In this episode, we looked at our calendars and realized it was finally the day to watch The Day After (1983). What would happen to a “middle of nowhere” city in Kansas in the event of a nuclear war? How did this TV movie impact the public dialogue about nuclear weapons? What about the movie scared Ronald Reagan so much he had to write about it in his diary (this is not a joke)? Tim Westmyer (@NuclearPodcast) and special guest David Craig (@Producing2Power), Clinical Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Southern California and author of an upcoming book – Before The Day After – answer these questions and more.
Full movie online here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iyy9n8r16hs&t=3840s
Before we start power up our ham radios with the rare car battery, we recommend:
-David Craig’s book (Before The Day After) when it is available!
-Dawn Strover, Facing Nuclear Reality: 35 Years After the Day After, December 2018
-Physicians for Social Responsibility, The Last Epidemic
–Testament (1983)
–Threads (1984)
–Viewpoint episode that aired right after The Day After
-Richard Rhodes, The Making of the Atomic Bomb, 1986
-Jonathan Fetter-Vorm, Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb, May 2013
–That Certain Summer (1972)
-Beth A. Fisher, The Reagan Reversal: Foreign Policy and the End of the Cold War, 2000
Super Critical Podcast 
Just a bit of trivia – the stock footage of the missile launch procedures, such as the Looking Glass footage, was from a docu-drama named “First Strike,” which was created to create alarmism about a Soviet decapitation strike. It was produced with cooperation from the DoD and the Rand corporation. It was performed with real USAF personnel acting out a fictitious attack and launch, presumably using their standard procedures.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Strike_(1979_film)