Paperclip: America's Nazi Scientists
It’s 1945. Hitler is defeated. America is looking to outsmart a new enemy, the Soviet Union. To advance in rocketry, aviation, and chemical weapons, America recruits scientists and engineers who fueled the war machine of another nation...Nazi Germany. Inspired by the true story behind the Emmy-eligible drama series "Hunters" from Amazon Studios, starring Al Pacino and Logan Lerman, PAPERCLIP explores how Operation Paperclip – the recruitment of Nazi Germany’s most brilliant and, in many cases, most villainous scientists to the United States after World War II – impacted some of America’s most vital, monumental, and controversial endeavors in military technology, medical research, and the space program. As our two hosts, history professor Monique Laney and actor-comedian Michael Ian Black, tackle Operation Paperclip from multiple angles – from its “pragmatic” Cold War motivations to its wide range of applications – listeners will come to understand this little-known and unbelievable moment in American history.This is a paid podcast funded Amazon Studios. The Los Angeles Times newsroom was not involved in the production of this podcast. The views expressed on this podcast are not necessarily the views of Amazon Studios or the Los Angeles Times.Produced with support from Treefort Media.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 28 minutes
- Episodes
- 8
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2023
Introducing 'Foretold'
"Foretold" is the newest podcast from the L.A. Times, and we're sharing a preview of the first episode with you here today.
In the fall of 2019, reporter Faith E. Pinho received a tip from a woman na…
BONUS: Conversations with David Weil & Nikki Toscano | 6
On this special Bonus Episode of PAPERCLIP, host Michael Ian Black talks with David Weil and Nikki Toscano, the showrunners and executive producers of Amazon Studios’ Emmy©-eligible original drama se…
Military & Industry | 5
Operation Paperclip began as a temporary program -- but before long, its German recruits were given a path to American citizenship, and men who worked for the Nazi regime suddenly became men who live…
Doctors & Chemists | 4
For students of history and consumers of pop culture, the ‘Nazi doctor’ is a familiar figure -- the ultimate embodiment of pure evil. In fact, several of the Nazi villians in the Amazon original dram…
The Rocket Men, Part II: Arthur Rudolph | 3
Rocket engineer Arthur Rudolph accompanied Wernher von Braun to the United States through Operation Paperclip after World War II. In Nazi Germany, Rudolph was the production manager for the V-2 missi…
The Rocket Men, Part I: Wernher von Braun | 2
Even if you’ve never heard of Operation Paperclip, chances are you’ve heard of Wernher von Braun -- the visionary rocketeer whose brilliance brought us, literally, to the Moon and back.
With his tele…
Operation Paperclip | 1
As it follows an eclectic group of vigilantes in their mission to rid America of Nazi war criminals, the Amazon original drama series Hunters references Operation Paperclip, a secretive government pr…
Introducing PAPERCLIP
It’s 1945. Hitler is defeated. America is looking to outsmart a new enemy, the Soviet Union. To advance in rocketry, aviation, and chemical weapons, America recruits scientists and engineers who fuel…