J. Robert Oppenheimer

With the premiere of Christopher Nolan’s film Oppenheimer in 2023, renewed attention has been paid to the complicated life and legacy of one of history’s most famous scientists. At the Bulletin, the connection goes back to our founding.

J. Robert Oppenheimer served as the first chair of our Board of Sponsors, a group established by Albert Einstein that has counted 40 Nobel Laureates over the years. Beyond this leadership role, Oppenheimer also authored over a dozen articles in the Bulletin and was the subject of many more. View the full collection of Oppenheimer articles below, including our July 2023 premium magazine issue, “Oppenheimer: The man. The movie. The legacy.” which features interviews, articles from the experts, archival pieces, and more exploring the complex figure who was “the father of the atomic bomb.”

Oppenheimer’s second coming

By Gregory Kulacki | Nuclear Weapons

Our special issue on the film that won seven Oscars and the man who built the Bomb

By | Nuclear Weapons

Not just Oppenheimer: How other scientists tried to change nuclear weapons policy for the better

By Frank von Hippel | Nuclear Weapons

Responsible science: What Sam Altman can learn (and not learn) from Nobel and Oppenheimer

By Sarah Kreps | Artificial Intelligence, Disruptive Technologies

The fallout never ended

By Robert Alvarez | Nuclear Risk, Nuclear Weapons

Oppenheimer envisioned the tactical use of nuclear weapons. Putin now threatens it

By Matthew Evangelista | Nuclear Weapons

Widening the field of view on ‘Oppenheimer’

By Robert J. Goldston | Nuclear Weapons

Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’: an artistic visual tapestry of the bomb’s science and power intricacies

By Lovely Umayam | Nuclear Weapons

A family photo of Edward Hall (left) and Ted Hall, provided to author Dave Lindorff by Sheila Hall, daughter of Ed Hall. The photographer is likely Ed's wife, Edith (deceased).

A tale of two suspects: ‘Oppenheimer’ versus ‘A Compassionate Spy’

By Hugh Gusterson | Nuclear Risk, Nuclear Weapons

Watch now — After the fallout: Oppenheimer’s Trinity test has US civilians seeking compensation today

By Avery Restrepo | Nuclear Risk

What ‘Oppenheimer’ can teach today’s scientists

By Charles D. Ferguson | Nuclear Weapons

My grandfather helped build the bomb. ‘Oppenheimer’ sanitized its impacts

By Emily Strasser | Nuclear Weapons, Opinion, Voices of Tomorrow