22 episodes

After Oppenheimer’s success at the Oscars, delve into the wider story of the atomic bomb. Told through the scientists and spies who changed history. Season 1 follows the scientist who discovers the destructive possibilities of harnessing nuclear power. It leads to the race to beat the Nazis to the first atomic bomb. Season 2 tells of a brilliant scientist who lives a double life, stealing atomic secrets for the Soviet Union. Season 3 is coming soon.

The Bomb BBC World Service

    • History
    • 4.7 • 117 Ratings

After Oppenheimer’s success at the Oscars, delve into the wider story of the atomic bomb. Told through the scientists and spies who changed history. Season 1 follows the scientist who discovers the destructive possibilities of harnessing nuclear power. It leads to the race to beat the Nazis to the first atomic bomb. Season 2 tells of a brilliant scientist who lives a double life, stealing atomic secrets for the Soviet Union. Season 3 is coming soon.

    Introducing: Love, Janessa

    Introducing: Love, Janessa

    All episodes of our catfishing podcast are now available. You meet someone online. It turns out many others think they have fallen for the same person. It’s the story of the scammers and the unwitting face of a digital con. With host, Hannah Ajala.
    Search for Love, Janessa wherever you get your podcasts.

    • 2 min
    S2.10 Fallout

    S2.10 Fallout

    Jail awaits - Klaus Fuchs is going down. But will he take Ursula with him? British intelligence wants names. As Fuchs is forced to face his past, Ursula tries to run from hers. Presenter Rosa Ellis questions how their actions have shaped today's nuclear tensions. #thebomb

    • 33 min
    S2.9 Dead cat, live cat

    S2.9 Dead cat, live cat

    A double life implodes. Fuchs faces judge and jury, but will he confess? A future as an eminent physicist is slipping away. And the friends who took him in as a young scientist are blindsided - they want answers. But first he must face the court. #thebomb

    • 30 min
    S2.8 The uncertainty principle

    S2.8 The uncertainty principle

    The spy catchers close in. Klaus Fuchs is caught in the crosshairs. Spymaster Ursula has outwitted the interrogators - but can he? As he settles down in England, British intelligence services are following him at every turn. He is caught in a web of surveillance - and his faith in the Soviets is faltering. How long can he run for? #thebomb

    • 30 min
    S2.7 Critical mass

    S2.7 Critical mass

    The interrogation of a spymaster. Ursula is questioned as Klaus Fuchs returns to England. Secrets threaten to be spilled and loyalties are tested. The war has ended, and the physicist could have a promising future. But will his past catch up with him? Could British intelligence services be on to him? #thebomb

    • 29 min
    S2.6 Camp Y

    S2.6 Camp Y

    Lives on the line. The Fuchs family is drawn into the espionage as the atomic bomb project takes a deadly turn. Klaus is at the covert Manhattan Project laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico. In this desert terrain, he has lost contact with the Soviets. As the countdown to detonation begins, there's only one person who can be trusted. #thebomb

    • 38 min

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
117 Ratings

117 Ratings

cludge2 ,

Great series

Great series. Had no idea of these events.

JBinJPN ,

Fascinating history and people, but…

Unfortunately the host is a bit insufferable with her hand-wringing about the bomb. We all know the sheer horror of the bomb - we get it already - but she lacks perspective and historical context in pretty dramatic fashion, even while the excellent interviewees she’s talking with are at pains to illustrate how brutal and utterly suicidal the Japanese military complex had turned the poor people of Japan. In her own words: “Has Japan come to terms with what they did to their own people and abroad (unit 731 etc.)?”

At some point you have to settle with the lesser evil … and, much to the host’s surprise I would imagine, conventional bombing was far more devastating and fatal than the bomb itself.

The show would have been an easy five star if the host could have removed her indulgences and approached this with a more nuanced, measured and mature perspective.

Simon Drought ,

Simon Drought

Excellent series. Stories that need to be told. Simon Drought

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