Nuclear Power’s History in the US: Miracle to Demon

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Of all the miracle technologies of the 20th century — aircraft, computers, antibiotics — none held more promise than nuclear power.

In the middle of the 20th century, nuclear power held the potential for limitless, clean, and safe energy — something never before achieved in human history. How did a technology with so much potential end up being so hard to handle? Dr. Patrick McCray, a historian of science and a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, talks about the Cold War power politics that led to the creation — and to the downfall — of the nuclear power industry in the United States.