved to be a pivotal moment that not only broke the American nuclear monopoly but also averted the potential for further use of these devastating weapons. The film paints a conclusive “ends justify the means” story. Director Steve James said, “[Hall’s] reasons for passing the secrets, whether you agree with them or not, were grounded and not in naivete or brashness, but in real thoughtfulness.”
Daniel Ellsberg: The Doomsday Machine
In an interview with Robert Scheer for his forthcoming book, The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner, whistleblower and activist for government transparency Daniel Ellsberg tells Scheer about what kept Richard Nixon from using nuclear weapons in Vietnam.
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Robert Scheer
Robert Scheer, publisher of ScheerPost and award-winning journalist and author of a dozen books, has a reputation for strong social and political writing over his nearly 60 years as a journalist. His award-winning journalism has appeared in publications nationwide—he was Vietnam correspondent and editor of Ramparts magazine, national correspondent and columnist for the Los Angeles Times—and his in-depth interviews with Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Mikhail Gorbachev and others made headlines. He co-hosted KCRW’s political program Left, Right and Center and now hosts Scheer Intelligence, a KCRW podcast with people who discuss the day’s most important issues.