1940s

Will the survivors envy the dead?

Tracing the origins of a popular trope about nuclear war

Dec 19 • Alex Wellerstein

"I have sought to slaughter as few civilians as possible."

The rabid, apocalyptic Beat poetry that is "Mission with LeMay"

Oct 16 • Alex Wellerstein

Irradiating the planet

Los Alamos scientists calculate the limits of radioactivity, 1947-1949

Sep 5 • Alex Wellerstein

Trinity goes to Hollywood

Which movie did the first atomic bomb test best?

Jul 16 • Alex Wellerstein

The meme-ification of the "Demon Core"

The strange transformation of a criticality accident into dark Internet humor

Nov 20, 2024 • Alex Wellerstein

The perfect horror of Chesley Bonestell's nuked New York

Gritty realism in the artwork for a 1950 article on "Hiroshima, U.S.A."

Aug 21, 2024 • Alex Wellerstein

#nojs-banner { position: fixed; bottom: 0; left: 0; padding: 16px 16px 16px 32px; width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; background: red; color: white; font-family: -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; } #nojs-banner a { color: inherit; text-decoration: underline; } This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts

Doomsday Machines

1940s