Oppenheimer, UC Berkeley and the Atomic Bomb

Bay Curious

KQED

History, Society & Culture, Places & Travel

4.9 • 999 Ratings

🗓️ 27 July 2023

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If you're like most people, by now you've been inundated by buzz about the new movie, "Oppenheimer," which chronicles the life of the physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, father of the atomic bomb. When he was selected for the Manhattan Project, Oppenheimer was a professor at UC Berkeley. Science reporter Lesley McClurg looked into his time at Berkeley, and how he and the school itself helped to make the devices that ended WWII. Additional Reading: Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Lesley McClurg. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, Christopher Beale and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Attila Pelit, and Holly Kernan.

Transcript

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0:00.0	From K-QED.
0:03.8	By now I'm certain you've heard that the historical thriller Oppenheimer opened in theaters
0:08.9	all across the country last week.
0:11.3	The film has been getting a ton of buzz. It chronicles the life
0:15.2	of physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb.
0:19.8	I don't know if we can be trusted with such a weapon.
0:29.0	But I have no choice.
0:31.0	That's Killian Murphy in the lead role as the title character. In 1943, when Oppenheimer was
0:37.7	recruited to build atomic bombs for the U.S. military, he was a professor at UC Berkeley. So today on the show, we're going to explore
0:46.5	the role that he and the school played in developing the atomic bomb. I'm Olivia
0:51.7	Alan Price, this is Bay Curious.
0:56.0	Support for Bay Curious is brought to you by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.
1:00.0	Still family owned, operated, and argued over.
1:03.3	Explore their brews wherever fine beverages are sold
1:06.5	and taste how trailblazing runs in the family.
1:09.6	Visit Sierra Nevada.com to find your new favorite beer today.
1:15.6	The full story of J Robert Oppenheimer's life is a fascinating one with many twists and turns. But today we're going to focus on his and
1:25.0	UC Berkeley's role in developing the atomic bomb. KQEDs Leslie McClure
1:30.5	headed to campus to explore.
1:34.8	As you're walking across the Berkeley campus, you can turn up Oppenheimer way, and on your left
1:39.7	hand side is the physics building, which has these beautiful columns. You walk up brick
1:46.3	stairs to these huge wooden doors.
	...

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