In this episode, we got the family together over Zoom to watch the most depressing “Hallmark movie” of all time, Testament (1983). How can one Mom keep the family going after a nuclear attack cuts off their community? How accurately does the movie portray the horrors of radiation sickness? How does nuclear war turn ham radio operators into the most important people on the planet? Tim Westmyer (@NuclearPodcast) and returning special guest Lucy Stiegerwald (@LucyStag), contributing editor to AntiWar.com answer these questions and more.
Before we go blow out the candles on our sad birthday cake, we recommend:
-DVD extras for Testament, including “Testament at 20”
-Cormac McCarthy, The Road (2006)
-Airplane! (1980)
-Carol Amen, “The Last Testament,” Ms. Magazine, August 1981, www.scribd.com/doc/59083080/Amen…stament-Ms-Aug-81
-The Day After (1983)
-On the Beach (1959)
-Threads (1984)
-TheStagBlog.com, “Testament”
Super Critical Podcast 
Enjoying this episode! First saw the movie at a sneak preview back in the theater back in 83. You missed the fact that when Jane Alexander listened to the answering machine one more time, it played a message that she had not heard before, which must have come in before the power went out: William Devane leaving one last message saying he won’t make it to dinner after all because he as to work late in SF. This confirms that he perished in the blast.