Episode 34: Avoiding Nuclear War with Martin J. Sherwin

In the Context of Empire

Jon and Matt were joined by Dr. Martin J Sherwin to speak about the all too important issue of nuclear weapons. Dr. Martin J. Sherwin professor of history at George Mason University, co-author of the Pulitzer Prize winning book,American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer., and author of A World Destroyed: Hiroshima and its Legacies, and Gambling with Armageddon: Nuclear Roulette from Hiroshima to the Cuban Missile Crisis

Discussed in this episode:

- Common myths about the use of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

- Why Truman really used the bombs; the reality of the USSR entry into the war against the Japanese

- The the dissent to Truman's decision from both scientists and the military

- How nuclear weapons became the forefront of US foreign policy

- The real legacies of Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy with regards to nuclear weapons proliferation

- The Cuban Missile Crisis, the conduct of Kennedy, Krushchev, and the lessons that SHOULD have been learned

- Martin's hopes for the future regarding non proliferation

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