The Einstein–Szilard Letter

On August 2, 1939, Albert Einstein signed a letter warning President Franklin Roosevelt that uranium could be turned into extremely powerful bombs of a new type. The letter was not his idea. It came from Leo Szilard, a Hungarian refugee physicist with no laboratory, no funding, and no way to reach Washington, who drove out to a rented cabin on Long Island because he needed a name a head of state would not leave unread. What followed was a long delay, a small committee, and a decision Einstein later called the one great mistake of his life.Send me a text!Support the show