Best The Atomic Drop Podcasts (2025)

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A Union General Found a Loophole in the Fugitive Slave Act, Causing 1 Million Slaves to Flee North 45:21

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8h ago45:21

45:21

After the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, enslaved people feared running away to the North, as their return was mandated, and they faced brutal punishment or even death upon return to deter others from escaping. But that changed during the Civil War. Black slaves in Confederate Virginia began hearing rumors that they could receive their …

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Connecticut leaders breaking barriers with historic firsts 49:00

4d ago49:00

49:00

Being the first person to do something isn’t easy. There’s no blueprint for what you are doing, no conventional wisdom to fall back on when all else fails. There is also the pressure of expectations and all the people who are counting on your success. But it’s a way to show people what is possible. Being first means being a pioneer. And here in Con…

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Hidden Voices 27:37

5d ago27:37

27:37

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Building bridges through interfaith connections; the documentary "Stripped for Parts" looks at the current state of the news business; and iconic Tucson cafe "The Little One" serves its final dish.By AZPM

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The Civil War’s Brutal Finale: A War of Attrition as Terrible as WW2-Pacific and the Napoleonic Wars 47:55

5d ago47:55

47:55

In 1864, the American Civil War reached a critical juncture with Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign, including the brutal battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania, which claimed over 60,000 casualties, surpassing Gettysburg as the Americas’ deadliest clash. Abraham Lincoln faced a contentious re-election against George B. McClellan, while Confe…

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Camp David Looks Like a 1970s Lakeside Retreat. Why is it the Site of the World’s Biggest Political Summits? 41:42

8d ago41:42

41:42

Camp David, nestled in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains, spans about 125 acres, making it significantly smaller than other presidential getaways like Lyndon B. Johnson’s sprawling 2,700-acre Texas ranch or the vast 1,000-acre Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine. Compared to grand diplomatic venues like the White House or international summit …

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Oral histories preserve the stories of communities that might otherwise be lost 49:00

11d ago49:00

49:00

Oral history preserves the past by recording people’s real voices. It’s not just about recording the stories people tell. It’s also about the way they tell them. Oral history is about memory and humanity. It’s a form of history that anyone can be a part of. This hour, we’re returning to our conversations with two Connecticut residents about the sto…

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How the trauma of living through the Holocaust is felt across generations. 27:37

12d ago27:37

27:37

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Meet the host of a new podcast dedicated to building a stronger Arizona community; and the story of a beloved dog named Betty that takes a surprising turn.By AZPM

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How British Scientists' Self-Experiments on Underwater Rebreathing Created D-Day Submarine Tech (And Nearly Killed Them in the Process) 53:29

13d ago53:29

53:29

In August 1942, over 7,000 Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, in a largely forgotten landing, with only a small fraction surviving unscathed. The raid failed due to poor planning and lack of underwater reconnaissance, which left the Allies unaware of strong German coastal defenses and underwater obstacles. Inadequate submersible…

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Over 200,000 Allied Troops Tried and Failed to Crush the Soviet Revolution After World War One 41:20

14d ago41:20

41:20

The Allied Intervention into the Russian Civil War remains one of the most ambitious yet least talked about military ventures of the 20th century. Coinciding with the end of the first World War, some 180,000 troops from several countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Italy, Greece, Poland, and Romania, among others…

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The cultural forces that shape gun violence with Dr. Jonathan Metzl 48:00

18d ago48:00

48:00

For years, Dr. Jonathan Metzl thought about gun violence as a public health issue. His approach treated it like an epidemic and treated guns as a health risk. But as he studied a mass shooting that happened near where he lives in Nashville, he realized he had been missing something crucial for years— the cultural power of guns. This hour, as we ref…

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EXCLUSIVE NEW DRAMA - The President and the Emperor - In Conversation with Samuel Barnett who plays Robert Oppenheimer 23:11

18d ago23:11

23:11

As we await the arrival of Part 2 of The President and the Emperor, acclaimed actor Samuel Barnett who plays 'father of the bomb' Robert Oppenheimer chats about taking on historical figures as characters - and what it means to play the famous nuclear scientist. Sam also reflects on the meticulousness of the script by Guy Smith and what he hopes lis…

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How the U.S. Occupation of Japan After WW2 Forged the Most Durable Peace of the 20th Century 1:00:19

20d ago1:00:19

1:00:19

During World War II, the U.S. and Japan were locked in bitter hatred, fueled by propaganda portraying each other as ruthless enemies, exemplified by dehumanizing "Tokyo Woe" posters in the U.S. and Japanese depictions of Americans as barbaric invaders. After the war, the feelings seemed to turn 180 degrees overnight. By the early 1950s, American se…

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Homer Couldn't Have Written the Iliad, But He Probably Dictated it Word for Word 52:53

22d ago52:53

52:53

The Iliad is the world’s greatest epic poem—heroic battle and divine fate set against the Trojan War. Its beauty and profound bleakness are intensely moving, but great questions remain: Where, how, and when was it composed and why does it endure? To explore these questions is today’s guest, Robin Lane Fox, a scholar and teacher of Homer for over 40…

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Elizabeth Bruenig on witnessing executions and opposing capital punishment 49:00

25d ago49:00

49:00

According to Amnesty International, 15 countries used the death penalty in 2024. The United States was one of those countries. Capital punishment is illegal in 23 states and isn’t used in some of the states where it is legal. But the United States still executed 25 people last year. We’ve surpassed that number already in 2025. Capital punishment ca…

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Depression-Era Planners Thought They’d End Poverty with Public Housing. Instead, They Created the Projects 41:02

27d ago41:02

41:02

In the 1930s, New Deal-era technocrats devised a solution to homelessness and poverty itself. They believed that providing free or low-cost urban housing projects could completely eliminate housing scarcity. Planners envisioned urban communities that would propel their residents into the middle class, creating a flywheel of abundance where poverty …

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The Alabaman Jacksonians Who Rejected the Confederacy and Marched with Sherman to the Sea 49:01

29d ago49:01

49:01

As the popular narrative goes, the Civil War was won when courageous Yankees triumphed over the South. But an aspect of the war that has remained little-known for 160 years is the Alabamian Union soldiers who played a decisive role in the Civil War, only to be scrubbed from the history books. One such group was the First Alabama Calvary, formed in …

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EXCLUSIVE NEW DRAMA: The President and the Emperor - Part One 36:57

1M ago36:57

36:57

The extraordinary inside story of the most controversial decision in the history of modern warfare - the order to drop the atomic bomb. Drawn from first-hand accounts of those involved and declassified top secret American and Japanese documents from 1945, this documentary drama unfolds through the eyes of the two people at the centre of this world …

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EXCLUSIVE NEW DRAMA - The President and the Emperor - In Conversation with Sadao Ueda who plays Emperor Hirohito 19:59

1M ago19:59

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Ahead of the launch tomorrow (Sunday August 31st) of the epic new landmark drama about the decision to drop the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, Sadao Ueda chats to Ashley Byrne about playing Emperor Hirohito. Sadao grew up in Japan and here he talks about what he was taught about the devastating events at school in the 1970s. …

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Why 'natural' disasters aren't as natural as their name suggests 48:30

1M ago48:30

48:30

Listening to the news, it feels like there are more natural disasters than ever. This hour, as we reflect on 20 years since Hurricane Katrina, we return to conversations about why flooding and droughts are becoming so common and how the word "disaster" affects the way we view an event. First, Connecticut State Historian Andy Horowitz explains why u…

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Frederick Douglass’s Private Writings on Abraham Lincoln, His Strong Critiques and Stronger Praise 49:05

1M ago49:05

49:05

Frederick Douglass made the strongest arguments for abolition in antebellum America because he made the case that abolition was not a mutation of the Founding Father’s vision of America, but a fulfillment of their promises of liberty for all. He had a lot riding on this personally – Douglas was born into slavery in Maryland around 1818, escaped to …

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The Industrial Revolution Was Supposed to Lead to Unlimited Free Time But Only Gave Us Smartphones and Endless Dopamine 31:11

1M ago31:11

31:11

Free time, one of life’s most important commodities, often feels unfulfilling. But why? And how did leisure activities transition from strolling in the park for hours to “doomscrolling” on social media for thirty minutes? Despite the promise of modern industrialization, many people experience both a scarcity of free time and a disappointment in it.…

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The power of craft, from activism to connecting with ancestors 49:00

1M ago49:00

49:00

When people think of craft, certain images might come to mind, like knitting in a rocking chair by a warm fireplace. People often think of it as a quiet, solitary activity— one that doesn’t make much of a public statement. But crafts like knitting can be radical. The rocking chair by the fireplace isn’t just quiet and solitary— it can also be a sit…

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Go below decks with "Ship" at Live Theater Workshop, a quirky new play about a young woman charting a course to adulthood. 29:33

1M ago29:33

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Also on Arizona Spotlight: "Weekend Edition Sunday" host Ayesha Rascoe on the current reality facing NPR; and storyteller Sharon Wysocki tells how her art project went viral way back in the '90s.By AZPM

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James Cook Mapped the Globe Before Dying At the Hands of Hawaiians Who Once Worshipped Him 56:56

1M ago56:56

56:56

Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan are known for discoveries, but it was Captain James Cook who made global travel truly possible. Cook was an 18th-century British explorer who mapped vast regions of the Pacific, including New Zealand and Australia’s eastern coast, with unprecedented accuracy. He meticulously conducted soundings to measure…

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American Anarchists: The Original Domestic Extremists 39:37

1M ago39:37

39:37

In the early twentieth century, anarchists like Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman championed a radical vision of a world without states, laws, or private property. Militant and sometimes violent, anarchists were heroes to many working-class immigrants. But to many others, anarchism was a terrifyingly foreign ideology. Determined to crush it, gover…

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First Look Trailer 2 - The President and The Emperor ....Coming Soon 1:46

1M ago1:46

1:46

First Look Trailer 2 for The President and the Emperor starring Clifton Truman Daniel as President Harry S Truman, Sadao Ueda as Emperor Hirohito and Samuel Barnett as Phillip Oppenheimer. Episode 1 coming soon..... The President and the Emperor Cast - Episode One Clifton Truman Daniel - President Harry S Truman Sadao Ueda - Emperor Hirohito Christ…

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Local Black entrepreneurs on building a business and the power of representation 48:57

2M ago48:57

48:57

Black Americans make up close to 14 percent of the US population. But only about three percent of U.S. businesses are Black-owned. That’s according to the 2023 Annual Business Survey, which is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. August is National Black Business Month, so we are spotli…

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First Look Trailer - The President and the Emperor ....coming soon 2:03

2M ago2:03

2:03

A First Look Teaser for The President and the Emperor starring Clifton Truman Daniel as President Harry S Truman, Sadao Ueda as Emperor Hirohito and Samuel Barnett as Phillip Oppenheimer. Episode 1 coming soon..... The President and the Emperor Cast - Episode One Clifton Truman Daniel - President Harry S Truman Sadao Ueda - Emperor Hirohito Christo…

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"Music is a healing force." Meet the host of Papa Ray's Vintage Vinyl Roadshow. 32:43

2M ago32:43

32:43

Also on Arizona Spotlight: How "Say One Thing" is helping to heal the Tucson community; an essay by nature writer, Rebekah Doyle; and behind the scenes at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum's Raptor Free Flight Program.By AZPM

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100 Years Before Ford v. Ferrari, a Horse Breeder Revolutionized Thoroughbred Racing Through a Similar Obsession With Progress 1:14:41

2M ago1:14:41

1:14:41

Horse racing was the most popular sport in early America, drawing massive crowds and fueling a cultural obsession with horses’ speed and pedigree. In the early 1800s, every town in America with a few thousand people had a horse racing track, with major cities drawing crowds of up to 50,000. In the midst of this was Alexander Keene Richards (1827–18…

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Western Rome Fell Due to Germanic Immigration, Mass Inflation, and a Bloated Bureaucracy 39:05

2M ago39:05

39:05

It took little more than a single generation for the centuries-old Roman Empire to fall. In those critical decades, while Christians and pagans, legions and barbarians, generals and politicians squabbled over dwindling scraps of power, two men – former comrades on the battlefield – rose to prominence on opposite sides of the great game of empire. R…

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EXCLUSIVE NEW DRAMA - The President and the Emperor - In Conversation with Clifton Truman Daniel who plays his grandfather President Harry S Truman 25:33

2M ago25:33

25:33

Ahead of the launch of the epic new landmark drama about the decision to drop the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, Clifton Truman Daniel chats to Ashley Byrne about playing his grandfather in The President and the Emperor. Clifton talks candidly about his relationship with his grandpa and how he learned about his family history…

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80 years ago, the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Japan. Connecticut’s Shizuko Tomoda still feels the impact 49:00

2M ago49:00

49:00

On August 6th, 1945, the United States’ military dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima in Japan. Three days later, they dropped another bomb, this time on Nagasaki. According to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, estimates of people killed by these bombs range from around one hundred thousand to more than two hundred thousand. And the…

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80 years since atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, commemorating the victims and survivors. 30:32

2M ago30:32

30:32

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Poet Joshua Lillie previews his new collection, "Small Talk Symphony".By AZPM

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Why the Atomic Bombing of Japan is as Justified in 2025 as it was in 1945 52:29

2M ago52:29

52:29

It's been 80 years since the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the question of whether or not those bombings were justified has never been more contentious. That wasn't the case in the immediate aftermath: 85% of the American public approved the decision to bomb the cities in 1945, but this has dropped to 56% in more recent years, particularl…

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Surviving the Siege of Leningrad with Sawdust Bread and Iron Determination 46:54

2M ago46:54

46:54

The first year of the siege of Leningrad that began in September 1941 marked the opening stage of a 900-day-long struggle for survival that left over a million dead. The capture of the city came tantalizingly close late that year, but Hitler paused to avoid costly urban fighting. Determined to starve Leningrad into submission, what followed was a w…

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Innovations in the care and treatment of Alzheimer's disease 49:00

2M ago49:00

49:00

Doctors, researchers and patients are facing a critical moment in the care and treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease. This hour, we talk with Jon Hamilton of NPR’s Science Desk about new medicines available to people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. He also describes the impact federal funding cuts will have on Alzheimer’s research. Plus, Sujata Srin…

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Is television watching us? "TV's American Dream: U.S. Television after the Great Recession". 29:54

2M ago29:54

29:54

Also on Arizona Spotlight: The Vera C. Rubin Observatory begins to peer through space and time; and memories of growing up unsupervised in the 1950s.By AZPM

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Depression-Era Governor Huey Long Wanted to Confiscate Individual Fortunes Over $1 Million, Possibly Leading to His 1935 Assassination 1:05:41

2M ago1:05:41

1:05:41

The most radical piece of legislation in the 20th century was Louisiana Governor Huey Long’s “Share Our Wealth Plan,” a bold proposal to confiscate individual fortunes exceeding $1 million to fund healthcare, free college education, and a guaranteed minimum income for families struggling through the Great Depression—a plan so radical it sparked the…

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Rope Equals Fire as Humanity’s Most Important Invention: It Allowed Hunting Mammoths and Building Pyramids 55:36

2M ago55:36

55:36

“‘Rope!’ muttered Sam[wise Gamgee]. ‘I knew I’d want it, if I hadn’t got it!’” Sam knew in the Lord of the Rings that the quest would fail without rope, but he was inadvertently commenting on how civilization owes its existence to this three-strand tool. Humans first made rope 50,000 years ago and one of its earliest contributions to the rise of ci…

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Lizards, scallops and funding cuts: Connecticut biologists talk about our ever-changing world 49:00

2M ago49:00

49:00

Studying oysters can help us understand how Connecticut’s shoreline is changing. Studying lizards can help us understand the history of life on our planet. Biologists research living organisms. And in doing so, they help us understand not only ourselves, but also the way our lives are intertwined with those of every other species. This hour— Connec…

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"Poets Square: A Memoir in Thirty Cats"--Why Courtney Gustafson's book is resonating with more than just cat lovers. 32:46

2M ago32:46

32:46

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Set sail for NPR's podcast, "Sea Camp"; and a new book makes native plant gardening in the Southwest accessible to all.By AZPM

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The Scopes Trial Was Entirely Orchestrated But Became an Unintended 1920s Culture War Touchpoint 56:43

2M ago56:43

56:43

July 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the Scopes Trial – a trial that exposed profound divisions in America over religion, education, and public morality. This was a legal case in Dayton, Tennessee, where high school teacher John Scopes was prosecuted for teaching evolution, violating the state's Butler Act. The Butler Act was a 1925 Tennessee l…

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The Panda Was First Discovered By Theodore Roosevelt’s Sons During a 9-Month Expedition in Himalayan China 42:05

2M ago42:05

42:05

In the late 1920s, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. and his younger brother Kermit, sons of President Theodore Roosevelt, wanted fame and glory apart from the family spotlight. They were seeking the “empty spots” on the maps, the areas that had yet to be explored and described by Westerners. From these remote places, they hoped to bring back exotic animals t…

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Connecticut artists reflect on the power of art in community 49:00

2M ago49:00

49:00

This hour, we talk to two Connecticut artists whose work reflects on the impact we have on our communities. Photographer Bill Graustein’s exhibition, “Traces,” features vast western landscapes that represent different moments in Bill’s life, but it’s not just about Bill. It also includes question prompts that give viewers a chance to reflect on how…

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Exploring "Observational Ecology" with Alan Ruiz Berman 31:24

3M ago31:24

31:24

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Local grassroots theater group debuts a new comedy/mystery; and how a local middle school teacher reclaimed her life after a tragic illness.By AZPM

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How Do We Really Know What Happened in the Past When Many Historians Were Propagandists and AI is Fabricating Everything Else? 48:46

3M ago48:46

48:46

“History is written by the winners.” This aphorism is catchy and it makes an important point that a lot of what we know about history was written with an agenda, not for the purposes of informing us. Unfortunately, it isn’t true. There are many times that the so-called “losers” wrote the histories remembered today. After the American Civil War, Sou…

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Eugénie de Montijo: The Spanish Empress Who Built Modern Paris and is Blamed For Imperial France’s Downfall 45:45

3M ago45:45

45:45

Thirty-three years after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte’s Empire, his nephew (known as Napoleon III) became the first president of France before becoming emperor himself. Although he was a capable ruler and reformer, Napoleon III’s failed military campaigns, especially France’s loss to Germany in the Franco-Prussian War, led to his defeat, capture,…

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From 'Sinners' to 50 years of 'Jaws': What we can learn from the year in film 49:00

3M ago49:00

49:00

Many people think of movies as an escape from reality. But even when they transport us to a different time and place, movies can help us think more deeply about our present. This year, those thought provoking films have included Sinners, The Phoenician Scheme and Mickey 17. For our third annual summer movie panel, we’re breaking down recent films t…

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"Hidden Voices" reveals empathy and compassion on the streets of Tucson 26:45

3M ago26:45

26:45

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Building bridges through interfaith connections; and the spiritual creations of artist, Quinton Antone.By AZPM