Nuclear Energy | E = MC Squared | 1

American Innovations

Wondery

Steven Johnson, History, Kids & Family, Education For Kids, Science

4.6 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 3 July 2023

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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In 1958, President Dwight Eisenhower went on national television introducing a new kind of power plant, one that will transform the world. Nuclear energy and the Atomic Age took America by storm, but this misunderstood technology’s potential has always been in question.

Last series we looked at the building blocks of life, DNA. This time we’re turning to atoms, and specifically to the energy that comes from splitting atoms. We’ll take you to one of the most powerful and controversial energy sources on earth: nuclear energy.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to an episode of a Wondering Plus exclusive series to continue listening.
0:04.6	Join Wondering Plus and enjoy ad-free listening to over 40,000 episodes.
0:08.9	Early access to your favorite podcasts and more.
0:11.6	Find Wondering Plus in the Wondering App or on Apple Podcasts.
0:15.1	It's May 26, 1958.
0:18.1	And Americans are about to see something strange.
0:22.2	President Dwight Eisenhower on TV waving a wand.
0:28.4	He's sitting at his desk and American flag behind him,
0:31.5	just waiting on a signal from the cameraman.
0:34.6	This is a moment five years in the making.
0:37.2	When he promised Americans in 1953 that the country would harness
0:41.8	nuclear power as a force for good.
0:44.8	And back then it was just a concept, but today it is real.
0:49.9	It's called the Shipping Port Atomic Power Station.
0:53.1	And it sits on the banks of the Ohio River,
0:55.8	2,500 miles away.
0:58.5	Today it is slated to bring power to more than 10,000 homes.
1:02.9	This plant has a secure place in American history.
1:06.6	It is the first of the world's large scale and nuclear power stations
1:11.4	exclusively devoted to peaceful purposes.
1:15.4	In Shipping Port, a crowd of foreign dignitaries and utility officials
1:19.7	are gathered around the television feed.
	...

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