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Arts & Culture

In My Lifetime

The first test of an atomic bomb, code name Trinity. Conducted by the United States Army on July 16, 1945 at the new White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico. The detonation produced the explosive power of about 20 kilotons of TNT.
Courtesy of American Public Television
The first test of an atomic bomb, code name Trinity. Conducted by the United States Army on July 16, 1945 at the new White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico. The detonation produced the explosive power of about 20 kilotons of TNT.

Airs Wednesday, April 24, 2013 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV

The atomic cloud rises over Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945.
Courtesy of National Archives
The atomic cloud rises over Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945.

"In My Lifetime" thoughtfully and thoroughly examines the 68-year history of nuclear weapons — the most destructive force ever invented. Filmed in Europe, Japan and the U.S., "In My Lifetime" focuses on the continuing struggle of citizens, scientists and political leaders working to reduce or eliminate the atomic threat, while others search for ways to build nuclear weapons.

In contemporary interviews, former heads of state, United Nations representatives, figures from the nuclear establishment, Manhattan Project scientists, Nobel Peace- and Pulitzer Prize-winners, military personnel and atomic-bomb survivors recount the birth of the nuclear age and detail the key developments that followed.

The film shifts between historical events, including the Cuban missile crisis and the historic 1986 Reykjavik Summit between Reagan and Gorbachev to present-day efforts to contain the spread of nuclear weapons.

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"In My Lifetime" also details the obstacles — political and human — impeding a solution to this complex global issue.

In My Lifetime Video Excerpt
In My Lifetime: Hiroshima August 6, 1945
In My Lifetime: Photographer/Writer Paul Shambroom
In My Lifetime: The First Treaties
In My Lifetime: Hibakusha