Super Critical Podcast - Overthinking Nuclear Weapon Pop Culture

Episode #56: On The Beach

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Episode notes

In this episode, we raised the periscope on our nuclear submarine to enjoy the story of On the Beach - both the movie (1959) and book (1957). What is the more likely ultimate catastrophe of a nuclear war: global nuclear fallout or nuclear winter? Why did the Eisenhower administration try to shut this movie down? If you read On the Beach while sitting on a beach, is that just tempting fate? Tim Westmyer (@NuclearPodcast) and special guest Joe Cirincione (@Cirincione), Distinguished Fellow at the Quincy Institute and recent president of the Ploughshares Fund, answer these questions and more. Before we start our engines at the Australian Grand Prix, we recommend: -Beverly Gray, “The Continuing Relevance of ‘On the Beach,’” The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist, August 3, 2015 -Fallout (2013 documentary) -Collisions (2015 documentary) -Office of Technology Assessment, The Effects of Nuclear War, May 1979 -Warfare History Network, “One of America’s Most Legendary Generals Had a Terrifying Plan to Win the Korean War,” The National Interest, July 16, 2017 -Fail Safe (1964 movie) -Them! (1954 movie) -Seven Days in May (1964 movie) Check out our website, SuperCriticalPodcast.com, for more resources and related items. We aim to have at least one new episode every month. Let us know what you think about the podcast and any ideas you may have about future episodes and guests by reaching out at on Twitter @NuclearPodcast, GooglePlay, Spotify, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Stitcher Radio, Facebook, [email protected], and YouTube. Enjoy!