In this episode, we raised the periscope on our nuclear submarine to enjoy the story of On the Beach – both the movie (1959) and book (1957). What is the more likely ultimate catastrophe of a nuclear war: global nuclear fallout or nuclear winter? Why did the Eisenhower administration try to shut this movie down? If you read On the Beach while sitting on a beach, is that just tempting fate? Tim Westmyer (@NuclearPodcast) and special guest Joe Cirincione (@Cirincione), Distinguished Fellow at the Quincy Institute and recent president of the Ploughshares Fund, answer these questions and more.
Before we start our engines at the Australian Grand Prix, we recommend:
-Beverly Gray, “The Continuing Relevance of ‘On the Beach,’” The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist, August 3, 2015
–Fallout (2013 documentary)
–Collisions (2015 documentary)
-Office of Technology Assessment, The Effects of Nuclear War, May 1979
-Warfare History Network, “One of America’s Most Legendary Generals Had a Terrifying Plan to Win the Korean War,” The National Interest, July 16, 2017
–Fail Safe (1964 movie)
–Them! (1954 movie)
–Seven Days in May (1964 movie)
Super Critical Podcast 