This Day (An America 250 History Show) The Bomb And The Flag [Some Sunday Context]
Feb 22, 2026
Garrett Graff, author and historian known for oral histories of major events, discusses August 1945 and the decision to use atomic weapons. He describes his oral-history approach and the sources he used. Conversations cover the Manhattan Project’s industrial scale, scientists’ moral reckonings, Japan’s political turmoil that month, and the survivors’ harrowing testimonies.
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Bombs Ended War, Sparked Endless Debate
- The atomic bombs ended WWII quickly but caused massive civilian casualties and moral controversy.
- Garrett Graff emphasizes historians will debate the decision for eternity.
Firsthand Research In Japan And Oak Ridge
- Graff visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki and interviewed a survivor himself.
- He also used oral history archives like Oak Ridge's recordings for first-person testimony.
Manhattan Project Was Industrial Scale
- The Manhattan Project was enormous, far beyond Oppenheimer and Los Alamos.
- Garrett Graff describes towns like Oak Ridge and Hanford as wartime cities of 100,000 people.
