The Life of J. Robert Oppenheimer

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In making “Oppenheimer,” which opens in theatres this weekend, the director Christopher Nolan relied on “American Prometheus,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of the father of the atomic bomb, by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin. Bird, who is credited as a writer of Nolan’s movie, spoke with David Remnick about the ambivalence that the scientist felt, and expressed publicly, about the use of the bomb—which led to the McCarthyist show trial that destroyed him. Plus, the novelist Colson Whitehead talks with Remnick about the new sequel to “Harlem Shuffle.” And, as the much-anticipated “Barbie” hits theatres, Greta Gerwig explains how she finally gave herself permission to become a director.

Adapting Oppenheimer’s Life Story to Film, with Biographer Kai Bird

Bird’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biography was the foundation for Christopher Nolan’s movie “Oppenheimer,” an epic about the father of the atomic bomb.

Colson Whitehead on “Crook Manifesto”

The novelist talks with David Remnick about bringing back the small-time criminal Ray Carney for a sequel to “Harlem Shuffle.”

Greta Gerwig on Writing, Directing, and the Coming-of-Age Story

Once criticized as a “bossy girl,” Gerwig tamped down her instinct to direct. She told David Remnick in 2019 how she finally gave herself permission to be a filmmaker.

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