Press kit
Principle Interviewees
Pauline Silvia was one of the only women scientists doing research on the effects of radiation from the atom bomb during the early 1950’s She joined the navy as a biologist and was assigned to the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory in San Francisco where she was sent to the Nevada Test Site and exposed to five of the eleven atomic detonations during “Operation Upshot-Knothole”.
Emiko Okada was 8 years old when the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Her twelve year-old sister was never found. Most of her family, including her mother died in the following months. She has a daughter, who is also interviewed, and is actively campaigning for the abolition of all nuclear weapons.
Mary Palevsky is the Director of the Nevada Test Site Oral History Project sponsored by the University of Nevada Las Vegas. She is the author of Atomic Fragments: A Daughter’s Questions, which is a collection of interviews of scientists who worked with both of her parents on the Manhattan Project.
Andy Kirk, Ph.D, University of Nevada Las Vegas, is a historian with an emphasis on the American West and Environmental history. He has been a co-principal investigator for the Nevada Test Site Oral History Project.
Robert Futrell, Ph.D, University of Nevada Las Vegas, is a sociologist specializing in the areas of social movements, environmental sociology, sociology of science and technological disputes, and political sociology. He has been a co-principal investigator for the Nevada Test Site Oral History Project.
Sr. Rosemary Lynch is a 90 year-old Franciscan nun who has been protesting outside of the Nevada Test Site since the early 1970’s. She is a co-founder of the international organization Pace e Bene, which promotes non-violent living and spirituality.
Ray Harbert is an engineer who worked at Bikini Atoll during the largest U.S. hydrogen bomb test called Bravo, in 1954. He assisted in the removal of natives from the island of Ronjelap, many of whom, later died of thyroid cancer or leukemia. He also worked at the Nevada Test Site during Operation Plumbbob (1956-57) and managed the construction of the Atlas Missile Complex at Dyes AFB, Texas during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Dr. Shuntaro Hida was a 28 year-old Japanese Military doctor who survived the bombing after being called to a nearby village in the middle of the night to treat a young girl. He was one of the first doctors to respond and treated over 300 survivors a day with no medical supplies or knowledge of radiation illness. He has dedicated his life to treating survivors, the Hibakusha, and calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Martin Sheen is an actor and social activist. He has been arrested 66 times during various political demonstrations, many for anti-nuclear campaigns. He has been protesting outside of the Nevada Test Site for many years and starred as the President of the United States on the popular television series West Wing.
Dr. Helen Caldicott is a Nobel Peace Prize nominee and founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Nuclear Policy Research Institute. She is the author of several books including Missile Envy, Metal of Dishonor, If You Love This Planet, Nuclear Madness, The New Nuclear Danger, and Nuclear Power is Not the Answer.
Norma Field Ph.D, University of Chicago, Robert S. Ingersoll Professor in Japanese Studies in East Asian Languages and Civilizations. Norma studies modern Japanese literature with an interest in the dialectical pursuit of structural and historical analyses and "naive" and "scholarly" responses.
Kennette Benedict Ph.D, is the Executive Director and Publisher of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a magazine established by Manhattan Project scientists in 1945 to inform the public about the dangers of nuclear weapons and other catastrophic threats to humanity.
