Julie McDowall
@nuclearwar.bsky.social
Author of Attack Warning Red. Get it here: https://linktr.ee/attackwarningred
Presenter of Atomic Hobo podcast. Get it here: https://podfollow.com/the-atomic-hobo
Presenter of Atomic Hobo podcast. Get it here: https://podfollow.com/the-atomic-hobo
Reposted by Julie McDowall
Today's pod episode is on how Harold Macmillan would've ordered nuclear retaliation, and we look at the scenario that would've had him ordering nuclear destruction from a phone box at the side of the road.
pod.fo/e/380c1f
pod.fo/e/380c1f
January 26, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Today's pod episode is on how Harold Macmillan would've ordered nuclear retaliation, and we look at the scenario that would've had him ordering nuclear destruction from a phone box at the side of the road.
pod.fo/e/380c1f
pod.fo/e/380c1f
Today's pod episode is on how Harold Macmillan would've ordered nuclear retaliation, and we look at the scenario that would've had him ordering nuclear destruction from a phone box at the side of the road.
pod.fo/e/380c1f
pod.fo/e/380c1f
January 26, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Today's pod episode is on how Harold Macmillan would've ordered nuclear retaliation, and we look at the scenario that would've had him ordering nuclear destruction from a phone box at the side of the road.
pod.fo/e/380c1f
pod.fo/e/380c1f
💥NEW EPISODE
Harold Macmillan: Pressing the Button
Harold Macmillan: Pressing the Button
Atomic Hobo: Harold Macmillan, Part 4: Pressing the Button
How would Harold Macmillan have ordered nuclear retaliation?Join us at www.patreon.com/atomichobo for ad-free listening and bonus episodes.The books and articles I used in this episode are listed b...
pod.fo
January 26, 2026 at 11:56 AM
💥NEW EPISODE
Harold Macmillan: Pressing the Button
Harold Macmillan: Pressing the Button
Reposted by Julie McDowall
"In any case, we could get hold of the bomb even if it meant shooting the American officers concerned."
Monday's episode in my Harold Macmillan series looks at how he would have 'pressed the button'. It's a juicy one. Get previous episodes here.
Monday's episode in my Harold Macmillan series looks at how he would have 'pressed the button'. It's a juicy one. Get previous episodes here.
Atomic Hobo
A weekly podcast on how we prepared for nuclear war. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
podfollow.com
January 23, 2026 at 12:19 PM
"In any case, we could get hold of the bomb even if it meant shooting the American officers concerned."
Monday's episode in my Harold Macmillan series looks at how he would have 'pressed the button'. It's a juicy one. Get previous episodes here.
Monday's episode in my Harold Macmillan series looks at how he would have 'pressed the button'. It's a juicy one. Get previous episodes here.
"In any case, we could get hold of the bomb even if it meant shooting the American officers concerned."
Monday's episode in my Harold Macmillan series looks at how he would have 'pressed the button'. It's a juicy one. Get previous episodes here.
Monday's episode in my Harold Macmillan series looks at how he would have 'pressed the button'. It's a juicy one. Get previous episodes here.
Atomic Hobo
A weekly podcast on how we prepared for nuclear war. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
podfollow.com
January 23, 2026 at 12:19 PM
"In any case, we could get hold of the bomb even if it meant shooting the American officers concerned."
Monday's episode in my Harold Macmillan series looks at how he would have 'pressed the button'. It's a juicy one. Get previous episodes here.
Monday's episode in my Harold Macmillan series looks at how he would have 'pressed the button'. It's a juicy one. Get previous episodes here.
The great WAR PLAN UK by @duncanc.bsky.social is now available on Kindle.
www.amazon.co.uk
January 22, 2026 at 5:43 PM
The great WAR PLAN UK by @duncanc.bsky.social is now available on Kindle.
Reposted by Julie McDowall
NEW EPISODE
Part 3 of our series on Harold Macmillan and the Thor missiles arrive in rainy Norfolk.
Part 3 of our series on Harold Macmillan and the Thor missiles arrive in rainy Norfolk.
Atomic Hobo: Harold Macmillan, Part 3
Thor is here! In 1958, the American Thor missiles arrive in the east of England, creating a headache for the authorities, and pain for those who protested their arrival and found themselves thrown ...
pod.fo
January 15, 2026 at 8:57 AM
NEW EPISODE
Part 3 of our series on Harold Macmillan and the Thor missiles arrive in rainy Norfolk.
Part 3 of our series on Harold Macmillan and the Thor missiles arrive in rainy Norfolk.
NEW EPISODE
Part 3 of our series on Harold Macmillan and the Thor missiles arrive in rainy Norfolk.
Part 3 of our series on Harold Macmillan and the Thor missiles arrive in rainy Norfolk.
Atomic Hobo: Harold Macmillan, Part 3
Thor is here! In 1958, the American Thor missiles arrive in the east of England, creating a headache for the authorities, and pain for those who protested their arrival and found themselves thrown ...
pod.fo
January 15, 2026 at 8:57 AM
NEW EPISODE
Part 3 of our series on Harold Macmillan and the Thor missiles arrive in rainy Norfolk.
Part 3 of our series on Harold Macmillan and the Thor missiles arrive in rainy Norfolk.
NEW Harold Macmillan, Part 3: Thor is here! | Atomic Hobo
Get more from Atomic Hobo on Patreon
www.patreon.com
January 14, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Remembering the time my dog turned into the Threads Traffic Warden.
January 14, 2026 at 5:20 PM
Remembering the time my dog turned into the Threads Traffic Warden.
Our series on Harold Macmillan. Parts 1 + 2 so far...taking in the trenches, adultery, the Kray Twins, and the hydrogen bomb.
pod.fo/e/361e3a
pod.fo/e/361e3a
Atomic Hobo: Harold Macmillan, Part 1
A new series on former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, a man born in the Victorian era who led Britain into her thermonuclear age and through the Cuban Missile Crisis.This episode starts with his ...
pod.fo
January 6, 2026 at 8:23 PM
Our series on Harold Macmillan. Parts 1 + 2 so far...taking in the trenches, adultery, the Kray Twins, and the hydrogen bomb.
pod.fo/e/361e3a
pod.fo/e/361e3a
Hopefully not an omen? Today's Times crossword has SHEFFIELD and MILK FLOAT.
January 5, 2026 at 11:09 AM
Hopefully not an omen? Today's Times crossword has SHEFFIELD and MILK FLOAT.
Reposted by Julie McDowall
ATOMIC HOBO is back tomorrow morning!
Or NOW if you're a patron. Early and ad-free access here.
It's part 2 of our series on Harold Macmillan, and we look at his first year in power, 1957. You've never had it so nuclear, as he didn't say.
www.patreon.com/posts/new-ha...
Or NOW if you're a patron. Early and ad-free access here.
It's part 2 of our series on Harold Macmillan, and we look at his first year in power, 1957. You've never had it so nuclear, as he didn't say.
www.patreon.com/posts/new-ha...
NEW Harold Macmillan, Part 2 | Atomic Hobo
Get more from Atomic Hobo on Patreon
www.patreon.com
January 4, 2026 at 8:39 PM
ATOMIC HOBO is back tomorrow morning!
Or NOW if you're a patron. Early and ad-free access here.
It's part 2 of our series on Harold Macmillan, and we look at his first year in power, 1957. You've never had it so nuclear, as he didn't say.
www.patreon.com/posts/new-ha...
Or NOW if you're a patron. Early and ad-free access here.
It's part 2 of our series on Harold Macmillan, and we look at his first year in power, 1957. You've never had it so nuclear, as he didn't say.
www.patreon.com/posts/new-ha...
ATOMIC HOBO is back tomorrow morning!
Or NOW if you're a patron. Early and ad-free access here.
It's part 2 of our series on Harold Macmillan, and we look at his first year in power, 1957. You've never had it so nuclear, as he didn't say.
www.patreon.com/posts/new-ha...
Or NOW if you're a patron. Early and ad-free access here.
It's part 2 of our series on Harold Macmillan, and we look at his first year in power, 1957. You've never had it so nuclear, as he didn't say.
www.patreon.com/posts/new-ha...
NEW Harold Macmillan, Part 2 | Atomic Hobo
Get more from Atomic Hobo on Patreon
www.patreon.com
January 4, 2026 at 8:39 PM
ATOMIC HOBO is back tomorrow morning!
Or NOW if you're a patron. Early and ad-free access here.
It's part 2 of our series on Harold Macmillan, and we look at his first year in power, 1957. You've never had it so nuclear, as he didn't say.
www.patreon.com/posts/new-ha...
Or NOW if you're a patron. Early and ad-free access here.
It's part 2 of our series on Harold Macmillan, and we look at his first year in power, 1957. You've never had it so nuclear, as he didn't say.
www.patreon.com/posts/new-ha...
"The balloon could return to friendly territory..."
Another one for the Cold War "bad ideas" nuke file — a study on how effective it would be to put megaton-range nuclear weapons onto balloons and just sort of let them drift towards targets you wanted to irradiate. Some obvious downsides to this approach! Sandia labs, 1957. Citation in alt text.
![Document continued. Brackets show someone's hand annotations:
From the above example it appears that under certain conditions the free-balloon delivery system may compete with other systems requiring multiple weapons. Advantages of the free-balloon system are:
1. Simplicity of equipment
2. Low cost of equipment
3. Ease of saturating enemy defenses with cheap dummy balloons. [EFFECTIVE?]
Disadvantages of the free-balloon system are:
1. Launching can only be done in good weather. [?]
2. Launch point must be upwind from the target. [AT SOME CRUISE ALTITUDE]
3. Balloons are easily spotted and shot down. [?]
4. Fast attacks are impossible.
5. The balloon could return to friendly territory during its flight. [PROBABILITY?]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:d6lghffuwlinx22c2rtfbdwv/bafkreibn3n2dfxdupmvnpnnnd4w6ggs7q5qavenbvwjicsblfsmq6w4eji@jpeg)
January 2, 2026 at 6:54 PM
"The balloon could return to friendly territory..."
Reposted by Julie McDowall
NEW BONUS EPISODE
The Sturdy Child of Terror
The Sturdy Child of Terror
BONUS: The Sturdy Child of Terror | Atomic Hobo
Get more from Atomic Hobo on Patreon
www.patreon.com
December 11, 2025 at 7:39 PM
NEW BONUS EPISODE
The Sturdy Child of Terror
The Sturdy Child of Terror
NEW BONUS EPISODE
The Sturdy Child of Terror
The Sturdy Child of Terror
BONUS: The Sturdy Child of Terror | Atomic Hobo
Get more from Atomic Hobo on Patreon
www.patreon.com
December 11, 2025 at 7:39 PM
NEW BONUS EPISODE
The Sturdy Child of Terror
The Sturdy Child of Terror
Reposted by Julie McDowall
Signed paperbacks with a personalised Christmas message inside. £15 inc P+P (if you're in the UK).
Message me here. Payment via Paypal.
Message me here. Payment via Paypal.
December 11, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Signed paperbacks with a personalised Christmas message inside. £15 inc P+P (if you're in the UK).
Message me here. Payment via Paypal.
Message me here. Payment via Paypal.
Signed paperbacks with a personalised Christmas message inside. £15 inc P+P (if you're in the UK).
Message me here. Payment via Paypal.
Message me here. Payment via Paypal.
December 11, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Signed paperbacks with a personalised Christmas message inside. £15 inc P+P (if you're in the UK).
Message me here. Payment via Paypal.
Message me here. Payment via Paypal.
Reposted by Julie McDowall
Subscribe to the pod here. A new series starts tomorrow on Harold Macmillan, our PM during the Cuba Crisis and our first test of the H-Bomb. A Victorian gentleman guiding us through all that nuclear tension.
You've never heard it so good!
podfollow.com/the-atomic-h...
You've never heard it so good!
podfollow.com/the-atomic-h...
Atomic Hobo
A weekly podcast on how we prepared for nuclear war. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
podfollow.com
December 7, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Subscribe to the pod here. A new series starts tomorrow on Harold Macmillan, our PM during the Cuba Crisis and our first test of the H-Bomb. A Victorian gentleman guiding us through all that nuclear tension.
You've never heard it so good!
podfollow.com/the-atomic-h...
You've never heard it so good!
podfollow.com/the-atomic-h...