Neil deGrasse Tyson and Brian Greene Discuss Oppenheimer

What do two physicists think about the movie Oppenheimer? Neil deGrasse Tyson sits down with theoretical physicist Brian Greene to discuss the science in Christopher Nolan’s film Oppenheimer, based on Robert J. Oppenheimer’s work on the Manhattan Project. How did the movie do in capturing such a major moment in quantum physics?

They break down parts of the film: did Nolan get anything wrong? We explore the concerns that the atomic bomb would ignite the atmosphere and the mechanism that would make that possible. Would Brian have said yes to working on the Manhattan Project if he had been alive at the time? Was achieving nuclear fission good for science? Plus, get Neil and Brian's Favorite moments from the film and their main takeaways from the era.

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00:00 - Introduction: Oppenheimer
3:37 - Moments that Gave Brian Pause
10:10 - Would The Bomb Ignite the Atmosphere?
21:05 - Accomplishing Unfathomable Science
25:45 - The Golden Age of Quantum Physics
29:41 - The Role of Communism & McCarthyism

[StarTalk]

FYI: At 6:37, I imply that the German Physicist Werner Heisenberg was Jewish. That’s clearly false. He worked closely with the Nazis in their attempt to harness atomic energy for military purposes, as other parts of the conversation indicate. I thank the several attentive viewers who caught this for bringing it to my attention.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson

[oaguilera]

It’s always a great episode when Brian Greene is on the show. The two are just phenomenal.

[WilliamRoeder-bwed]

My favorite scene in Oppenheimer was when he was in graduate school in Europe appreciating a Picasso portrait. Cubism was a revolutionary way of viewing art just as his field (pun intended) of quantum mechanics was a revolutionary way of viewing physics. Also, cubism is representing reality as independent chunks, just as quantum mechanics does. Beautiful!

[irasingh]

I saw the movie on second day it was released and couldn’t get it out of my head for two weeks. I was so moved and awed by it …the direction, the acting of Chillian Murphy , the screenplay, the background music..everything.

[MuffFlux]

On Brian Greene's point, the film is an art piece, not a documentary... It wasn't to literally demonstrate his mental processes. It was an artistic license to send a message and set the tone for the rest of the film... It was a film device, not a tangible, scientific, empirical representation of his brain/mental imagery... People went to the cinemas to see a Nolan film, not a direct 1:1 representation.

[Chaotician]

I think this is one of my favorite podcasts to date. Giants of science discussing other giants of science. In a way ... paying homage to their predecessors. I'm also thrilled to know they got the movie "Oppenheimer, " right. The seal of approval is given by two huge names in the current world of science.

[bryanholland]

When Neil says - "War is something you have to see from up close to know we should never do it."

I've said this to my friends before, War might be harder to achieve with video gamers. Because, with all the wargames I played, if I had to buy a coffin (and be rich enough to do so) for every time that I died, there wouldn't be enough coffins in my state to cover the event.

People might be less willing to engage in war or promote war, if they understood how quickly and unexpected death comes to the participants.

[lorpsandorps]

The film was about Oppenheimer. We get his perspective on it. I think it was important to address how removed the creators were, and how abrupt it was that this creation was now out of their hands.

[svsguru]

They focused on that probability of igniting the atmosphere and destroying the world, to bring it back at the end of the movie, when oppenheimer said "I think we did."

[andrewparker]

Holy crap please do more of these!! I love hearing Neil deGrasse Tyson analyzing more than just the science of a movie!!

[JohnnyNiteTrain]

Oppenheimer was so damn good. I saw it twice in IMAX and a few times since at home. It gets better with each viewing. Every facet of the film, from the cast, Nolan's direction and screenplay, the DP Van Hoytema, Göransson's score, the editing, production design, costumes etc, was all top notch....
Sidenote: you guys were talking about Feynman at the beginning, he is played by actor Jack Quaid, son of Dennis Quaid & Meg Ryan. He's in that show The Boys, on Prime.

[mahtabalan]

I loved this! It's so great hearing experts who actually comprehend the scientific parts of that entire event talk about and break down the movie. I loved Oppenheimer. I believe Christopher Nolan is a genuine science enthusiast and a master of his own craft.

[Ryan-onon]

Like Drs. Tyson and Greene, I find "Oppenheimer" did an overall commendable job of balancing partly fictionalized movie drama with the real historical and scientific elements of the story. More than most major Hollywood productions, I felt at times welcomingly challenged, and not the least spoon-fed or patronized, by Nolan's portrayal of history and scientific discovery here. Though there are issues of historical perspective, narrative, and simplification intractable with films geared to a mass audience, Nolan and his creative team must be applauded for their effort of trying to portray this incredibly complex and multidimensional story with as much sensitivity to history as the genre allows, a commendable thing to be sure in the age of the fatuous blockbuster epic.

[IIxViiprzv]

I'd genuinely enjoy watching more Neil deGrasse Tyson movie reviews, scientific or otherwise 😄

[zaidyousef]

I like Neil DeGrasse. I would like him even better if he stops interrupting Brian Greene every five seconds.

[chuckvalentine]

I think we should remember it's not Chris Nolan's job to educate a generation. He just made a movie, and its a good one!

[mikefoster]

When I worked in military comms, I knew Oppenheimer's great nephew (?) Andy Oppenheimer very well. He looked and dressed SO much like J Robert and made his lifelong career around detailed editorial/publishing about nuclear and other WMD threads. A quirky chap, he led a synth band and all its songs were about missiles, New Mexico etc. A nice, shy guy. I lost touch, but would enjoy a beer with him again.

[PollardEducation-teyj]

No lies. I watch this channel faithfully. Neil is the man. But when I saw the name Brian Green AND Oppenheimer on this show, I told everybody at work that I was taking an hour break. I never take breaks. Thank you for this, Neil.

[keithmiller]

Thank you for letting me be a fly on the wall of this conversation.

[katiekins]

My grandfather was asked to work/intern at the Chicago site. He had gone to school in Illinois but was more of a fusion man than fission, he decided to enlist instead. Later he worked with Niels Bohr in Denmark. I think he would have enjoyed the film and my mom agrees.