Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

---

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 383) — Did the Oppenheimer movie get the Manhattan Project right? Today, we'll dig into the film's portrayal of the project. From the Los Alamos we see in the movie to what we don't see in the movie such as Oak Ridge's massive factories, Hanford's plutonium production, and more that you don't ever see in the movie.

Get Alice's book: links.boatspodcast.com/383guest

Alice Lovejoy is the author of Tales of Militant Chemistry, film scholar, and a professor at the University of Minnesota. She'll join us today to unravel the true story behind the Manhattan Project in the movie.

Get Alice's other books
Army Film and the Avant Garde: links.boatspodcast.com/383book01
Remapping Cold War Media: links.boatspodcast.com/383book02
Find more of Alice's work: alicelovejoy.com
Follow Alice on Bluesky: https://alicelovejoy.bsky.social/
Follow Alice on Instagram: instagram.com/alice__lovejoy

Listen to the other BOATS episode on Oppenheimer: links.boatspodcast.com/382

Chapters
00:00 Manhattan Project Overview
04:50 Uranium vs. Plutonium Bombs
09:45 Scale of the Project
15:28 Einstein's Role
20:42 Trinity Test Depiction
25:04 Radiation Concerns
30:51 Project's End & Legacy
33:52 Post-War Impacts


Support my sponsors: links.boatspodcast.com/advertisers
Become a BOATS Producer: links.boatspodcast.com/producers
Email me: dan@basedonatruestorypodcast.com