LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (KRQE) – A new podcast episode from Los Alamos National Laboratory is delving into what is fact and fiction in the blockbuster film Oppenheimer. “He’s such an important part of our history at the laboratory and rightfully so, he is in a sense the hero of Los Alamos. But just like the rest of us he was human, he had things that he struggled with,” said Alan Carr, historian, LANL National Security Research Center during the podcast.
The episode of LANL’s podcast series Called Down to a Science features Carr. He praised the film’s portrayal of certain characters and events including the momentous test of the first atomic bomb at New Mexico’s Trinity Site.
He also pointed out other events that didn’t happen or were simplified for the movie. “Now, one thing that’s not historically accurate is that Einstein is really a major character in the movie, but he wasn’t a major character in the history of the Manhattan Project,” said Carr during the podcast.
He also assessed the movie’s portrayal of Oppenheimer’s early years, his ties to Communism, and the role of LANL in the implementation of the bomb after the Manhattan Project. If you want to listen to the podcast, follow this link.
