S2E21: Donna Barba Higuera Interview – A Reader's History of Science Fiction
In this episode, I interview Donna Barba Higuera, author of the Newbery winning sci-fi novel, The Last Cuentista (which I've previously recommended). Donna's book recommendation: Reclaim the Stars, edited by Zoraida Córdova Donna's website
The Cold War brought with it new tales of nuclear war in science fiction, both in the early days of the 50s and 60s, and later, when fears began to rise again. In this episode, we look at the highlights of these stories and how they vary widely in how they address the consequences of nuclear war.
Book recommendation: Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank.
The Office of Technology Assessment’s 1979 nuclear war study.
Other works mentioned:
On the Beach by Nevil Shute (un-recommended)
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
Dr. Strangelove
Fail Safe
The Postman by David Brin
The Day After
WarGames
Science Meets Fiction 
Another thoughtful (but a little depressing) episode.
I remember “The Day After” when it was first broadcast. In the same vein, but not really sci-fi was “Special Bulletin”, a enactment of news coverage of nuclear terrorists with a bomb in the harbor of Charleston, SC. At the time I lived about 10 miles from ground zero in the movie.
The Jack D. Ripper character in “Dr. Strangelove” is (loosely?) based on Curtis LeMay, who developed much of the U.S. air strategy. Malcolm Gladwell devoted four episodes to LeMay in Season 5 of his “Revisionist History” podcast.