#91 – The Baruch Plan

#91 – The Baruch Plan

* So here we are in 1946.* The Truman administration has decided on a “containment” policy.* But who is going to contain the containers?* According to the Novikov telegram, the Soviets felt like they had to contain the US.* And the U.S. felt like they had to contain...
#90 – The Novikov Telegram.

#90 – The Novikov Telegram.

* The last, and certainly most conspicuous, of the four events that transformed the political culture of Washington in 1946 was a speech given in early March by Winston Churchill at Westminster College in Truman’s home state of Missouri.* Like Stalin’s...
#89 – The “Long Telegram”

#89 – The “Long Telegram”

* Stalin’s speech in February 1946 wasn’t a declaration of war.* It wasn’t anything that couldn’t have been said in the past.* He issued no direct threats toward the United States, and emphasized above all else the security of the Soviet state and the communist...
#88 – Mine All Mine

#88 – Mine All Mine

* In October 1945, Navy Day 1945 in New York City, at the Commissioning of the aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman gave a speech.* Here’s a clip.* https://youtu.be/BjUz4BPWwbc?t=2m21s* FAKE TRUMAN ACCENT: “We don’t seek any more land –...
#87 – The Aftermath Part 2

#87 – The Aftermath Part 2

* The military had long declared that radiation dissipated quickly in the atomic cities and posed little threat to the soldiers.* A 1980 Defense Nuclear Agency report concluded, “Medical science believes multiple myeloma has a borderline relationship with exposure to...
#86 – The Aftermath Part 1

#86 – The Aftermath Part 1

* TRUMAN ANNOUNCES THE BOMB https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN_UJJ9ObDs* On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb over the center of Hiroshima, killing at least 70,000 civilians instantly and perhaps 50,000 more in the days and months to follow.*...
#85 – The Decision Part 3

#85 – The Decision Part 3

* Truman met often with Byrnes in the first few months of his Presidency.* But there are almost no records or notes of what they discussed.* And that was apparently Byrnes’ preference.* He was known as being paranoid about leaks.* a very devious politician* Truman...
#84 – The Decision Part 2

#84 – The Decision Part 2

* By June 18 events had progressed to the point where Admiral Leahy was able to note privately in his personal diary:* It is my opinion that at the present time a surrender of Japan can be arranged with terms that can be accepted by Japan and that will make fully...
#83 – The Decision Part 1

#83 – The Decision Part 1

* On 15 August 1945, about a week after the bombing of Nagasaki, Truman tasked the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey to conduct a study on the effectiveness of the aerial attacks on Japan, both conventional and atomic.* Did they have an effect on the Japanese surrender?*...
#82 – Alex Wellerstein

#82 – Alex Wellerstein

Our guest today is Alex Wellerstein, a self-described “historian of science, secrecy, and nuclear weapons”. He’s a Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the Stevens Institute of Technology. He blogs here and is on Twitter here. He is also...