The flash of the first atomic blasts exposes a multi-billion dollar clandestine operation: The Manhattan Project. A modern state secrecy apparatus emerges directly out of Los Alamos – only to find itself immediately compromised as Russia announces its own atomic arsenal. Was Ethel Rosenberg framed by her own brother? Who conspired to bring down Robert Oppenheimer, father of the bomb? Suspicion comes to define the Atomic Age – and justify some of its darkest moments, including... Radiation testing on unsuspecting civilians. An 800 page American World War III battle plan that targeted 600 million civilians. Broken Arrows. And the real stories of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when what both sides didn't know almost killed everyone.

In 2017, the U.S. released films from a generation of nuclear tests -- allowing scientists to study the last images of thermonuclear explosions we hope we'll ever see. But just getting them took years of trying – and dozens of nuclear explosions. In Los Angeles, a secret film studio, Lookout Mountain, staffed by Hollywood professionals, produced countless films aimed at diverse audiences from policymakers to soldiers, scientists to civilians. The goal: convince anyone who will listen – including themselves – that they knew how to wield this new power. Many of these films are being made public for the first time ever, shedding new light on one of the darkest and most dangerous times in history. New waves of declassified films, photographs and documents are telling us more than we ever knew about the Cold War.