Podcasts about Hibakusha

Harvey and Jim are away and so this is a replay of a very timely show from one year ago. Joseph Gerson is Executive Director of the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security joins us to explain that the Nobel Peace prize this year is a desperate plea to the world to stop its insane rush toward nuclear confrontation. The award was given to Nihon Hidankyo, the grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as Hibakusha. Joseph explains and identifies what he considers the greatest nuclear threat. We also share a clip about real journalism from real journalists, Ryan Grimm and Jeremy Scahill. We finish with Randy Newman dropping the big one.

PERSONAL NOTE: Portrait of a playwright/podcaster in Peak Happiness with the stage of her new play, ATOMIC BILL AND THE PAYMENT DUE. Producer/Host Libbe HaLevy here. I'm in Ohio at the Wilmington College Peace Resource Center (PRC) for the world premiere staged reading of my play, ATOMIC BILL AND THE PAYMENT DUE. It’s a featured...

PERSONAL NOTE: Portrait of a playwright/podcaster in Peak Happiness with the stage of her new play, ATOMIC BILL AND THE PAYMENT DUE. Producer/Host Libbe HaLevy here. I'm in Ohio at the Wilmington College Peace Resource Center (PRC) for the world premiere staged reading of my play, ATOMIC BILL AND THE PAYMENT DUE. It’s a featured...

Recordings from the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Australia online event that brought together survivors, artists, campaigners and parliamentarians to reflect on Hiroshima's legacy - and the urgent task of disarmament on the 80 th Anniversary of the US bombing of Hiroshima on Wednesday 6 August,  2025.Featuring MC Scott Ludlam - Writer, former Greens Senator and lifelong national and international campaigner for peace and climate justice; Isao Morimoto – Second-generation Hibakusha and son of the late author/illustrator Junko Morimoto, sharing personal reflections on his mother's life and survival; and Gem Romuld – Director, ICAN Australia, leading national efforts to promote the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and challenge Australia's support for nuclear militarism.

This Week’s Featured Interview: ICAN Executive Director Melissa Parke in Hiroshima. Photo: ICAN / Takeo Nakaoku Melissa Parke, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN, traveled to Japan for the 80th anniversary commemorations of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She is a former Australian Minister for International...

This Week’s Featured Interview: ICAN Executive Director Melissa Parke in Hiroshima. Photo: ICAN / Takeo Nakaoku Melissa Parke, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN, traveled to Japan for the 80th anniversary commemorations of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She is a former Australian Minister for International...

On August 6th, 1945, the United States of America dropped the nuclear bombs, Fat Man and Little Boy, on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing an estimated 300,000 people in total. The bombings ended World War II, but they also began a nuclear age, and left behind generations of survivors known as hibakusha. For 80 years, they've lived with radiation, illness, and stigma. And they've asked: who is responsible? Where is justice? What does it mean to remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki, not just as history, but as a political and moral reckoning? To explore this and the current state of the nuclear arms race, we're joined by Vladisaya Vasileva, an Assistant Professor at Hiroshima University's Center for Peace, whose work looks at the lives of survivors and Hiroshima's peace philosophy.Image Credit: Wikimedia CommonsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Verletzt überlebt Yamaguchi die erste Atombombe von Hiroshima. Irgendwie schafft er es zurück zu seiner Familie nach Nagasaki - dann fällt am 9.8.1945 die zweite Bombe. Von Gianna Scholten.

Dr. Masao Tomonaga was only 2 years old when the United States bombed his home city of Nagasaki. He survived, and grew up to become a physician for other survivors, known as hibakusha. He also studied hematology, and his research on leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes was foundational for understanding how radiation affects the body. On the 80th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he speaks with Host Ira Flatow about his life's work, how hibakusha lived with the medical consequences of the bombs, and his message to the world.Guest: Dr. Masao Tomonaga is a survivor of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and director emeritus of the Japanese Red Cross Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Hospital.Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

On August 6 and 9, 1945, the United States bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the first nuclear weapons ever used against another country. In this special episode, Communications Director and Guest Host Anna Schumann takes a step back from the hard-hitting policy deep dives Nukes of Hazard is generally known for to speak with Sara Burkinshaw, whose grandmother survived the bombing of Hiroshima. Sara details the moment that made her realize why sharing her grandmother's story matters and what she believes compels young people to understand the dangers of nuclear weapons. For more on her grandmother's story, listen to our episode, "The Human Cost of the Hiroshima Bombing," with Sara's mother, Kathleen Burkinshaw. Music from www.bensound.com

This Week’s SPECIAL Featured Interview: On the anniversary of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a look at what this meant for further generations’ health and psychology. Yuki Miyamoto is Nisei Hibakusha, second generation daughter of an atomic bomb survivor, and brings a personal perspective to her powerful work. She is a Professor...

This Week’s SPECIAL Featured Interview: On the anniversary of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a look at what this meant for further generations’ health and psychology. Yuki Miyamoto is Nisei Hibakusha, second generation daughter of an atomic bomb survivor, and brings a personal perspective to her powerful work. She is a Professor...

Hoy se cumplen 80 años de los bombardeos atómicos de Hiroshima y Nagasaki. Agustín Rivera, autor del libro 'Hiroshima. Testimonios de los últimos supervivientes' recuerda el acontecimiento en Las Mañanas de RNE. "Es trágico que en un momento tan luminoso como algunos testimonios dicen que hubo, se convertiría segundos después en la gran tragedia", afirma el autor. Habla sobre los Hibakusha, es decir, las personas bombardeadas. "No quedan tantos y muchos no lo quieren contar. Si decían que eran supervivientes de la bomba atómica, tenían problemas para conseguir un empleo. Muchos no querían ser pareja de alguien que era Hibakusha y por eso hay muchos matrimonios de propios supervivientes. Luego sus hijos salían con malformaciones físicas. Es un tema muy incómodo en el propio Japón".Ante la cuestión de por qué Japón no guarda rencor por aquel ataque el autor expone su visión. "Ellos sienten incluso vergüenza. Ellos dicen que si no hubiese habido Pearl Harbor, quizá nunca hubiese habido bomba atómica. En Hiroshima o en Nagasaki se fomenta y se alienta la cultura de paz. El saber perdonar y no olvidar, pero saber que esa ausencia de rencor tiene que estar por delante de cualquier cosa".Escuchar audio

Today we continue to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the first use of nuclear weapons in war. On August 6 1945 the US army dropped the first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima Japan with devastating effect. The intergenerational effects of the atomic bomb are ongoing and first up we'll hear from Kazuyo Yamane daughter of a Hibakusha speaking at speaking at a forum called Remembering Hiroshoma held by the Nuclear Truth Project last year.Next we delve into the Radioactive Show archives and bring you an interview with Jack Sennet who was based in Hiroshima with the Australian airforce just after the bombing. In March 1946, Australia was assigned to Hiroshima and the surrounding area as part the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF). The program was first broadcast on the Radioactive Show on August 6 1994.  Thanks to Eric Miller for the archives and Sam Gibbard for making those available to us.In Naarm Melbourne there is a 80 years since Hiroshima - day of commemoration: Morning vigil as part of a global week of action to commemorate the terrible atomic bombings in Japan and to collectively remember that something like this should never happen again.  8-9 am: In the morning of Wednesday August 6 there will be a silent vigil from 8-9am (8.15 am was the time of the actual bombing on the day) at St Paul's Catherdral for a time of commemoration.12-1 pm: The Peace Choir will be singing in front of the State Library Victoria.1-1.15  pm: procession to Trades hall1.15-1.30pm: Group photo in front of the huge ICAN banner at Trades Hall1.30-2 pm: Tea and snacks at Trades Hall with a speaker from the Japanese community.All the details can be found at melbournefoe.org.au/events.The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons has webinar on Sunday 3rd of from 4-7pm 'Victims of Nuclear Weapons and Testing'.And from 7-8pm on Wednesday 6 August a webinar 'The Fire Still Burns, Hiroshima Disarmamanet and Resistance'.  You can find all the details and links to registar for these events at icanw.org.au/action.   

Norwegian Nobel Committee chair Jorgen Frydnes has emphasized that the testimonies of hibakusha, or people who survived the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, will bring changes to the world.

Norwegian Nobel Committee chair Jorgen Frydnes delivered a speech at Sophia University in Tokyo on Sunday, highlighting the need to listen to the voices of hibakusha, who survived the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

On the 16th of July, 1945 at 5.30am the US detonated the first atomic weapon in the Jornada del Muerto desert over the lands of the Pueblo, Navajo, and Apache peoples of what's now know as New Mexico.  No one was evacuated from the area and the people living downwind are still suffering to this day due to the intergenerational impacts of exposure to radiation. And whilst their campaigning has seen some compensation delivered it is still not sufficient.The atomic bomb had been developed by the US military at the secret scientific Los Alamos laboratory under the name the Manhattan Project.  Scientists had identified two fissile isotopes for potential use in bombs: uranium-235 and plutonium-239. Uranium-235 became the basis of the 'Little Boy' bomb, first used (without prior testing) in the bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945; and the design used in the Trinity test, and eventually used in the 'Fat Man' bomb dropped on Nagasaki on 9 August 1945, was based on plutonium.There are now over 12,000 nuclear weapons around the world and with the doomsday clock set to 89 seconds to midnight, the closest its ever been, they threaten all our lives.For the last 80 year people around the world have been working to eliminate this terrible invention.  Today we speak with Dr. Margie Beavis from the Medical Association for the Prevention of War and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) about their current work and events planned to commemorate these horrific events.ICAN is holding a 'Week of Action for Abolition' from August 2-8 and you can find all the details and links to registar for events at icanw.org.au/action.We also bring you part of a speech from nuclear disarmament campaigner and Hibakusha, Setsuko Thurlow who was 13 year old school girl that survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. This was recorded at the ICAN Nobel Peace Prize celebrations in December 2017.

Se cumple el 80 aniversario del lanzamiento de las bombas atómicas que lanzó EE.UU sobre Hiroshima y Nagasaki y que puso punto y final a la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Las terribles secuelas que dejaron las bombas y la posterior ceniza negra sobre la población, provocaron posteriores acuerdos entre potencias mundiales del no uso de bombas nucleares. El periodista especialista en este tema Agustín Rivera cuenta en su libro "Hiroshima, testimonios de los supervivientes" las historias de los "hibakusas" personas que sufrieron el bombardeo y que relatan cómo les afectó, no solo físicamente, sino psicológicamente el tremendo e inesperado ataque. 

Se cumple el 80 aniversario del lanzamiento de las bombas atómicas que lanzó EE.UU sobre Hiroshima y Nagasaki y que puso punto y final a la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Las terribles secuelas que dejaron las bombas y la posterior ceniza negra sobre la población, provocaron posteriores acuerdos entre potencias mundiales del no uso de bombas nucleares. El periodista especialista en este tema Agustín Rivera cuenta en su libro "Hiroshima, testimonios de los supervivientes" las historias de los "hibakusas" personas que sufrieron el bombardeo y que relatan cómo les afectó, no solo físicamente, sino psicológicamente el tremendo e inesperado ataque. 

With this year marking the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan's welfare ministry began this month to collect testimonies from the roughly 106,000 hibakusha survivors of the nuclear attacks.

Esta semana entrevistamos a un ‘Hibakusha'. Así son conocidos los supervivientes de las bombas de Hiroshima y Nagasaki, las dos bombas nucleares que aniquilaron a más de 200.000 personas durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. El testimonio vivo de estos supervivientes japoneses sirve para seguir narrando al mundo las terribles secuelas que dejó aquella barbarie. En este capítulo hablamos con Shigemitsu Tanaka, superviviente de Nagasaki que recibió el pasado diciembre el premio Nobel de la Paz por su lucha para lograr el desarme nuclear. Es sin duda un testimonio valiosísimo para evitar que se repitan los errores del pasado, algo tremendamente complicado, observando el contexto geopolítico en el que nos movemos, con una guerra enquistada en Ucrania y con el endeble alto el fuego que se pergeña en Oriente Próximo. 

Esta semana entrevistamos a un ‘Hibakusha'. Así son conocidos los supervivientes de las bombas de Hiroshima y Nagasaki, las dos bombas nucleares que aniquilaron a más de 200.000 personas durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. El testimonio vivo de estos supervivientes japoneses sirve para seguir narrando al mundo las terribles secuelas que dejó aquella barbarie. En este capítulo hablamos con Shigemitsu Tanaka, superviviente de Nagasaki que recibió el pasado diciembre el premio Nobel de la Paz por su lucha para lograr el desarme nuclear. Es sin duda un testimonio valiosísimo para evitar que se repitan los errores del pasado, algo tremendamente complicado, observando el contexto geopolítico en el que nos movemos, con una guerra enquistada en Ucrania y con el endeble alto el fuego que se pergeña en Oriente Próximo. 

Hiroshima High Court turned down second-generation hibakusha's appeal for state compensation on Friday, upholding a ruling by Hiroshima District Court.

Hibakusha atomic bomb survivors from the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, or Nihon Hidankyo, visited a high school in Oslo on Wednesday to share their experiences with students.

オスロの高校で行われた被爆者による講演、１１日、オスロ【オスロ時事】ノーベル平和賞を受賞した日本原水爆被害者団体協議会の被爆者らは１１日、ノルウェーの首都オスロのキューベン高校を訪れ、現地の高校生に自らの体験を語り「平和について考えて」と呼び掛けた。 Hibakusha atomic bomb survivors from the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, or Nihon Hidankyo, visited a high school in Oslo on Wednesday to share their experiences with students.

Japanese hibakusha atomic bomb survivors think the Nobel Peace Prize, to be awarded to their group, Nihon Hidankyo, is not a goal, as they tackle the task of passing their stories on to future generations.

Hibakusha atomic bomb survivors in Japan have stressed their intentions to continue calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons following former U.S. President Donald Trump's victory in Tuesday's presidential election in the United States.

ノーベル平和賞受賞が決定した日本原水爆被害者団体協議会の浜住治郎事務局次長は、個人的な受け止めとした上で、「米国がどういう方向に行くか見定めはできていないが、核廃絶と『再び被爆者をつくるな』という思いを世界に伝えていくことは変わらない」と強調した。 Hibakusha atomic bomb survivors in Japan have stressed their intentions to continue calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons following former U.S. President Donald Trump's victory in Tuesday's presidential election in the United States.

Lead Story: The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 to the Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo. This grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as Hibakusha, is receiving the Peace Prize for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for...

Joseph Gerson is Executive Director of the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security joins us to explain that the Nobel Peace prize this year is a desperate plea to the world to stop its insane rush toward nuclear confrontation. The award was given to Nihon Hidankyo, the grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as Hibakusha. Joseph explains and identifies what he considers the greatest nuclear threat. We also share a clip about real journalism from real journalists, Ryan Grimm and Jeremy Scahill. We finish with Randy Newman dropping the big one.

Seth Shelden International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

After the surrender of Japan, the work to rebuild Japan and cement the country as one of the most important US allies in the Pacific began. Japan became strategically important after the fall of China to Communism. Japan being a democracy became of the utmost importance.  The US occupation of Japan lasted from Japan's surrender on Sept. 2, 1945 until 1952 when the treaty of San Francisco went into effect in April of that year. We discuss the creation of a new Japanese constitution and government and demilitarization of Japan. We also discuss the aftermath of the atomic bombs being dropped and the experiences of the survivors, who became known as Hibakusha. Their illnesses were feared, and they carried stigmas that came with what will become known as radiation poisoning.    There is always more to learn! -Jimmy & Jean

Over the past few years, much has been written and created around Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project, but little attention is paid to those whose lives were ended or forever changed when the bombs dropped in Japan.In this episode, we delve into the experiences of the hibakusha, the survivors of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. On that day the Enola Gay released its devastating payload, ushering in the nuclear age. The survivors, now with an average age of over 90, provide some of the last living testimonies of the horrors that unfolded in the seconds, minutes, and hours following the explosion.Today's guest is M.G. Sheftall, author of The Stories of Hibakusha. Sheftall has spent years interviewing those who were young adolescents at the time of the bombing, now elderly but still haunted by their memories.

Prof. Robert “Bo” Jacobs and his brilliant book NUCLEAR BODIES: The Global Hibakusha This Week's Featured Interview: This is a. SPECIAL full-length interview with Prof. Robert “Bo” Jacobs on his book, NUCLEAR BODIES: The Global Hibakusha.

The remains of Hiroshima after the atomic bomb destroyed the city, 1945 ATOMIC COVER-UP – Director Greg Mitchell is the award-winning author of a dozen books including 2020's “The Beginning or the End: How Hollywood–and America–Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.” His previous books on the atomic bombings were “Hiroshima in America“ (with...

岸田文雄首相との面会で要望を述べる広島県原爆被害者団体協議会の箕牧智之理事長、６日午前、広島市中区広島の被爆者団体の代表らは６日、広島市内のホテルで岸田文雄首相と面会し、来年開かれる核兵器禁止条約の第３回締約国会議にオブザーバーとして参加するよう要望した。 Hibakusha atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima Prefecture asked Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday to attend a meeting of signatories to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons next year as an observer.

Born as a second-generation Hibakusha, that is to say a child of Hiroshima A-bomb survivors, Mamoru Samuragochi faced hardship, prejudice and increasing illness throughout his life. Despite these enormous setbacks, he became one of the most respected and successful musical composers in Japan, despite becoming almost entirely deaf. He was also a liar. Today's guest is Hannah Lane! You can find her via her Instagram page, and she is also the co-host of our horror movie review podcast that we do together, Not Another Film podcast. Check my new album, Ruined Numbers, for sale on Bandcamp! It's an album of acoustic arrangements of Final Fantasy music. You can also stream the album on Spotify or YouTube Music. Enjoy! You can also find me on Twitter @sequencepod, or you can listen to my other podcasts Final Fanservice and Not Another Film on any big podcast app. Sources: The New Republic: Japan's Deaf Composer Wasn't What He Seemed Classic FM: The Composer Who Was Once Dubbed "Japan's Beethoven" Time Magazine: 2001 Interview with Samuragochi Wall Street Journal: Music Critic's Suspicions Led to Composer's Downfall Inverse: "Clowns farting": The wild story behind Resident Evil's worst soundtrack Independent: Japanese 'Beethoven' Mamoru Samuragochi admits faking deafness Wikipedia: Mamoru Samuragochi

Mitchie Takeuchi is the writer and producer of the "The Vow From Hiroshima" a film about an atomic bomb survivor in Hiroshima who has dedicated her life to nuclear disarmament and activism. Mitchie is also a descendant of survivors of the atomic bomb and the film follows their friendship and mission to abolish nuclear weapons worldwide. On this episode, Mitchie shares about her life and work, how this film came together, and the impact she hopes it will have on nuclear guardianship and more. “Nuclear weapons and humanity can't coexist” Special Guest: Mitchie Takeuchi .

NH #633 – Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the Global Hibakusha: “Now We Are All Downwinders” – Prof. Robert “Bo” Jacobs, Pt. 2 Map of radiation contamination in the United States from Trinity test, 100 atmospheric blasts, and 921 underground from 1945 to 1992. Check article: Trinity Nuclear Test's Fallout Reached 46 States, Canada and Mexico, Study...

Hiroshima/Nagasaki Radiation Aftermath – We Are All Hibakusha (A-Bomb Survivors) – Prof. Robert “Bo” Jacobs New study reveals that radioactive fallout from the Trinity atomic bomb test on July 16, 1945, deposited in 46 states, Canada and Mexico. (Map from New York Times; CLICK here for the article. This Week’s Featured Interview: Prof. Robert “Bo”...

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow #Hibakusha: The victims and the unknowns in 1945.  Charles Pellegrino, author, "Last Train from Hiroshima."  https://www.amazon.com/Last-Train-Hiroshima-Survivors-MacRae/dp/0805087966/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow #Hibakusha: The James Cameron thinking 2022.  Charles Pellegrino, author, "Last Train from Hiroshima."  https://www.amazon.com/Last-Train-Hiroshima-Survivors-MacRae/dp/0805087966/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

NH #581: Hiroshima, Nagasaki Second Generation: Prof. Yuki Miyamoto, Daughter of Atomic Survivor This Week’s Featured Interview: Hiroshima-born Yuki Miyamoto is a second generation Hibakusha – daughter of an atomic bomb survivor.  Her mother was in Hiroshima one mile from the epicenter of the bombing, yet survived it with what seemed like little physical damage…...

Robert Jacob's book Nuclear Bodies: The Global Hibakusha (Yale UP, 2022) re‑envisions the history of the Cold War as a slow nuclear war, fought on remote battlegrounds against populations powerless to prevent the contamination of their lands and bodies. Jacobs's book put these “nuclear bodies” and the legacy of our eighty years history of nuclear weapon and power use at the center of his inquiry. The contaminated bodies of the hibakusha and the contaminated grounds on which they live (or in many cases lived. As many lost their homes), Jacobs argues, are largely invisible because of the colonial and post -colonial power relations that made these communities a target to begin with. Nuclear weapon tests and power stations usually were set at remote places, and the harm was done to people with no political power. Furthermore, it is not just contemporary communities that were harmed, but also future generations. “Plutonium will remain dangerous for over two hundred thousand years, and uranium particles for more than one million years”. Eighty years of tests and nuclear power have saddled our future descendants with radiative waste, most of which is still not safely stored, “a global legacy currently sitting in spent fuel pools and dry storage casks, waiting.” The invisibility of the problem and people affected by it, Jacobs argues, is manufactured in science and politics. Furthermore, the way we study the problem historically further obscured its scope. Different sites have been studied through different national historical “silos,” Jacobs, however, takes a global approach, and look at sites from Nevada to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Kazakhstan to Xinjian, and the various Pacific sites that were sites of nuclear tests and accidents since 1945 to make the invisible global hibakusha visible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Robert Jacob's book Nuclear Bodies: The Global Hibakusha (Yale UP, 2022) re‑envisions the history of the Cold War as a slow nuclear war, fought on remote battlegrounds against populations powerless to prevent the contamination of their lands and bodies. Jacobs's book put these “nuclear bodies” and the legacy of our eighty years history of nuclear weapon and power use at the center of his inquiry. The contaminated bodies of the hibakusha and the contaminated grounds on which they live (or in many cases lived. As many lost their homes), Jacobs argues, are largely invisible because of the colonial and post -colonial power relations that made these communities a target to begin with. Nuclear weapon tests and power stations usually were set at remote places, and the harm was done to people with no political power. Furthermore, it is not just contemporary communities that were harmed, but also future generations. “Plutonium will remain dangerous for over two hundred thousand years, and uranium particles for more than one million years”. Eighty years of tests and nuclear power have saddled our future descendants with radiative waste, most of which is still not safely stored, “a global legacy currently sitting in spent fuel pools and dry storage casks, waiting.” The invisibility of the problem and people affected by it, Jacobs argues, is manufactured in science and politics. Furthermore, the way we study the problem historically further obscured its scope. Different sites have been studied through different national historical “silos,” Jacobs, however, takes a global approach, and look at sites from Nevada to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Kazakhstan to Xinjian, and the various Pacific sites that were sites of nuclear tests and accidents since 1945 to make the invisible global hibakusha visible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Robert Jacob's book Nuclear Bodies: The Global Hibakusha (Yale UP, 2022) re‑envisions the history of the Cold War as a slow nuclear war, fought on remote battlegrounds against populations powerless to prevent the contamination of their lands and bodies. Jacobs's book put these “nuclear bodies” and the legacy of our eighty years history of nuclear weapon and power use at the center of his inquiry. The contaminated bodies of the hibakusha and the contaminated grounds on which they live (or in many cases lived. As many lost their homes), Jacobs argues, are largely invisible because of the colonial and post -colonial power relations that made these communities a target to begin with. Nuclear weapon tests and power stations usually were set at remote places, and the harm was done to people with no political power. Furthermore, it is not just contemporary communities that were harmed, but also future generations. “Plutonium will remain dangerous for over two hundred thousand years, and uranium particles for more than one million years”. Eighty years of tests and nuclear power have saddled our future descendants with radiative waste, most of which is still not safely stored, “a global legacy currently sitting in spent fuel pools and dry storage casks, waiting.” The invisibility of the problem and people affected by it, Jacobs argues, is manufactured in science and politics. Furthermore, the way we study the problem historically further obscured its scope. Different sites have been studied through different national historical “silos,” Jacobs, however, takes a global approach, and look at sites from Nevada to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Kazakhstan to Xinjian, and the various Pacific sites that were sites of nuclear tests and accidents since 1945 to make the invisible global hibakusha visible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

Robert Jacob's book Nuclear Bodies: The Global Hibakusha (Yale UP, 2022) re‑envisions the history of the Cold War as a slow nuclear war, fought on remote battlegrounds against populations powerless to prevent the contamination of their lands and bodies. Jacobs's book put these “nuclear bodies” and the legacy of our eighty years history of nuclear weapon and power use at the center of his inquiry. The contaminated bodies of the hibakusha and the contaminated grounds on which they live (or in many cases lived. As many lost their homes), Jacobs argues, are largely invisible because of the colonial and post -colonial power relations that made these communities a target to begin with. Nuclear weapon tests and power stations usually were set at remote places, and the harm was done to people with no political power. Furthermore, it is not just contemporary communities that were harmed, but also future generations. “Plutonium will remain dangerous for over two hundred thousand years, and uranium particles for more than one million years”. Eighty years of tests and nuclear power have saddled our future descendants with radiative waste, most of which is still not safely stored, “a global legacy currently sitting in spent fuel pools and dry storage casks, waiting.” The invisibility of the problem and people affected by it, Jacobs argues, is manufactured in science and politics. Furthermore, the way we study the problem historically further obscured its scope. Different sites have been studied through different national historical “silos,” Jacobs, however, takes a global approach, and look at sites from Nevada to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Kazakhstan to Xinjian, and the various Pacific sites that were sites of nuclear tests and accidents since 1945 to make the invisible global hibakusha visible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/medicine

Robert Jacob's book Nuclear Bodies: The Global Hibakusha (Yale UP, 2022) re‑envisions the history of the Cold War as a slow nuclear war, fought on remote battlegrounds against populations powerless to prevent the contamination of their lands and bodies. Jacobs's book put these “nuclear bodies” and the legacy of our eighty years history of nuclear weapon and power use at the center of his inquiry. The contaminated bodies of the hibakusha and the contaminated grounds on which they live (or in many cases lived. As many lost their homes), Jacobs argues, are largely invisible because of the colonial and post -colonial power relations that made these communities a target to begin with. Nuclear weapon tests and power stations usually were set at remote places, and the harm was done to people with no political power. Furthermore, it is not just contemporary communities that were harmed, but also future generations. “Plutonium will remain dangerous for over two hundred thousand years, and uranium particles for more than one million years”. Eighty years of tests and nuclear power have saddled our future descendants with radiative waste, most of which is still not safely stored, “a global legacy currently sitting in spent fuel pools and dry storage casks, waiting.” The invisibility of the problem and people affected by it, Jacobs argues, is manufactured in science and politics. Furthermore, the way we study the problem historically further obscured its scope. Different sites have been studied through different national historical “silos,” Jacobs, however, takes a global approach, and look at sites from Nevada to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Kazakhstan to Xinjian, and the various Pacific sites that were sites of nuclear tests and accidents since 1945 to make the invisible global hibakusha visible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

Today I welcome nuclear historian Robert Jacobs, author of Nuclear Bodies: The Global Hibakusha. Robert Jacobs is a Professor of History at the Hiroshima Peace Institute and the Graduate School of Peace Studies of Hiroshima City University. Jacobs is the author of The Dragon's Tail: Americans Face the Atomic Age (2010), (also available in a Japanese translation published by Gaifusha in 2013), and the editor of Filling the Hole in the Nuclear Future: Art and Popular Culture Respond to the Bomb (2010), and numerous other books and journal articles on nuclear history. Beginning in 2010, Jacobs co-founded the Global Hibakusha Project. The project conducts field research at radiation affected sites and in radiation affected communities around the world. His book based on this research, Nuclear Bodies: The Global Hibakusha will be published by Yale University Press in 2022.