Main content

25. A Nuclear Awakening

A little girl鈥檚 8th birthday and a nuclear dawn. In a new mini series, Matthew Syed goes back to a nuclear crossroads when the world grappled with the birth of the bomb.

It鈥檚 a little girl鈥檚 eighth birthday. She wakes to a sight that looks like the end of the world. A radioactive mushroom cloud rises 130,000 feet in the air. And the world wakes up to the devastating fallout of nuclear weapons.

In this new mini series from Sideways, writer and Times columnist Matthew Syed is calling for a nuclear awakening. Since the end of the Cold War, when relations between two of the world鈥檚 nuclear superpowers - the former USSR and the USA - seemed more rosy, Matthew argues that many of us have slipped into a kind of comfortable amnesia about the presence of these destroyers of worlds.

The wake up call came when President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine in February accompanied by veiled nuclear threats. It was a reminder of the mind bending fact that there are weapons in existence that are capable of eradicating our species.

Over four episodes, Matthew explores the intellectual and strategic frameworks birthed by the bomb and the tensions of the Cold War, which sought to contain the ultimate destructive force. From deterrence to disarmament and non-proliferation, these ideas all aim at one goal - protection from catastrophic nuclear use. Understanding their origins and complexities is urgently needed, Matthew argues.

Ultimately, Matthew will be asking if the actions of Putin in Ukraine call for a new intellectual framework to help make our world safe.

Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer and Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Researcher: Nadia Mehdi
Sound Designer: Rob Speight
Special thanks to Jessica A Schwartz for her recordings of Lijon Eknilang which form part of the material for her book Radiation Sounds. Also to Ali Raj and Susanne Rust, whose reporting for the LA Times informed this episode.

Contributors:
Evelyn Ralpho Jeadrik, daughter of Lijon Eknilang, Marshallese singer, composer and anti-nuclear activist.
Ariana Tibon, Commissioner, Royal Marshall Islands National Nuclear Commission
Alex Wellerstein, historian of science and nuclear weapons and a professor at the Stevens Institute of Technology.
David Holloway, Raymond A. Spruance Professor of International History and author of Stalin and the Bomb: The Soviet Union and Atomic Energy, 1939-1956

A Novel production for 麻豆社 Radio 4

Available now

28 minutes

Last on

Mon 18 Jul 2022 00:15

Broadcasts

  • Wed 13 Jul 2022 09:00
  • Wed 13 Jul 2022 16:00
  • Mon 18 Jul 2022 00:15

Sideways - Articles

Sideways - Articles

Features on some of the fascinating topics from Sideways with Matthew Syed.

My last 5p: How one homeless man鈥檚 generosity led to him marrying the love of his life

My last 5p: How one homeless man鈥檚 generosity led to him marrying the love of his life

How one act of generosity can have profound consequences.

Why we all need an alter ego

Why we all need an alter ego

Matthew Syed looks at how adopting an alter ego can help us all to access confidence.

What's the secret of making a smash hit pop song?

What's the secret of making a smash hit pop song?

Exploring the success of Max Martin, the behind-the-scenes genius behind 22 No.1 hits.

Podcast