August 6th and 9th, 2020 mark the 75th anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by U.S. forces.
U.S. politicians and media personalities often claim that the bombings were the only option President Truman had to bring
World War II to a swift end, but historian Peter Kuznick says this is a myth. On this week’s program, Kuznick rebuts that belief,
demonstrating that it was widely-known at the time that Japan was looking to surrender, and the bombs did nothing to hasten that surrender. His conversation with Mickey Huff also covers related issues, such as the unprecedented anti-Japanese racism employed in U.S. wartime propaganda, and how the use of the bombs worsened the Cold War.
Notes:
Peter Kuznick is Professor of History at American University in Washington DC,
and also directs the Nuclear Studies Program at that institution.
He and Oliver Stone wrote the groundbreaking book The Untold History of the United States,
and also produced a Showtime documentary series based on the book.
More information can be found at www.untoldhistory.com.
Music-break information:
- “The Isle of the Dead” by Sergei Rachmaninoff
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“2 Minutes to Midnight” by Iron Maiden
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“Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima” by Krzysztof Penderecki