"A House of Dynamite” Writer on How Nuclear War Works

A House of Dynamite, a new Netflix film, may be the most realistic depiction of a nuclear crisis ever made. Screenwriter Noah Oppenheim partnered with Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty, The Hurt Locker) to capture the intimate details of the U.S. national security state as a president (Idris Elba) and his advisors confront the riskiest 19 minutes in human history. Oppenheim, the former president of NBC News, joins Jon Bateman on The World Unpacked. They discuss Trump’s missile defense plans, the filmmaking process, and Hollywood’s surprising influence on nuclear policy—from Dr. Strangelove to Crimson Tide. Chapters 0:00 – Intro 2:11 – Why Write a Nuclear Crisis Movie Now? 7:19 – Doomsday Decision Making 10:52 – Examining Our Nuclear Apparatus 16:56 – Is Trump’s “Golden Dome” an Illusion? 19:38 – From Nuclear Drills to Real Disaster 24:46 – Can We Slow Down the Arms Race? 26:59 – Filmmaking and Foreign Policy 31:04 – Fact vs. Fiction: America’s Defense System 34:35 – 19 Minutes to Save the World 37:48 – Should POTUS Have Sole Authority in a Crisis? 40:03 – Why Washington Should Watch 44:11 – What Gives Noah Oppenheim Hope? Find the episode transcript and streaming audio, and get the show direct to your inbox, here: https://carnegieendowment.org/podcast... Follow Jon on X: https://x.com/JonKBateman Like and subscribe to our channel: https://bit.ly/38sljlH The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace generates strategic ideas and independent analysis, supports diplomacy, and trains the next generation of international scholar-practitioners to help countries and institutions take on the most difficult global problems and advance peace. Visit our website: https://carnegieendowment.org/ Follow us on X: https://x.com/CarnegieEndow Follow us on Instagram:   / carnegieendow