The Bomb

By Jennifer Robinson / Web Producer

Published August 6, 2025 at 2:12 PM PDT

A Little Boy atomic bomb, the same type of weapon dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in August 1945. This was the first photograph of a Little Boy bomb casing to ever be released by the U.S. government (it was declassified in 1960). This photograph is of a postwar Little Boy unit, and is not the exact bomb dropped over Japan.

Stream now with KPBS Passport / Watch Tuesday, Aug.12, 2025 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV

"The Bomb" tells a powerful story of the most destructive invention in human history, outlining how America developed the nuclear bomb, how it changed the world and how it continues to loom large in our lives. Witness the raw power and strangely compelling beauty of rare views of above-ground nuclear tests.

The documentary includes interviews with historians Richard Rhodes, Martin Sherwin, Robert Norris, Sergei Khrushchev and others, along with men and women who helped build the weapon piece by piece. Audiences also hear from former Secretary of State George Shultz and Secretary of Defense William Perry, who reveal how the bomb was viewed inside government circles, as well as those who hold firsthand memories of seeing the first mushroom clouds fill the skies.

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Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer, theoretical physicists.

Courtesy of National Archives/Public Domain

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Atomic Test - Dominic Truckee, 9 June 1962.

Courtesy of Ken Hackman

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Atomic Test - Dominic Bluestone, 30 June 1962.

Courtesy of Ken Hackman

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General Leslie Groves in front of wall map. Groves was a United States Army Corps of Engineers officer and director of the Manhattan Project.

Courtesy of National Archives/Public Domain

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General Leslie Groves at Trinity site.

Courtesy of Library of Congress

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“The Gadget” (code name for the bomb) hoisted onto testing tower.

Courtesy of Los Alamos National Library

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The only existing color photo of the Trinity Test.

Courtesy of Jack Aeby/Los Alamos National Library

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"Fat Man" atomic bomb. A Fat Man bomb was dropped over Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945, near the end of World War II.

Courtesy of Los Alamos National Library

This groundbreaking film provides captivating insights through its masterfully restored footage and its assembly of voices who were there when the atomic age began.

The Bomb: Secret Cities

The Bomb: Public Dialogue and Atomic Culture

The Bomb: The Cuban Missile Crisis

Watch On Your Schedule: Stream "The Bomb" now with KPBS Passport, a benefit for members supporting KPBS at $60 or more yearly, using your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire or Chromecast. Learn how to activate your benefit now.

The Bomb

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