Pandora's Box

Episode 6: A is For Atom

July 16, 1992 • 45 min

An insight into the history of nuclear power. In the 1950s scientists and politicians thought they could create a different world with a limitless source of nuclear energy. But things began to go wrong. Scientists in America and the Soviet Union were duped into building dozens of potentially dangerous plants. Then came the disasters of Three Mile Island and Chernobyl which changed views on the safety of this new technology. This episode was named after a 1953 General Electric propaganda film explaining nuclear power and features artfully chosen footage from this film.