Civil Defense

"Take me to your shelter, leader!"

Do you have what it takes to be a shelter manager after World War III breaks out? Take this quiz from 1973 and find out!

Jan 29 • Alex Wellerstein

"Nuclear weapons repel all thought, perhaps because they can end all thought"

Martin Amis on the difficulties of writing about nuclear war

Nov 14, 2025 • Alex Wellerstein

A brief history of Preppers, part 2

Jun 13, 2025 • Alex Wellerstein

Nuclear families

The imagery of the "family" in fallout shelter pamphlets, 1959-1961

Apr 11, 2025 • Alex Wellerstein

Civil Defense and Preppers

A brief history of Preppers, part 1

Apr 4, 2025 • Alex Wellerstein

"When I go to my grave, my head will be high"

Bob Dylan's little-known protest song against Civil Defense from 1962

Nov 1, 2024 • Alex Wellerstein

The Occasion Instant, 1961

What can be learned from how people responded to false alarms about nuclear war in the late 1950s?

Sep 11, 2024 • Alex Wellerstein

Survival of the Relocated Population of the U.S. after a Nuclear Attack, 1976

The surprising secret to surviving a nuclear war is... to not be near the bombs when they go off

Aug 1, 2024 • Alex Wellerstein

The fate of cities

Building a video game model for the impact of a large-scale nuclear war on American cities

Jul 19, 2024 • Alex Wellerstein

A Possible Chapter in American History

Is this the most honest graph made for public consumption by a government Civil Defense agency? (Yes, it is.)

Jul 17, 2024 • Alex Wellerstein

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