Sixty years ago, on January 27, 1951 the very first nuclear test conducted at the Nevada Test Site lit up the sky over the Frenchman Flat about 65 miles outside of Las Vegas. It was the very first of about 928 nuclear experiments at the Nuclear Test Site over the four decades after that initial detonation. The Nevada Test Site is synonymous with the vibe of "old Vegas," when tourism officials used to brag about being able to see nuclear explosions in "Atomic City." But there was also a dark side when it was discovered nuclear fallout turned out to be much worse for some people than was originally anticipated by the federal government. We talk with a nuclear historian about Nevada's first nuclear test.

GUEST
Michon Mackedon, Emeritus Prof of English, Western Nevada College