The Scientist

On August 6, 1945, the United States became the first, and thus far only, nation to deploy the atomic bomb in a time of war. After the war, “father of the atomic bomb” J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Jewish American theoretical physicist and director of the Manhattan Project lab at Los Alamos, joined the Atomic Energy Commission, and would soon find himself at odds with his former professional ally, Lewis Strauss. This week, we're joined by Pulitzer-prize winning co-author of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer Kai Bird.