371 | Evan Thomas: The Atomic Bomb's Legacy in a Disordered World

The Realignment

Saager Enjeti, Technology, Policy, News, Marshall Kosloff, International Relations, Politics, News Commentary, Public Policy, U.s. Politics, National Security, Economics

4.8 • 2.5K Ratings

🗓️ 18 May 2023

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Evan Thomas, author of Road to Surrender: Three Men and the Countdown to the End of World War II, joins The Realignment. Evan and Marshall discuss and assess the decision to use atomic bombs against Imperial Japan in 1945, how at its best, American foreign policy balances realism and idealism, why we shouldn't assume the "norm" against the use of nuclear weapons will hold in perpetuity, and how to reduce the danger of nuclear escalation in the Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Marshall here. Welcome back to the Realignment.
0:03.0	[♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪
0:08.4	Quick note before we jump into today's episode, this Friday,
0:11.8	Sagan and I are releasing the next edition of our Supercast.
0:15.4	Q&A slash ask me anything, discuss an episode,
0:18.7	four subscribers to the Realignment's Supercast.
0:21.6	If you'd like to access the full episode,
0:24.0	submit any questions or comments you have,
0:26.9	and of course support the show, go to realignment.supercast.com
0:31.4	or click the link at the top of the show notes in your podcast player.
0:35.6	We publish those episodes every other Friday.
0:39.2	On to today's episode.
0:40.8	My guest is Evan Thomas, one of my favorite historians.
0:44.7	Evan and I are discussing his new book, Road to Surrender,
0:47.8	Three Men and the Countdown to the End of World War II.
0:50.9	The book is about the decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
0:56.3	but our conversation hits on themes and ideas that are deeply relevant to today,
1:00.8	especially at his time when Putin has invoked the nuclear threat in Europe,
1:06.0	China expands its nuclear arsenal,
1:08.3	previous arms treaties expire,
1:10.4	and other powers are interested in building their own nuclear arsenals,
1:15.2	given all of this context.
	...

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