Cold Open

It’s 5:30 AM, on July 16th, 1945, at the Alamogordo bombing range in rural New Mexico.

41-year-old Dr. Robert Oppenheimer strikes a match, lights a cigarette, and peers out at the pale sky from behind the concrete wall of a bunker. Even though it’s early, Robert and dozens of fellow scientists have been in position for hours. Robert is nervous, smoking cigarette after cigarette as he waits for a break in the weather. Persistent rain has threatened to delay the culmination of years of work, but the clouds have finally cleared. And a little over five miles away, the first-ever atomic bomb is about to explode.

America has been embroiled in World War Two for more than three years. Nazi Germany surrendered two months ago, but their Japanese allies continue the fight. So, if this atomic bomb works, many in the US Government believe it could finally bring Japanese resistance to an end.

Robert puts out his cigarette and checks his pocket watch as the last few seconds tick down before detonation. Through a narrow slit in the bunker wall, he watches the horizon. Then, as the countdown reaches zero, a silent bright flash signals that the bomb has been detonated.

After a few seconds, a fiery ball swells into the sky… and then the sound of the explosion hits, growing louder and louder, like a storm rolling in.

The scientists and observers in the bunker applaud and shake hands. They’ve been working on the bomb for years, and they’re relieved that the test seems to have been a success.

But the jovial atmosphere doesn't last long. As a giant, mushroom-shaped cloud rises into the skies above the test site, the mood in the bunker takes on a more somber tone. The full magnitude of what they’ve done is sinking in—because Robert’s team has just unleashed a devastating new weapon on the world. For the first time in history, humanity has the means to destroy itself.

A few weeks later, atomic bombs are dropped on two Japanese cities and World War Two finally comes to an end. Although Robert Oppenheimer’s research brings one conflict to a conclusion, he will worry about the threat of another, far more deadly one breaking out. His concerns will eventually cost Dr. Oppenheimer his reputation and his career, but he will forever be known as the father of the atomic bomb after the first nuclear explosion shattered the morning peace of New Mexico on July 16th, 1945.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is July 16th, 1945: The Trinity Nuclear Test.

Act One

It’s spring 1922 among the mountains of New Mexico, 23 years before the detonation of the first atomic bomb.

18-year-old Robert Oppenheimer sways gently in his saddle as his horse picks its way across the grassy field. There’s a natural beauty to this area that Robert loves. The wildflowers are in bloom, birds swoop through the air, and in the distance, red rock formations stand like sentinels on the horizon.

As much as Robert enjoys trips like this though, he’s not here just for pleasure. His father has sent him from New York to help him recover after a bad case of dysentery. Robert’s father is hoping that the dry desert air will help speed his son’s recovery so Robert can attend college as scheduled in the fall.

Robert closes his eyes for a few seconds, feeling a warm breeze wash over him, losing himself in the stillness of the moment. When he opens his eyes again, he can see the unnatural straight lines of buildings in the distance. He checks his map and discovers it’s the village of Los Alamos, a relatively small settlement that’s home to just a few hundred people. Robert pays it no mind, focused more on the scenery as he urges his horse forward.

Robert enjoys the simple life in New Mexico for a few more months, until he’s strong enough to head back east and resume his studies. Robert’s always been interested in science and engineering, and over the next few years, he discovers a passion for a new branch of physics: quantum mechanics. It’s an exciting time to be a scientist. The greatest minds in Europe are developing groundbreaking new theories about how matter behaves at a subatomic level.

Robert wants to join these pioneers, and studies and works at some of the most prestigious institutions in the world, including Harvard, Cambridge University and the California Institute of Technology. For his innovative research Robert becomes well known in the scientific community. But he also draws attention for the company he keeps. As the world beyond America slips into conflict in the late 1930s, the FBI starts keeping a closer eye on any Americans they feel may lack loyalty to the United States—and that includes Robert. A number of people in Robert’s social circle have ties to the American Communist Party, and in March 1941, FBI agents open a file on Robert too, eventually becoming so concerned by his associates that Robert’s even added to the Custodial Detention Index, a list of people who’ll be considered for internment in the event of a national emergency.

But despite the suspicions of the FBI, in October 1941, Robert is approached by one of his old professors to lead a new initiative. The US military wants him to head a top-secret team that’ll design and build an atomic bomb. The program’s codename is the “Manhattan Project”, and it has the backing of President Franklin D. Roosevelt himself. With all the resources of the Federal Government to call upon, Robert leaps at the chance to put his largely theoretical knowledge into practice.

But Robert soon realizes that this weapon he’s been asked to build may be used sooner than he thought. Two months after he was approached to lead the Manhattan Project, Japanese forces attack the American fleet at Pearl Harbor. The United States declare war on Japan and then its ally Nazi Germany.

So, Robert’s team grows larger as the U.S. military commits huge resources. But the generals in charge worry that enemy spies will try to infiltrate the program. They decide they need a more isolated location to keep their top-secret research safe from prying eyes—and Robert knows just the place. He takes them to Los Alamos, New Mexico, the remote spot where he spent time recuperating from illness twenty years ago.

For him, it’s perfect. And over the next few months, US Army engineers build a state-of-the-art research facility where scientists, engineers - and their families - will be able to live and work in complete security. The team at Los Alamos works around the clock, worried that the Germans are also developing nuclear weapons and may be ahead of the American effort.

But their fears prove unfounded. More than three years after the Manhattan Project began, on July 16th, 1945, Robert successfully detonates an atomic bomb in a test codenamed Trinity. The site in New Mexico is flattened by the blast. But that damage will pale in significance to the devastation brought only a few weeks later when nuclear weapons are deployed on the battlefield for the first time.

Act Two

It’s 8 AM, on August 6th, 1945, in the skies above Japan, three weeks after the Trinity test.

Colonel Paul Tibbets looks out from the flight deck of his B-29 bomber Enola Gay. In the distance ahead, the Japanese city of Hiroshima emerges from the morning haze. Colonel Tibbets and his crew have been in the air for six hours, and they’re about to reach the critical point in their mission.

Colonel Tibbets has piloted aircraft on dozens of bombing runs, but none like this one. His plane is carrying just a single weapon, an atomic bomb nicknamed Little Boy.

Three months ago, Adolf Hitler killed himself and Nazi Germany surrendered, ending World War Two in Europe. But the Japanese have vowed to fight on. American commanders predict that multiple amphibious landings on the remaining Japanese-controlled islands will result in hundreds of thousands of casualties on both sides. But thanks to Dr. Robert Oppenheimer’s work at Los Alamos, the American armed forces now have another weapon at their disposal. If Colonel Tibbets and his crew succeed in their mission today, it could be the blow that will shatter Japanese resistance once and for all.

When the Enola Gay is ten miles out from the target, Colonel Tibbets hears a crackle of static and a few words over the intercom from the bombardier in charge of releasing Little Boy. He has the target in sight—a bridge in the heart of Hiroshima.

Colonel Tibbets checks his watch, and they’re right on time. He gives the signal and the bombardier presses a button to release the atomic weapon, and the effect of losing nine thousand pounds of weight is instantaneous. The nose of the B-29 jerks violently upwards. Colonel Tibbets pulls on the control column, yanking the aircraft into a hard right turn. He’s been told to put as much distance between him and the blast as possible. Because only forty-three seconds later, the bomb explodes two thousand feet above Hiroshima.

Bright light immediately washes over the aircraft, although Colonel Tibbets and the rest of the crew have donned dark goggles to protect their eyes. A minute later, the shock wave from the explosion reaches the plane. They’re nine miles away from the target by the time it hits them, but it’s still powerful enough to make the whole plane shudder.

The tail gunner has the best view of the explosion, and he reports that a vast mushroom cloud has appeared over the city. It remains visible to the crew for an hour and a half as they race back to base. What they can’t see is the reality on the ground. Half of Hiroshima has been instantly obliterated. Eighty thousand Japanese civilians are already dead.

Three days later, an American plane drops another atomic bomb on Japan, this time over the city of Nagasaki. This bomb is of a different design, but the results are almost as devastating: sixty thousand people are killed in the explosion.

Then, on August 15th 1945, nine days after an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the Japanese emperor announces his country's surrender. While Americans celebrate the end of the war, the man who helped to bring it to a close is conflicted. Dr. Robert Oppenheimer feels that the use of the atomic bomb at Hiroshima was a necessary show of force, but he can’t help thinking that the attack on Nagasaki was unwarranted. He worries that he’s changed the face of warfare—and not for the better.

Two days after the end of the war, Robert leaves Los Alamos and travels to Washington DC to deliver a letter to the Secretary of State. In it, Robert outlines the concerns he harbors about the weapons he helped create. He is then invited to the White House to meet with President Harry Truman. During their meeting in the Oval Office, Robert tells Truman that he feels like he has blood on his hands after the death of so many civilians. But Truman has little patience for Robert’s personal turmoil. He insists that, as President, he was the one who chose to bomb the Japanese and the responsibility for civilian's deaths is his alone.

Disillusioned, Robert returns to civilian life. But his misgivings over America’s policy on nuclear weapons will grow, reigniting old concerns about his loyalties. The FBI will then take a renewed interest in the activities of Dr. Robert Oppenheimer. His career and reputation will be shredded. And the father of the atomic bomb will be prevented from shaping the future of his creation ever again.

Act Three

It’s December 2nd, 1963, at the White House in Washington, DC, 18 years after the detonation of the first atomic bomb.

59-year-old Robert Oppenheimer looks on as President Lyndon B. Johnson addresses a small crowd gathered in the Cabinet Room. Robert’s here today to receive the Enrico Fermi Award in recognition of his contribution to nuclear science.

By the end of World War Two, Robert’s work on the bomb had made him one of the most famous men in America. Following the conflict, he joined the Atomic Energy Committee, a new body advising the U.S. government on nuclear policy. In this role, Robert advised caution when developing more powerful nuclear weapons and advocated for international arms control. But in 1953, with the United States embroiled in a new Cold War, concerns resurfaced over Robert’s past links to the American Communist Party. He was stripped of his security clearance and dismissed from the Atomic Energy Committee. Publicly humiliated, Robert was blacklisted and no longer able to influence how nuclear weapons were to be used. But that dispute was ten years ago, and President Johnson has decided it's now time to reconcile with the nation’s foremost scientist.

President Johnson thanks Robert for his expertise and leadership of the Manhattan Project in World War Two. He draws especial attention to the success of the Trinity test in New Mexico. Then, President Johnson shakes Robert’s hand and gives him a case containing an engraved medal and certificate.

Robert gladly accepts the award, although he recognizes that it’s largely symbolic. It doesn’t restore his security clearance, and Robert remains unable to influence nuclear policy in the way he wishes. Not that he’d have much ability to do that these days. Robert’s health is failing. His hands tremble slightly as he clutches the award. And he looks gaunt in a suit that appears too large for him, and he seems to have age much farther than his 59 years.

The reason for Robert’s appearance will soon become apparent. He’ll be diagnosed with throat cancer, and die three years after being presented with this award at the White House.

But Robert’s legacy will live on long after his death. Today’s nuclear weapons are exponentially more powerful than those Robert created. But it seems that modern scientists and politicians have heeded the warnings that Robert issued after he gave humanity the ability to destroy the world—the nuclear war Robert Oppenheimer feared has not come to pass, and atomic bombs have only been used in combat those two times over Japan, since the detonation of the very first bomb, on July 16th, 1945.

Outro

Next on History Daily. July 17th, 1674. The skeletons of two boys are uncovered in London, leading to speculation that they are the bodies of the long-lost “Princes in the Tower.”

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Gabriel Gould.

Music by Thrumm.

This episode is written and researched by Rob Scragg.

Edited by Scott Reeves.

Managing producer, Emily Burke.

Executive Producers are William Simpson for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.