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Explore every episode of the podcast My Nuclear Life
Dive into the complete episode list for My Nuclear Life. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
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| What should we do with all the ray cats? with Matt Caplan | 01 Aug 2024 | 00:52:18 | |
What if you discovered warning signs of something very dangerous buried deep underground from an ancient civilization? Would you believe the item was dangerous or would you think it was valuable treasure? Would you continue exploring? Find out what could be buried and what Drs. Caplan and Lesher would do with the knowledge.
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| The journey of a citizen scientist with Frank von Hippel | 28 May 2024 | 00:51:23 | |
Physicist and activist, Frank von Hippel discusses his career in arms control and what the future may hold for the world.
Two corrections – 1) The Nuclear Weapons Freeze march was from the UN to Central park and 2) The banner in the Freeze march said 177 out of 195 towns voted for the Freeze in Vermont, not 193 out of 197.
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| How to identify Manhattan Project Plutonium with Cody Folden | 29 Aug 2023 | 00:48:48 | |
How can you find the age of Plutonium? Why is it important? What are the applications? Find out the answer to these questions and more on this episode of My Nuclear Life when Cody Folden joins Shelly Lesher to discuss his paper in the Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry.
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| Trying to stay alive at the Diefenbunker with Nathan Radke & Lee Kuhnle | 25 Jul 2023 | 01:04:01 | |
My Nuclear Life and The Uncover Up visit the Diefenbunker: Canada's Cold War Museum. Join Shelly, Nathan, and Lee as they journey 75 feet underground to compare how the Canadian Government planned to prepare for their survival versus the Civil Defense measured intended for their citizens.
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| J. Robert Oppenheimer with Kai Bird | 27 Jun 2023 | 01:03:02 | |
Get ready for the summer movie by joining Oppenheimer biographer Kai Bird (author of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer) as he discusses Oppie's life and science.
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| The 3rd Nuclear Age with Ankit Panda | 30 May 2023 | 00:50:33 | |
What is the 3rd Nuclear Age? Wait, what about the 1st and 2nd? Join Shelly as she speaks to Stanton Senior Fellow Ankit Panda about how the world is grabbling with nuclear proliferation and what challenges we face.
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| The Origin of the Elements with Artemis Spyrou | 25 Apr 2023 | 00:40:30 | |
Chemical elements make up the matter we observe in the universe but how did they form? How did scientists figure this out and what is left to learn? Artemis Spyrou joins Shelly to discuss the evolution of the elements and the nuclear processes that govern stellar nucleosynthesis.
Find the B2FH paper, Visit us at: mynuclearlife.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/mynuclearlife email us | |||
| NIF fusion was a breakthrough, but what kind? with Bob Rosner | 28 Mar 2023 | 00:43:38 | |
In December 2022, Lawrence Livermore's National Ignition Facility (NIF) achieved ignition. Join Shelly as she speaks with Bob Rosner about what this milestone means to Stockpile Stewardship and to physics. Also - learn how cool it is to focus 192 lasers onto a tiny little capsule.
Patreon: www.patreon.com/mynuclearlife email us Article: Bulletin Article | |||
| Witnessing the Starfish Prime nuclear test with Jim Burkhart | 28 Feb 2023 | 00:39:20 | |
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to witness an above-ground nuclear weapons test? Shelly is joined by Jim Burkhart who was stationed on the Johnston Atoll in 1962 when the largest nuclear test in outer space was conducted. He will discuss this and other shots during his year "on island" as part of Operation Dominic.
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| Solving the solar neutrino problem with Nobel Laureate Art McDonald | 31 Jan 2023 | 00:51:30 | |
From his beginnings as a nuclear physicist to his Nobel Prize-winning work on neutrinos, Arthur McDonald sits down with Shelly Lesher in the studio.
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| Is this the year NORAD shoots down Santa? With Martin Pfeiffer | 24 Dec 2022 | 00:32:05 | |
Martin Pfeiffer aka @nuclearanthro joins Shelly to discuss the origin story of NORAD Tracks Santa and why it matters. Not suitable for children and may contain foul language.
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| Mom, I'm scared, come pick me up! Students speak out. | 15 Dec 2022 | 00:50:38 | |
Young scientists from the Division of Nuclear Physics (DNP) Conference react to the nuclear weapon talks which opened the conference. Hear their thoughts about the role nuclear scientists play in the future of nuclear policy and disarmament.
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| The Black Sea Experiment: Data taking and legacy | 30 Apr 2024 | 00:42:21 | |
Our team returns to the Soviet Union to take data on the Slava. We hear about the spectroscopy of a nuclear weapon and the legacy of the Black Sea Experiment.
Guests include: Steve Fetter, Frank von Hippel, and Tom Cochran
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| US Nuclear Weapons and the Nuclear Posture Review with Steve Fetter | 29 Nov 2022 | 00:38:18 | |
With all the talk of nuclear weapons in Europe, learn about the US nuclear weapon triad with Dr. Steve Fetter. Recorded live during a nuclear physics conference, Drs. Fetter and Lesher discuss the US Nuclear Posture Review, the US Nuclear Triad, Nuclear Modernization, and the history of ICBMS.
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| Inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone with Dominik & Lara from ChernobylX | 25 Oct 2022 | 00:48:40 | |
In this episode, we take you inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone with Dominik Orfanus founder of ChernobylX and lead tour guide, Lara Graldina. What is it like inside the "Zone"? Who lives there? What can you do to help? This and more on Episode 38. Note: This episode does not discuss the disaster itself. To hear about that event, listen to Episode 16 - The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Disaster with Adam Higginbotham.
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to ChernobylX to find out how you can contribute to their humanitarian work in the Exclusion Zone.
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to My Nuclear Life or visit our website mynuclearlife.com. Please leave a 5-star review on iTunes and subscribe to My Nuclear Life wherever you listen to podcasts.
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| The Baby Tooth Study 2.0 with Marc Weisskopf | 27 Sep 2022 | 00:58:37 | |
The St. Louis Baby Tooth Study has been reimagined. Using the original teeth collected from the children of the 1950s and 1960s Marc Weisskopf and his colleagues at Harvard are seeking to find new answers from old teeth. Shout out to Taz & Mookie Weisskopf who make their presence known on the recording. Note: For background on the Baby Tooth Study listen to Episode 36 first.
Artwork from href=https://theappendix.net/issues/2014/10/atomic-anxiety-and-the-tooth-fairy-citizen-science-in-the-midcentury-midwest>Atomic Anxiety and the Tooth Fairy
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| St. Louis Baby Tooth Survey with Nina Gilden Seavey | 30 Aug 2022 | 00:34:17 | |
Nina Gilden Seavey discusses how the St. Louis Baby Tooth Survey helped persuade U.S. President Kennedy to sign the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty which ended above-ground nuclear weapons testing in the US, UK, and the Soviet Union. In the process, citizen science was born and children sported cool buttons on their lapels.
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| What if a nuclear engineer was elected US President? with Jonathan Alter | 26 Jul 2022 | 00:40:22 | |
He was and served as the 39th President of the USA. But before his career in politics, Jimmy Carter was a Navy Nuke under Gen. Rickover. What did he do in the Navy? How did this time in the Nuclear Navy shape his policies? What would happen if someone who thought like a scientist gained access to the highest seat in the land? Find out in this episode when Shelly speaks to Jimmy Carter’s biographer, Jonathan Alter.
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| How did the U.S. Government plan for nuclear war without you? with Garrett Graff | 28 Jun 2022 | 00:42:58 | |
Underground nuclear bunkers, the birth of FEMA, secret government plans for the end of the world, and more in this episode. Garrett Graff discusses his book Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government’s Secret Plan to Save Itself -- While the Rest of Us Die.
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| Exploring the end of the world with nuclear literature and Daniel Cordle | 31 May 2022 | 00:53:13 | |
This episode explores how we, as humans, grapple with the end of the world through nuclear literature including fiction, nonfiction, poems, etc. How do we grapple with the "end" if it is caused by humans and how do we explain nuclear events to children? Visit our webpage for a list of books discussed in this episode.
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| Shipbuilding with the precision of a watchmaker - ITER with Michael Loughlin | 26 Apr 2022 | 00:41:39 | |
The history of fusion as a source of energy is discussed along with past and current projects. Is a fusion power plant still decades away?
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| Can Wargaming teach ethics? With John Emery | 29 Mar 2022 | 01:08:26 | |
What is a war game? How did they shape our understanding of the Cold War? Did the mathematicians or social scientists win the war of the COW game? Learn about issues surrounding wargaming at RAND and elsewhere as Shelly & John dive deep into the question, "Can wargaming teach ethics?"
Find John Emery's paper here:
Moral Choices without Moral Language
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| Nuclear Threat Reduction & Current Events with Matthias Grosse Perdekamp | 08 Mar 2022 | 00:59:22 | |
Special episode on reducing nuclear threat with Prof. Matthias Grosse Perdekamp. Recorded when Russia was invading Ukraine.
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| Prelude to the Black Sea Experiment: Soviet Scientists Reach Out | 30 Apr 2024 | 00:38:08 | |
This episode sets the stage for the Black Sea Experiment. We are introduced to Tom Cochran and Frank von Hippel, two people who had a hand in changing the way the US viewed arms control verification. This episode introduces seismic verification, used to verify nuclear tests for decades.
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| Radium & Marie Curie go Goth Rock with Charming Disaster | 22 Feb 2022 | 00:41:11 | |
Today's episode features the musical duo Charming Disaster. They discuss the process of writing their new album based on the life of Marie Curie and the element she discovered, stories that did not make it into their songs, and ways that this album should sound familiar to fans but is also a departure from their usual writing style. Also, Elia & Jeff dispel Shelly's notion of "Goth Rock".
Preorder their new album:Our Lady of Radium Visit Charming Disaster Website Visit us at: mynuclearlife.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/mynuclearlife email us | |||
| Using nuclear science to understand cultural heritage with Michael Wiescher | 25 Jan 2022 | 00:53:32 | |
What role does nuclear science play in understanding art and culture? Michael Wiescher from The University of Notre Dame explains.
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| Should Khrushchev receive story credit for Dr. Strangelove? With Nathan and Lee from The UnCover Up | 06 Jan 2022 | 00:39:18 | |
Nathan Radke and Lee Kuhnle from The UnCover Up podcast discuss Dr. Strangelove with Shelly and introduce an interesting conspiracy theory. Lee poses a question on if Nikita Khrushchev should receive story credit for the plot of the movie and backs it up with some interesting history of who could launch a nuclear attack. Wait - did Stanley Kubrick accidentally get it right?
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| The movie with the finest ending: Failsafe (1964) with Nathan & Lee from The UnCover Up | 04 Jan 2022 | 00:46:55 | |
Nathan Radke and Lee Kuhnle from The UnCover Up podcast discuss Failsafe (1964) with Shelly and compare it to Dr. Strangelove. Find out what character made Lee want to quit watching Failsafe, who the gang thinks would have a better chance at surviving a nuclear exchange: file clerks or prisoners, and what Shelly wants etched on her tombstone.
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| What's with all the Nuclear Movies? With Nathan & Lee from The UnCover Up | 28 Dec 2021 | 01:00:12 | |
Nathan and Lee from the UnCover Up podcast join today’s conversation in discussing their favorite nuclear movies spanning over the decades, involving wars, nuclear disasters, and so much more! Amongst the 100’s of movies, they’ll be touching on just a sampling—this is a conversation you won’t want to miss!
Movie links can be found on our website.
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| Using radiation as a poison. The murder of Alexander Litvinenko with Pete Burgess | 30 Nov 2021 | 00:53:31 | |
In this episode Pete Burgess discusses the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian spy who defected to the UK. Why is polonium-210 a good poison? How do you make it? Why wasn’t the public scared it could happen to them? All of those questions and more are answered in this exciting episode.
Visit us at: mynuclearlife.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/mynuclearlife Send an email us to My Nuclear Life or visit our website mynuclearlife.com. Please leave a 5-star review on iTunes and subscribe to My Nuclear Life wherever you listen to podcasts. | |||
| How the Norwegians & British ended the Nazi atomic bomb program with Neal Bascomb | 26 Oct 2021 | 00:57:06 | |
In this episode, host Shelly Lesher is joined by Neal Bascomb, author of The Winter Fortress, which tells the story of the plan to sabotage Hitler’s atomic bomb. Listen as Neal tells about the several different missions set out to destroy the Nazi atomic bomb program and how they affected the course of the World War II.
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| Finger on the Button: Life as a Cold War Missileer with Col. (Ret.) Charles G. Simpson | 28 Sep 2021 | 00:59:39 | |
Go inside a US missile silo with Col. (Ret.) Charles G. Simpson as he discusses his time as a US Air Force Missileer which started weeks before the Cuban Missile Crisis and ends shortly before the end of the Cold War.
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| Scientists as activists, human rights, and ethics with Don Howard | 15 Sep 2021 | 01:21:58 | |
This episode features Don Howard, a Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame with an interest in the ethics of emerging technologies. Shelly & Don explore the ethical considerations behind the Manhattan Project and building the H-bomb, and discuss question such as: Should scientists use their expertise to be involved in politics? What is the moral obligation to one’s work? How are scientists involved in human rights work? and more. Don also shares his moving experiences as a child during the Cold War.
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| History of early computing with Thomas Haigh | 17 Aug 2021 | 01:24:30 | |
In this episode Shelly speaks with Thomas Haigh, a historian of computing, about the ENIAC and its influence on nuclear physics. Learn how the ENIAC was more of an experimental apparatus than a computer, the role of women in early computing, why we know so much about the secret h-bomb calculations, what Wikipedia gets wrong, and the confusion surrounding the MANIAC. All of this and more in this super-sized episode. Visit us at: mynuclearlife.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/mynuclearlife | |||
| Adventures in Nuclear Risk Reduction - Georgia Pt 2 | 27 Mar 2024 | 00:52:44 | |
Shelly continues her stay in Tbilisi, Georgia and speaks to two Physicists, Giorgia Japaridz (Illia State Univ.) and Revaz Shanidze (Tbilisi State Univ). They discuss what life as a physicist was like under Soviet rule and after Georgian independence. Along the way we learn about scientists who protected nuclear material when security fled, why the Institute’s reactor was unique, and find out how to survive in post-Soviet times. This podcast is in collaboration with The Stanley Center for Peace and Security.
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| The connection between nuclear disarmament, peace, and black freedom with Vincent Intondi | 03 Aug 2021 | 00:58:20 | |
In this episode Shelly is joined by Dr. Vincent Intondi, history professor at Montgomery College in Maryland. He is invited on the podcast today to discuss his recent authorship of his eye opening book entitled African Americans Against the Bomb: Nuclear Weapons, Colonialism, and the Black Freedom Movement. Shelly shares that while reading this book, she was uncomfortable with material, and had to process material from perspectives that she had never considered before. This interview proves to be a true eye-opener for listeners including connections between nuclear weapons and racism, the role of African Americans in nuclear disarmament, and how young people can contribute to new and pressing issues. Visit us at: mynuclearlife.comPatreon: www.patreon.com/mynuclearlife email us | |||
| Nuking the Moon and other Shenanigans with The Uncover Up | 20 Jul 2021 | 01:06:58 | |
In this episode, Shelly is joined by 2/3rds of The Uncover Up Conspiracy Podcast, Nathan Radke and Lee Kuhlne. They discuss the Pentagon UFO report, their joint Cold War obsession, what we can learn from conspiracy theory, and various nuclear conspiracy theories. Visit us at: mynuclearlife.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/mynuclearlife email us | |||
| The impact of the Cold War on LIGO with Tiffany Nichols | 06 Jul 2021 | 00:42:18 | |
In this episode Shelly speaks to Tiffany Nichols, doctoral candidate at the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University, graduate student affiliate at the Black Hole Initiative and a National Science Foundation grantee. Her research focuses on how place, surrounding environment, and laboratory are embedded in the outputs signals of The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, also known as LIGO.
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| Announcement: My Nuclear Life / The UncoverUp Crossover | 29 Jun 2021 | 00:01:07 | |
We are excited to announce our first crossover! | |||
| The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Disaster with Adam Higginbotham | 22 Jun 2021 | 00:51:41 | |
In this episode Shelly is joined by Adam Higginbotham, author of New York Times best selling book Midnight in Chernobyl. Listen as Shelly and Adam talk about his book and about the biggest nuclear disaster in the world. Adam takes the time to share his own research in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the many events that led up to the accident.
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| Death by control rod: The story of SL1 with Todd Tucker | 08 Jun 2021 | 00:51:06 | |
In this episode of My Nuclear Life, Shelly speaks with Todd Tucker, author of several books including Atomic America: How a Deadly Explosion and a Feared Admiral changed the Course of Nuclear History published in 2009. Today, the story of SL-1 holds wide appeal yet remains relatively unknown. If you have heard of the explosion you might know of the person impaled by a control rod, a murder suicide plot due to a love triangle or a prank gone wrong. All of this and more is discussed in this episode about the US's deadliest reactor accident.
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| How to restart a nuclear reactor in Japan after the Fukushima disaster with Dreux Richard | 25 May 2021 | 01:02:53 | |
In this episode, Shelly Lesher and Dreux Richard author of the book, Every Human Intention: Japan in the New Century, explore the post-Fukushima nuclear regulatory system of Japan and how to determine the safety of restarting nuclear reactors threatened by earthquake faults.
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| Soviet bone records, Tom Lehrer, and music for your nuclear protest with Tim & Joanna Smolko | 11 May 2021 | 01:07:37 | |
In this episode of My Nuclear Life, host Shelly Lesher speaks with Tim and Joanna Smolko, authors of Atomic Tunes: The Cold War in American and British Popular Music. They discuss atomic music across the decades including how music influenced The Women’s March for Peace, how Soviet’s made records out of x-ray films, and how David Hasselhoff became a Cold War icon.
Listen along with the Spotify Playlist or at YouTube. Visit us at: mynuclearlife.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/mynuclearlife | |||
| Deep beneath the surface: Innovating nuclear waste disposal with Elizabeth Muller | 27 Apr 2021 | 00:36:42 | |
In this episode, Lexie Weghorn and Shelly Lesher discuss nuclear waste disposal with Elizabeth Muller, CEO of Deep Isolation. Topics include nuclear energy’s “waste problem”, how nuclear waste is currently stored, and options for our future.
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| Hanford Lab Pt. 2: How the DOE got into the museum business with Robert Franklin | 13 Apr 2021 | 01:02:17 | |
In this episode, Shelly continues her conversation with Robert Franklin, Archivist & Oral Historian at the Hanford History Project. They discuss how Hanford's B-Reactor became a Manhattan Project National Historical Site, local vs. national interpretation of history, the local high school mascot, and civil rights. Visit us at: mynuclearlife.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/mynuclearlife | |||
| Adventures in Nuclear Risk Reduction - Georgia Pt 1 | 27 Feb 2024 | 00:58:03 | |
Spend time with Shelly and two guest as she travels to Tbilsi, Georgia. First she discusses storytelling and Georgian’s atomic Odyssey with Shorena Lortkipanidze from the Civil Council on Defense and Security (Tbilsi, Georgia). Next, Mariam Chabashvidi explains her love for computer programming after Georgian independence and how she became an invaluable member of the nuclear science team at the Institute of Physics in Tbilsi, Georgia. This podcast is in collaboration with The Stanley Center for Peace and Security.
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| Hanford Lab Pt. 1: The triumph of the engineer with Robert Franklin | 13 Apr 2021 | 01:20:48 | |
In this episode, Shelly and Robert Franklin, Archivist & Oral Historian of the Hanford History Project dive into the history of the Hanford Laboratory and B-Reactor located in Washington State. They discuss why this site is the lesser known of the Manhattan project laboratories and what you can see if you visit today.
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| Quarky News: Volk Field 1962 | 06 Apr 2021 | 00:16:09 | |
In this new segment of My Nuclear Life find out what happens at Volk Field one snowy night in 1962.
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| Radium: Luxurious, Beautiful, Expensive, and Modern with Lucy Santos | 30 Mar 2021 | 00:55:24 | |
In this episode Shelly Lesher and Lucy Jane Santos, author of the book Half Lives: The Unlikely History of Radium discuss the beauty industry, salons, and radium in consumer products. Visit us at: mynuclearlife.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/mynuclearlife | |||
| Nuclear newsletters, queer theory, and Freedom of Information with Martin Pfeiffer | 16 Mar 2021 | 00:56:47 | |
In this episode of My Nuclear Life, host Shelly Lesher interviews Martin Pfeiffer, a Ph.D. student of anthropology at the University of New Mexico. He is best known for his twitter account, @NuclearAnthro. Topics discussed include Sandia National Laboratory Newsletters, the intersection of queer theory and nuclear weapons, The Freedom of Information Act in relation to obtaining material from the Department of Energy, and lots and lots of laughs.
Marty's webpage: Pfeiffer Nuclear Weapons and National Security Archive
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