The bomb (part 1): were nuclear weapons inevitable?
Economist Podcasts16 Jul 2025

The bomb (part 1): were nuclear weapons inevitable?

Where did the world’s most devastating weapon come from? In a four-part series, we go behind the scenes at America's nuclear laboratories to understand how a scientific-mystery story about the ingredients of matter led to a world-changing (and second-world-war-ending) bomb less than five decades later.


Nuclear weapons have been central to geopolitical power ever since. Now America is seeking to modernise its stockpile and, in doing so, its scientists are pushing the frontiers of extreme physics, materials science and computing.


In episode one, we look at the birth of nuclear physics—the science that emerged early in the 20th century to answer a mystery: what is an atom actually made of?


Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Frank Close, a physicist and author of “Destroyer of Worlds”, a history of the birth of nuclear physics; Cheryl Rofer, a chemist who used to work at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); and Nicholas Lewis, a historian at LANL.


This episode features archive from the Atomic Heritage Foundation.


Listen to episode two here.


Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.


This is a free episode. To continue listening to “The Bomb”, you’ll need to subscribe.


Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.


For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episoder(1950)

Byte by byte: Iran and Israel’s escalating cyberwar

Byte by byte: Iran and Israel’s escalating cyberwar

While many people fear the risk of a wider war breaking out in the Middle East, a parallel battle is already ongoing – in the digital sphere. Can China challenge a long-standing duopoly in the airline...

20 Aug 202422min

Hail Harris: the Democratic convention begins

Hail Harris: the Democratic convention begins

As Democrats convene in Chicago, polls suggest Kamala Harris is ahead by a whisker in the US presidential race. Can the party sustain the momentum? In hospital, your recovery may depend not just on di...

19 Aug 202423min

Landing padded: the global-recession risk

Landing padded: the global-recession risk

Inflation, interest rates and jobless numbers are on healthy trends; markets are gaining back ground. As the spectre of global recession fades we ask why fear has persisted. In the second instalment o...

16 Aug 202426min

One peace at a time: Gaza, Israel and Iran

One peace at a time: Gaza, Israel and Iran

Peace talks in Doha have a chance at progress even in Hamas’s absence. The outcome could determine the scope of Iran’s promised retaliations against Israel. New research suggests Mars may have an ocea...

15 Aug 202423min

Bait the hook! Fishing in the global talent pool

Bait the hook! Fishing in the global talent pool

Skilled immigrants bring more than just their expertise to job markets. But governments miss opportunities to attract them—or make them feel entirely unwelcome. In America it seems like the standard t...

14 Aug 202425min

AIOU: what if the AI boom busts?

AIOU: what if the AI boom busts?

Corporate investment in artificial-intelligence infrastructure reaches $1.4trn by some estimates. We ask what might threaten the expected windfalls that justify the spending. A Japanese mine’s bid to ...

13 Aug 202424min

The boot is on the other foot: Ukraine’s surprise incursion

The boot is on the other foot: Ukraine’s surprise incursion

Part of Russia is under foreign control for the first time since the second world war. We ask about the strategy behind the surprise raid—which may not be the last. The Paris Olympics were, all told, ...

12 Aug 202425min

Expelling mistake: the costs of hardline immigration policy

Expelling mistake: the costs of hardline immigration policy

The rich world is experiencing record migrant flows—and the attendant social upheaval. Finding immigration policies that are not economically ruinous is damnably hard. Our three-part series starts to ...

9 Aug 202425min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
forklart
i-retten
stopp-verden
popradet
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
rss-gukild-johaug
fotballpodden-2
det-store-bildet
dine-penger-pengeradet
nokon-ma-ga
rss-ness
hanna-de-heldige
aftenbla-bla
frokostshowet-pa-p5
rss-dannet-uten-piano
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
e24-podden