Auditory Anthology

In this episode we’re sharing the story "Blowups Happen", written in 1940 by Robert Heinlein. Among other things, Heinlein might be best known as the writer of Starship Troopers. This story was also featured on Weird Darkness, the paranormal podcast hosted by our narrator Darren Marlar. You can check out that podcast at Weird Darkness dot com. 

"Blowups Happen" describes the tensions among the staff of a nuclear reactor. Heinlein's concept of a nuclear reactor was one of a barely contained explosion, closer to the mini star from Spider-Man 2 than anything we have in real life. As a consequence the work is dangerous, and the slightest mistake could be catastrophic. Although we’ve certainly learned that can also be the case with real life nuclear reactors. All the technical staff are monitored by psychologists who have the authority to remove them from the work at any time lest they crack under the pressure and precipitate a disaster. The monitoring itself contributes to the problem. In writing the story, Heinlein only had public knowledge of nuclear fission, but still, he somehow anticipated the actual development of nuclear technology which arose just a few years later. The story was first published in Astounding Science Fiction in 1940, before any nuclear reactors had ever even been built. A few years later when the story was re-released in the 1946 anthology The Best of Science Fiction, Heinlein did make a few modifications to the story in order to reflect how a reactor actually worked, as more information about nuclear energy and reactors was available. He also at that time made revisions to mention Hiroshima and Nagasaki Since those nuclear attacks had taken place after his original short story had been published. But we’ll be sharing the original magazine publication version from 1940, without the updates and revisions – something to keep in mind while listening. And if you like the story tonight and want to know what happens next, Robert Heinlein did write a sequel called “The Man Who Sold The Moon”. 

“Blowups Happen” is also an award-winning story – in 2016 it was nominated for the 1941 Retro-Hugo Award for Best Novelette. Please keep in mind the story was published in 1940, so some of the language – particular one term used to describe those who have black skin – was not as frowned upon back then. Darren and I both think it’s important to present the story the way the authors wrote it. With that in mind, grab some snacks and a drink and settle in and enjoy “Blowups Happen” by Robert Heinlein.

If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/

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Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/

Other shows hosted by Darren:

Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead