Oppenheimer TV docudrama Available to Purchase

On Monday, 26 January, the Public Broadcasting System will premiere The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a two-hour program centered around a dramatic re-creation of the 1954 US government hearings that confirmed the 1953 revocation of Oppenheimer’s security clearance. During World War II, the theoretical physicist had been the head scientist of the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bomb. And after the war, he had served the government as a key adviser on nuclear-weapons issues. The dramatization of the hearings, with actor David Strathairn portraying the beleaguered Oppenheimer, is interspersed with commentaries by historians and scientists, photos from Oppenheimer’s life, and historic film and TV footage. The program, part of the PBS American Experience series, was written, produced, and directed by David Grubin.