Nine eyewitness accounts of Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors

The atomic bombs dropped on Japan had massive human costs

The US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 killed around 210,000 people—more than 38,000 of them estimated to be children—with tens of thousands more later dying from radiation-linked illnesses, leaving lifelong trauma and increased cancer risks.

John Hersey’s ‘Hiroshima’ focused on the stories of atomic bomb victims

The nonfiction book is considered one of the earliest pieces of New Journalism and an arresting case against nuclear warfare. Describing the pain, wounds and trauma of six ordinary citizens, “Hiroshima” played a powerful role in American perception of the war by focusing on its human toll.

The first atomic bomb used in war destroyed much of the Japanese city of Hiroshima

On August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay dropped the Little Boy atomic bomb on Hiroshima—the first combat use of a nuclear weapon. It leveled five square miles and killed tens of thousands, with accounts from both American and Japanese witnesses.

How many people died in the atomic bombings remains disputed

Nearly 80 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, historians still disagree on the death toll from the atomic bombings. Estimates vary by up to 100,000, reflecting differences in methodology, sources, and the method used to count later radiation-related deaths.

Oppenheimer reflected on the atomic bomb's legacy two decades later

In a 1965 CBS interview, J. Robert Oppenheimer discussed his role as Los Alamos director, expressing deeply mixed feelings about Hiroshima and Nagasaki and reflecting on how nuclear weapons had transformed the world since their first use.

Cold War nuclear tests exposed thousands to atomic blasts

After World War II, nuclear powers conducted thousands of weapons tests. This video pairs archival footage with interviews of veterans who witnessed Pacific test explosions, capturing the scale, shock, and human experience of being near a nuclear detonation.

Kurt Vonnegut's 'Cat's Cradle' was inspired by the bombing of Hiroshima

The writer fought in World War II and witnessed the firebombing of Dresden, which he recounted in 1969's satirical "Slaughterhouse Five." Six years earlier, though, he wrote about the bombing of Hiroshima in "Cat's Cradle," channeling some of the horror he witnessed in Dresden to write about the dropping of the atomic bomb. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Hear Pearl Harbor survivors reflect on the attack 80 years later

This anniversary video features some of the last living witnesses to the Pearl Harbor attack. Their firsthand memories—shared eight decades later—offer a rare perspective on the day that changed their lives and the world.

Listen to firsthand accounts by Holocaust survivors

Hear the tragic history of the Holocaust through the words of those who were there. Multiple survivors are interviewed about their experiences. Organized by topic and birthplace, this collection of videos puts the width and breadth of the Holocaust into better perspective, and with a more personal touch as well.

Chernobyl pushed the world to create rapid-alert systems for nuclear accidents

In the aftermath of the disaster, nations adopted new agreements requiring immediate international notification of nuclear accidents. They coordinated emergency assistance—efforts led by the International Atomic Energy Agency to prevent future disasters from being concealed when radiation emergencies occur.

Six stories of survivors who fell from the sky

Rarely are there survivors when airplanes explode in air or crash due to the extreme speeds and elevation of the craft. Sometimes, though, people survive. Here are six stories of people who defied the odds and lived after falling from a plane.

Study pinpoints where to hide during a nuclear blast

There’s no surviving the fireball of a nuclear bomb, but beyond that, there are certain spots indoors where you can try avoid the destructive shockwave.

The US sent an iconic photographer to document the Japanese-American internment

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, 120,000 Japanese-Americans were removed from their homes and businesses and sent to internment camps across the American West and Arkansas. This nearly 15-minute video explores how the US government sent famed photographer Dorothea Lange to document the transfer and internment, only to restrict or impound many of her photos when they seemed less than positive.

Explore the decommissioning work at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

This virtual tour explores the nuclear disaster site, which resulted from a magnitude 9.1 earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, and the various processes underway to remove debris, fuel, and contaminated water.

View the abandoned town of Pripyat, a year after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster

The town's 50,000 residents were evacuated more than a day after the explosions at Chernobyl, leaving behind schools, apartments, and streets seemingly frozen in time. Most evacuees were resettled to Slavutych, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) east of the plant.

Near-death experiences have been reported across cultures across for millennia

This collection of ten of the earliest recorded NDEs gives an idea of how pervasive the phenomenon really is. Stories range from ancient Greek philosopher Plato telling the story of a soldier named Er to a first-century Japanese monk who claimed to have visited both heaven and hell.

Watch the Challenger disaster unfold live

The broadcast from Jan. 28, 1986, captures the moment Challenger broke apart, followed by stunned, unscripted coverage that includes mission control audio stating there had been an explosion as anchors struggled to convey what had just happened.

A downed Japanese pilot sparked a violent three-day standoff on the island of Niʻihau

After a Japanese pilot crash-landed on the Hawaiian island of Niʻihau, residents first sheltered him. Once news of the Pearl Harbor attack arrived, two locals tried to help him escape, leading to a violent struggle in which Native Hawaiians ultimately stopped and killed him.

Every day, lightning releases several Hiroshima bombs' worth of energy into the atmosphere

If all this lightning struck one location at once, the bolt would be the diameter of the center circle of a basketball court, turning the entire court into a crater. Its heat would ignite surfaces for miles around, and its shockwave would demolish buildings.

In 1984, Operation Smash Hit intentionally crashed a 239-ton train into a nuclear waste canister at 100 miles per hour to prove the canister's safety, which remained completely intact and lost just 0.29 of its 100 pounds of pressure.

A firsthand account from the AP photographer who captured 'The Falling Man'

On 9/11, AP photographer Richard Drew made one of the most indelible — and harrowing — images of the 21st century. Here's his account of the photo he captured.

See images of shipwrecks from WWII's Battle of Midway

Deep-sea explorers have captured detailed images of three iconic shipwrecks from World War II's Battle of Midway, including the first up-close photos of the Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi since its sinking in 1942.

Read the only firsthand account of the Pompeii disaster

In two letters to historian Tacitus, Roman official Pliny the Younger describes the eruption from afar—earth-shaking, sky-darkening, and seawater retreating—and recounts how his uncle, Pliny the Elder, died while attempting a rescue.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

Neutron stars, the remains of some massive stars after they explode in a supernova, are the densest directly observable objects in the universe.

In 1994, fragments of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into Jupiter

Hubble captured the collisions, which created massive black impact sites visible from space. It represented the first time scientists could prepare for, and observe, an interplanetary collision in real time, allowing them to gather valuable information about Jupiter's atmosphere.

Neutron stars, the remains of some massive stars after they explode in a supernova, are the densest directly observable objects in the universe.

See images of medical cases of firework injuries shared on this 'Instagram for doctors.' (Warning: Graphic content)

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

The deadliest aspect of volcanic eruptions is often not lava, but pyroclastic flows—avalanches of ash, gas, and rock that can move more than half the speed of sound.

This real-time tracking of the hantavirus cruise ship outbreak in May 2026 offers a unique glimpse into the global reach of the outbreak and whether the virus sickened passengers and their communities around the world.

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

How the most famous Ebola book, The Hot Zone, which sold 3.5 million copies and was translated into 30 languages, got aspects of the disease so wrong.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

Watch contemporary footage covering the US-backed Shah of Iran fleeing the country in the face of the 1979 Iranian Revolution

American short story writer Flannery O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became potent symbols for her fiction's elegant violence

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

Poison ivy's characteristic rash is caused by an allergic response to an oily compound in the plant called urushiol.

Recent research found that the brain doesn't seem to massively rewire following amputation—upending earlier beliefs about the cause of phantom limb pain.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.