In this episode, we were convinced by J. Robert Oppenheimer’s elevator pitch to join the Manhattan Project so we watched the movie Oppenheimer (2023). How well did Christopher Nolan capture the life and tribulations of the “father of the atomic bomb?” Does the movie blend the mix of history, science, and international drama in an entertaining way to stay in your seat for three hours? Is this the biggest nuclear war movie of our lifetimes – for those born after 1964 at least? Tim Westmyer (@NuclearPodcast), co-host James Sheehan (@JSheehanDC), and special guest Dr. Justin Anderson (@Atomic_Chess) answer these questions and more.
Before we pack our bags to camp out in the New Mexico desert for an indeterminate amount of time, we recommend:
• Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, 2005
• Steve Sheinkin, Bomb (Graphic Novel), 2023
• Jonathan Fetter-Vorm, Trinity: A Graphic Novel of the History of the First Atomic Bomb, 2012
• Gregg Herkin, Brotherhood of the Bomb: The Tangled Lives and Loyalties of Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence, and Edward Teller, 2002
• Oppenheimer (1980 TV mini-series)
• The Social Network (2010 movie)
• The Imitation Game (2014 movie)
• Widespread Annihilation (game card), Flesh and Blood tabletop game (Dusk Till Dawn edition)
• Los Alamos National Laboratory, “Plutonium and poetry: Where Trinity and Oppenheimer's reading habits met,” (Recommendations from Oppenheimer for further reading), July 14, 2021
Check out our website, SuperCriticalPodcast.com, for more resources and related items. We aim to have at least one new episode every month. Let us know what you think about the podcast and any ideas you may have about future episodes and guests by reaching out at on Twitter/X @NuclearPodcast, GooglePlay, Spotify, SoundCloud, TuneIn, SuperCriticalPodcast@gmail.com, and YouTube.
Enjoy!
All content for Super Critical Podcast is the property of Tim Westmyer and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
In this episode, we were convinced by J. Robert Oppenheimer’s elevator pitch to join the Manhattan Project so we watched the movie Oppenheimer (2023). How well did Christopher Nolan capture the life and tribulations of the “father of the atomic bomb?” Does the movie blend the mix of history, science, and international drama in an entertaining way to stay in your seat for three hours? Is this the biggest nuclear war movie of our lifetimes – for those born after 1964 at least? Tim Westmyer (@NuclearPodcast), co-host James Sheehan (@JSheehanDC), and special guest Dr. Justin Anderson (@Atomic_Chess) answer these questions and more.
Before we pack our bags to camp out in the New Mexico desert for an indeterminate amount of time, we recommend:
• Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, 2005
• Steve Sheinkin, Bomb (Graphic Novel), 2023
• Jonathan Fetter-Vorm, Trinity: A Graphic Novel of the History of the First Atomic Bomb, 2012
• Gregg Herkin, Brotherhood of the Bomb: The Tangled Lives and Loyalties of Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence, and Edward Teller, 2002
• Oppenheimer (1980 TV mini-series)
• The Social Network (2010 movie)
• The Imitation Game (2014 movie)
• Widespread Annihilation (game card), Flesh and Blood tabletop game (Dusk Till Dawn edition)
• Los Alamos National Laboratory, “Plutonium and poetry: Where Trinity and Oppenheimer's reading habits met,” (Recommendations from Oppenheimer for further reading), July 14, 2021
Check out our website, SuperCriticalPodcast.com, for more resources and related items. We aim to have at least one new episode every month. Let us know what you think about the podcast and any ideas you may have about future episodes and guests by reaching out at on Twitter/X @NuclearPodcast, GooglePlay, Spotify, SoundCloud, TuneIn, SuperCriticalPodcast@gmail.com, and YouTube.
Enjoy!
In this episode, we took in a double feature of The Core (2003) and Sunshine (2007), a pair of movies where nuclear weapons are deployed to locations far away from the Earth’s surface to save humanity. How could nukes respin the Earth’s core or reignite the sun? How does the role of “nukes as heroes” jive with the usual “nukes, aren’t those the baddies?” themes? Why does Cillian Murphy keep getting typecast as “tortured inventor of a weapon of mass destruction”: Robert Capa, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Scarecrow? Tim Westmyer (@NuclearPodcast) and new co-host James Sheehan (@jsheehandc) answer these questions and more.
Before we leave the safety of Virgil’s atomic drill train, we recommend:
-David Kagan, Sunstroke, 1993 book
-Aniara (2018 movie)
-Theodore Shabad, “Soviet Union Discloses Nuclear Blast that Put Out Fire in Gas Field,” New York Times, December 12, 1971
-Blank Check Podcast - Sunshine
-Ad Astra (2019 movie)
-Trainspotting (1996 movie)
We also recommend checking out:
Anthony Kaufman, “Separating the Science from the Fiction in Sunshine,” Sloan Science and Film, November 15, 2007
Jon O’Brien, “ 15 Years Ago, Danny Boyle Made the Most Scientific Space Thriller Ever,” Inverse, July 18, 2022
Marcus Chown, “Review: Sunshine,” New Scientist, April 3, 2007
“Actor Dustin Hoffman Lobbies for More Reality in Science-Fiction Movies,” News.com.au, March 30, 2009
Michelle Ealey, “Did the Movie ‘The Core’ Get Anything Right?,” ScienceFiction.com, February 13, 2012
Elmear Dodd, “Bad Science: The Core at 15,” HeadStuff, March 21, 2018
Check out our website, SuperCriticalPodcast.com, for more resources and related items. We aim to have at least one new episode every month. Let us know what you think about the podcast and any ideas you may have about future episodes and guests by reaching out at on Twitter @NuclearPodcast, GooglePlay, Spotify, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Stitcher Radio, SuperCriticalPodcast@gmail.com, and YouTube.
Enjoy!
Super Critical Podcast
In this episode, we were convinced by J. Robert Oppenheimer’s elevator pitch to join the Manhattan Project so we watched the movie Oppenheimer (2023). How well did Christopher Nolan capture the life and tribulations of the “father of the atomic bomb?” Does the movie blend the mix of history, science, and international drama in an entertaining way to stay in your seat for three hours? Is this the biggest nuclear war movie of our lifetimes – for those born after 1964 at least? Tim Westmyer (@NuclearPodcast), co-host James Sheehan (@JSheehanDC), and special guest Dr. Justin Anderson (@Atomic_Chess) answer these questions and more.
Before we pack our bags to camp out in the New Mexico desert for an indeterminate amount of time, we recommend:
• Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, 2005
• Steve Sheinkin, Bomb (Graphic Novel), 2023
• Jonathan Fetter-Vorm, Trinity: A Graphic Novel of the History of the First Atomic Bomb, 2012
• Gregg Herkin, Brotherhood of the Bomb: The Tangled Lives and Loyalties of Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence, and Edward Teller, 2002
• Oppenheimer (1980 TV mini-series)
• The Social Network (2010 movie)
• The Imitation Game (2014 movie)
• Widespread Annihilation (game card), Flesh and Blood tabletop game (Dusk Till Dawn edition)
• Los Alamos National Laboratory, “Plutonium and poetry: Where Trinity and Oppenheimer's reading habits met,” (Recommendations from Oppenheimer for further reading), July 14, 2021
Check out our website, SuperCriticalPodcast.com, for more resources and related items. We aim to have at least one new episode every month. Let us know what you think about the podcast and any ideas you may have about future episodes and guests by reaching out at on Twitter/X @NuclearPodcast, GooglePlay, Spotify, SoundCloud, TuneIn, SuperCriticalPodcast@gmail.com, and YouTube.
Enjoy!
