Atomic Age Declassified

S01E03: Filming the Bomb

The FILMING THE BOMB episode reveals the ways cameras became as important as the weapons themselves. In 2017, the U.S. released films from a generation of nuclear tests -- allowing scientists to study the last images of thermonuclear explosions we hope we’ll ever see. But just getting them took years of trying – and dozens of nuclear explosions. In Los Angeles, a secret film studio, Lookout Mountain, staffed by Hollywood professionals, produced countless films aimed at diverse audiences from policymakers to soldiers, scientists to civilians. The goal: convince anyone who will listen – including themselves – that they knew how to wield this new power. Many of these films are being made public for the first time ever, shedding new light on one of the darkest and most dangerous times in history. New waves of declassified films, photographs and documents are telling us more than we ever knew about the Cold War.

Overview

Taking viewers back to the Atomic Age of the mid-20th century by going on a mission to identify the endless possibilities of atoms as an energy source.

Episodes

Born with the Bomb

S01E01 Born with the Bomb

June 18, 2019 8.0 51 min
The bombing of Japan, the Soviet's "First Lightning" test, and America's H-bomb detonations were powerful signs that the Nuclear Age was upon us. But as recently declassified files reveal, explosive events were also carried out...

S01E02 Spies in Space

June 25, 2019 9.0 51 min
In the SPIES IN SPACE episode, we see that sometimes, secrecy did have its benefits. Just two years ago, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) declassified a top-secret 1960s program to put a manned spy platform...

S01E03 Filming the Bomb

July 2, 2019 9.0 51 min
The FILMING THE BOMB episode reveals the ways cameras became as important as the weapons themselves. In 2017, the U.S. released films from a generation of nuclear tests -- allowing scientists to study the last...

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