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Aug 25 2009

How easy is it to steal a nuclear bomb?

26 min 6 movies discussed
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Nuclear weapons are extremely well guarded, so stealing one would be quite tricky. Join Josh and Chuck as they discuss nabbing nuclear weapons, and some surprising facts about nuclear accidents, in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com.

AI Summary

Join Josh and Chuck as they dive into the surprisingly complex world of nuclear security and explore just how difficult (or easy) it might be to steal a nuclear weapon. Drawing on examples from movies like Back to the Future and real-world incidents, they examine everything from the collapse of the Soviet Union's nuclear arsenal to "broken arrow" incidents where bombs have been lost or accidentally dropped. The hosts discuss the difference between fission and fusion bombs, security measures like permissive action links, and whether the bigger threat might actually come from stealing nuclear components rather than complete weapons.


Movies Discussed

Action Jackson
Action Jackson
1988 1h 36m
★ 5.5
"he's also in Action Jackson — Mentioned as another role Thomas F. Wilson (Biff from Back to the Future) appeared in." — Josh
Back to the Future
Back to the Future
1985 1h 56m
★ 8.3
"you've seen the 1985 Robert Zemeckis classic Back to the Future — Referenced as an example of a movie where terrorists wanted plutonium to make nuclear weapons." — Josh
Broken Arrow
Broken Arrow
1996 1h 48m
★ 6.1
"which is from the John Woo, well, not from the John Woo movie — Clarifying that the military term 'broken arrow' predates John Woo's movie of the same name." — Josh
The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers
1980 2h 13m
★ 7.7
"It's like Frank Oz and the Blues Brothers — Used as comparison to Thomas F. Wilson being known primarily for one role despite appearing in other films." — Josh
The Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project
1986 1h 58m
★ 6.2
"1986 was a movie called The Manhattan Project, where a teenager steals enriched uranium — Referenced as another example of a movie about nuclear weapons theft, involving John Lithgow." — Josh
WarGames
WarGames
1983 1h 54m
★ 7.1
"It's the same time as war games, which we'll get to in a minute — Mentioned as being from the same era as The Manhattan Project and referenced for its depiction of nuclear weapons controls." — Josh

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