15-Minute History5 Maj 2025

The Manhattan Project | Scientific Achievement vs Ethical Responsibility

It was still dark. The group of men felt the breeze getting warmer as the eastern horizon began to show signs of light. One of the men, tall with no expression, watched as final preparations were made to a large object in front of the group.

The others saw the anxiety in his face in a way that only those had had been around him could discern. The man walked forward, spoke with some of the technicians, and watched them haul it away. It was going to a tower, visible in the distance. Conversations around him continued, but only because it seemed like they had to. Somehow, the silence would have been louder.

Not long after, notifications came from the tower; an all clear was given. At 5:29 a.m., a flash of light that was so brilliant it could be seen from 200 miles away blossomed in the desert. The mushroom cloud rose 40,000 feet into the air, and the shock wave was felt 100 miles from ground zero. The man who all that morning had worn no expression, would later recall remembering a Hindu scripture in that moment: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

Another man who witnessed the test described the overwhelming impression it left: "A new thing had just been born; a new control; a new understanding of man, which man had acquired over nature." Another observer said, "The lighting effects beggared description. The whole country was lighted by a searing light with the intensity many times that of the midday sun."

Humanity had crossed a threshold.

___

Join us as we show you the Manhattan Project, the reason behind the development of nuclear weapons, and the ethical implications of such an invention.

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(502)

War of 1812 (Part 2) | The Fire That Reforged a Nation (Republish)

During the summer break, the 15-Minute History team will be republishing some of your favorite episodes. This episode originally aired on December 1, 2025.---Washington burns. The White House is in fl...

27 Juli 18min

Pop Quiz | Air Conditioning

The Europeans may envy America's mighty air conditioners, but what would our country look like without this wondrous invention?Join us every Thursday for new Pop Quizzes this summer!

23 Juli 3min

The War of 1812 (Part 1): Humiliation, Hawks, and Heroism (Republish)

During the summer break, the 15-Minute History team will be republishing some of your favorite episodes. This episode originally aired on November 17, 2025.---Detroit falls without a fight. War Hawks ...

20 Juli 19min

Pop Quiz | Summer Reading List

Jon didn't give his students a reading list this summer, but if he had, what books would he have assigned?Join us every Monday for rebroadcast episodes this summer and on Thursdays for new Pop Quizzes...

16 Juli 3min

John Adams | "I Know I Am Right" (Repost)

During the summer break, the 15-Minute History team will be republishing some of your favorite episodes. This episode originally aired on November 3, 2025.---In the popular mind, John Adams' life and ...

13 Juli 14min

Pop Quiz | Extremism and the "Political Pendulum"

How do we know when a political party goes "too far" on policy? And what happens when there is a backlash against their ideas?Join us every week this summer for rebroadcast episodes and new pop quizze...

9 Juli 3min

Theodore Roosevelt | A Strenuous Life (Republish)

During the summer break, the 15-Minute History team will be republishing some of your favorite episodes. This episode originally aired on January 26, 2026.---"You must make your body." An asthmatic bo...

8 Juli 21min

Summer Special | America's 250th Birthday!

To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we've re-recorded an episode from season 1 entitled "Their Safety and Happiness," which looks at the historical and philosophical...

4 Juli 21min