A historian specializing in the Cold War and nuclear weapons, who initiated the project in 1979 and conducted extensive interviews, particularly with contemporaries of J. Robert Oppenheimer.

A theoretical physicist renowned for his role in directing the Los Alamos Laboratory during the Manhattan Project; his later years were marked by political controversy and a security clearance hearing.

The wife of J. Robert Oppenheimer, known for her tumultuous personal life and Communist connections, who remained devoted to her husband throughout her life.

Chair of the Atomic Energy Commission, he played a pivotal role in the revocation of Oppenheimer’s security clearance due to ideological differences.

The military leader in charge of the Manhattan Project, who appointed Oppenheimer as director of the Los Alamos Laboratory despite pressures from the FBI.

A Stanford medical student and Oppenheimer's romantic interest in the 1930s, influential in his political awakening and known for her tragic death by suicide.

A professor and friend of Oppenheimer at Berkeley, whose attempt to pass information to the Soviets resulted in complications for Oppenheimer during his security hearing.

J. Robert Oppenheimer's younger brother, an experimental physicist affected by anti-Communist sentiment and blacklisted from academia in the 1940s.

A German-born physicist, colleague of Oppenheimer at Los Alamos, who contributed to the Trinity test and later spoke at Oppenheimer's memorial service.

An influential State Department official whose “containment” policy aligned with Oppenheimer’s views on nuclear proliferation, and who later collaborated with Oppenheimer at Princeton.

A physicist from New York City and close friend of Oppenheimer, who despite his moral objections, supported Oppenheimer during his security hearing.

A former student of Oppenheimer’s at Berkeley and a committed Communist, who became entangled in HUAC investigations during the Red Scare.

A Danish physicist and Nobel laureate who influenced Oppenheimer's approach to postwar nuclear policy and shared his concerns about atomic secrecy.

A Hungarian physicist at Los Alamos who became a major proponent of the hydrogen bomb, eventually testifying against Oppenheimer during his security hearing.

The U.S. President who ordered the atomic bombings on Japan and clashed with Oppenheimer over postwar nuclear policy.