Episodes
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Nuclear War Is Like Christmas Day
Something a little bit different this week: it's the first chapter of the nuclear war novel I'm writing. I'll be releasing the subsequent chapters in podcast form over on my Patreon page where you get your own private podcast feed, so if you want to hear more, and get ad-free listening, visit...
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The FINAL When The Wind Blows
We reach the end of the film. To whom can Jim pray? Is anyone out there, either in heaven, or in the lanes and streets of Sussex? Vote for which nuclear war film you want me to cover next at www.patreon.com/atomichobo I've made the poll free to everyone, not just members. And if you're a patron,...
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Camden's Clever Questions, Part 2
Camden annoy the Government in 1984 with more questions about nuclear war. You can read the accompanying archive material on my Patreon at www.patreon.com/atomichobo
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Camden's Clever Questions
Back into the archives to see what happened when Camden Borough Council wrote to the Home Office in 1984 with some clever questions. All the archive material referred to in the episode has been uploaded to my Patreon, so please consider becoming a member. You get archive material, bonus episodes,...
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Tetchy Tarzan Takes 'Em On
Michael Heseltine - nicknamed Tarzan - became Defence Secretary in Jan 1983 and formed Defence Secretariat 19, a group charged with attacking CND. To get ad-free access and archive material, visit www.patreon.com/atomichobo
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Ditching Hard Rock
Hard Rock in 1982 would've been the biggest nuclear war planning exercise in Britain for years - but the government were forced to cancel it, and anti-nuclear campaigners reacted with glee! What happened? See the SOLACE report, and get ad-free listening, on Patreon at www.patreon.com/atomichobo
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Nuclear War in Florida
Our nuclear book club has now started on Patreon, and the first video is free to view. You can watch it at www.patreon.com/atomichobo The first book was THE CHRYSALIDS but the second one, to be discussed in July, is ALAS BABYLON which is set in 1950s Florida, and so I thought we'd have a podcast...
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Pressing the Button: JFK and the PALs
How does a "pal" stop an "individual psychotic" from launching a nuke? JFK had the answer. To get ad-free access, and bonus episodes, visit www.patreon.com/atomichobo
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Pressing the Button: Eisenhower
Eisenhower introduced three big nuclear changes which overturned Truman's policies on presidential sole authority. To get ad-free access, plus extra episodes, consider joining my Patreon at www.patreon.com/atomichobo Thank you, Julie
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Pressing the Button: 'Fat, dumb and happy'
More on Truman and sole presidential authority, and why did Curtis LeMay say he would refuse to be 'fat, dumb and happy' if America got nuked? As with last week's episode on Truman, I must acknowledge the brilliant new book by Alex Wellerstein called The Most Awful Responsibility.
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When The Wind Blows, Part 19
Jim finally accepts how dire their situation is. To get ad-free listening and bonus episodes, join us on Patreon at www.patreon.com/atomichobo
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Pressing the Button: Truman
First in a new series looking at presidential sole authority to "press the button", and what each President has done with that authority. First up is Truman, obviously, and the lesson for the military seems to be: don't mess with Harry! To get ad-free listening and bonus episodes on your own...
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When The Wind Blows, Part 18
Oh dear, it's starting to get really grim! To get ad-free listening, plus bonus epiosdes, join us at www.patreon.com/atomichobo
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Shadow Libraries
How do you protect the written word from the bomb? Using salt mines and shadow libraries and iron mountains! To get ad-free listening join my Patreon at www.patreon.com/atomichobo
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When The Wind Blows, Part 17
Overkill, megadeath and a single Fruit Pastille. We approach the dreadful end. For ad-free listening, join me on Patreon at www.patreon.com/atomichobo
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Nuclear Fear: The Prologue, Part 2
Here is the second part of the Prologue to NUCLEAR FEAR, my book on nuclear pop culture which can't find a publisher. Should I self-publish? Are there enough nuclear nerds out there to make it viable? You can get ad-free listening plus bonus episodes at www.patreon.com/atomichobo
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Nuclear Fear: the Prologue
A different episode from the usual: this is Part One of the Prologue from my second book, NUCLEAR FEAR. Unfortunately, it cannot find a publisher. NUCLEAR FEAR was to be a book about the pop culture inspired by the bomb and our fear of nuclear war. I wonder should I ditch it? No publisher wants…
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Jitters in North Carolina?
Two nuclear crises hit in the early 60s: the Berlin Crisis in '61, then Cuba in '62. How did the good people of North Carolina react? In other news, I'm launching a nuclear book club called The Doomsday Library. Here's a video, open to all, showing how it works. If the link doesn't work, visit my...
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The Sculthorpe Nuclear Weapons Incident
What happened on a Norfolk air base in 1958 when an American threatened to k1ll himself by firing a gun into an atomic bomb? My thanks to the Conelrad6401240 YouTube/Twitter account for alerting me to this story, and for uploading the associated documentary, 'Something Foolish With A Pistol'. Get...
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Soviet Civil Defence: The Komsomol
The Soviet youth organisation, the Komsomol, and how it prepared the young for nuclear war with "predators from the imperialist jungle", as Khrushchev nicely put it. I quote from THE WHISPERERS: PRIVATE LIFE IN STALIN'S RUSSIA by Orlando Figes. Get ad-free access to all episodes, plus bonus...
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Soviet Civil Defence: The Trouble With Vegetables
Americans in the early 50s were told there was a "civil defence gap", and that the Soviets were superior in protecting their population? Was this true? As mentioned in the pod, I quote from two academic articles. They are: 'Soviet Civil Defence: The Mineshaft Gap Revisited' by Josh M Weinstein,...
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Greenland: The Thule Air Base
Why is America so interested in Greenland? What was its role in nuclear attack and early warning? And what happened when a huge B52 bomber carrying a bunch of hydrogen bombs crashed into the ice up there? There's a bonus pod which accompanies this episode. You can grab it here, and get ad-free...
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Harold Macmillan, Part 4: Pressing the Button
How would Harold Macmillan have ordered nuclear retaliation? Join us at www.patreon.com/atomichobo for ad-free listening and bonus episodes. The books and articles I used in this episode are listed below: The Secret State by Peter Hennessy Winds of Change by Peter Hennessy The Prime Minister: The...
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Harold Macmillan, Part 3
Thor is here! In 1958, the American Thor missiles arrive in the east of England, creating a headache for the authorities, and pain for those who protested their arrival and found themselves thrown into wet concrete, pelted with rotten fruit, and dragged around by the hair. Remember you can get...
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Harold Macmillan, Part 2
Supermac becomes Prime Minister in January 1957, a bumper year for nuclear matters! To get ad-free listening and extra episodes join us at www.patreon.com/atomichobo
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Harold Macmillan, Part 1
A new series on former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, a man born in the Victorian era who led Britain into her thermonuclear age and through the Cuban Missile Crisis. This episode starts with his horrible experiences in the trenches and takes us up to his 1954 appointment as Defence Secretary,...
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When The Wind Blows, Part 16
To get ad-free listening, plus bonus episodes, visit www.patreon.com/atomichobo This week, Jim retreats into daydreams, and Hilda dishes out hard truths at the kitchen sink. Which one is best equipped to face the coming horror: the dreamer or the realist? PS I left one of my puppy's snores in the...
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When The Wind Blows, Part 15
To get ad-free access, plus bonus episodes, please visit www.patreon.com/atomichobo
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POP! 99 Red Balloons
The chart-topping 1983 hit about nuclear war - even though the band insisted it was no such thing! To get ad-free episodes, plus bonus episodes, please visit www.patreon.com/atomichobo
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When The Wind Blows, Part 14
Lions and tigers and bears? Oh my! We see that everything becomes a threat after nuclear war. And what is that strange scent hanging in the air? Also, a new BONUS EPISODE has been released for patrons, this one about Ronald Reagan and the biblical prophecy of Armageddon. Did Reagan believe it?…
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France - Part Trois
The final part of our look at Savoir Pour Vivre, the French civil defence booklet.
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A Canticle for Leibowitz
The weird post-nuclear novel, A Canticle for Leibowitz. We will continue our series on the French civil defence booklet next week. I just couldn't resist interrupting my own schedule with an episode on this mind-bending novel.
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France, Part Deux
We look at the French civil defence booklet, Savoir Pour Vivre.
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France, Part One
I have the 1965 French civil defence booklet, and you can view it on Patreon here. I've made it free to read, but do consider subscribing for more content and extra pod episodes! www.patreon.com/atomichobo We will examine the booklet next week - it has been translated for me - but this week we...
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Germany's Emergency Alert System
How will Germany alert its population to a nuclear attack? And why isn't the British warning system as good as theirs?
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When The Wind Blows, Part 13
Jim lets the vampire, Fallout, cross the threshold! Join me on Patreon for more episodes at www.patreon.com/atomichobo
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The Bell and Light System
The Bell and Light alert system, used in America in the early Cold War. I discuss the booklet A Realistic Approach to Civil Defense, from 1966. You can view the civil defence booklet, and get extra episodes, at my Patreon page at www.patreon.com/atomichobo
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When The Wind Blows, Part 12
"All dead..." Jim tries the TV, the radio, the phone...but there's nothing. "All dead..." he keeps saying. Get the latest Four Minutes of The War Game over on Patreon at www.patreon.com/atomichobo
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Interview with Dr Richard Lawson on the "suicide pill" question
In 1983, a GP from a village near Bristol was so worried about the prospect of nuclear war, and how it would leave him unable to effectively treat his patients, that he called a public meeting and asked the residents whether they'd wish him to issue "suicide pills" in the event of nuclear war. I...
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Euthanasia in Nuclear War
A difficult subject this week - but aren't they all? We don't do sunshine and rainbows on this pod. I look at the topic of "suicide pills" which was bravely raised by American students at Brown in 1984, and made news all across the USA. The issue was also present in Britain in the early 80s, and...
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When The Wind Blows, Part 11
"I never knew a bomb could give you a headache." The fallout descends and Jim and Hilda start to feel ill. For patrons, a new Four Minutes of The War Game episode has also been uploaded. You can get it here: www.patreon.com/atomichobo Thanks, Julie
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Fiascos, Mormons and Graves: Nuclear News from 1981 Aldershot
I go into the newspaper archives to see what the local papers in Aldershot were saying about nuclear war in the early 80s.
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When The Wind Blows, Part 10
Their first hours within the tiny inner refuge. Join us on Patreon here www.patreon.com/atomichobo Thanks for listening. Julie
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Paper Tigers
Chairman Mao and his "paper tigers". Join us on Patreon for more episodes at www.patreon.com/atomichobo I quote a lot of good books in this episode, so here is a list: Tombstone: The Untold Story of Mao's Great Famine by Yang Jisheng Mao's Great Famine: The History of China's Most Devastating...
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When The Wind Blows, Part 9
The first terrible 48 hours after the Bomb drops... Join me on Patreon for more episodes at www.patreon.com/atomichobo
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Four Minutes of When The Wind Blows, Part 8
The episode where the bomb drops! I've also uploaded a new Four Minutes of The War Game episode for patrons, so please consider joining us there at www.patreon.com/atomichobo Thanks, Julie
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Operation Wake Up!
"LA was bombed today" said the local paper in 1951. This was Operation Wake Up.
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A Silly Name for the H-Bomb
The 1950s trend - which caused mockery and anger - for calling the hydrogen bomb "clean" or "humanitarian". Could the Americans make this awful weapon clean, or was it just a ploy to quiet our fear of fallout, and silence calls to ban nuclear testing? If you've been enjoying my FOUR MINUTES...
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When The Wind Blows, Part 6
The shadow of death falls over Jim and Hilda's cottage. Not that they notice! Too busy sorting out bottles and pepper pots - getting things just right for the bomb!