“Overachievers and perfectionists.”

In this episode of The Ear, Ellie Carver-Horner and Charlotte Fay explore the complicated history of the atomic bomb, a controversial scientific creation that began at Columbia University in the basement of Pupin Hall. What role did Columbia play in the intricacies of nuclear discovery? How did those making these discoveries justify their role in mass destruction, and how does Columbia reckon with that violence in 2023? Learn alongside Ellie and Charlotte as they engage with Columbia’s complex history of innovation, a story of conflicting moralities, and the foundations for a piece of science that altered the course of human history.

My father used to keep a letter opener in his briefcase, and he would use it—not on envelopes, but on books.