Fail safe 1964 sos
2023
with

Daniel Holz

Physics Professor, University of Chicago

Fail Safe— The Doomsday Clock: Is it the end of the world as we know it?

Daniel Holz, member of the SASB and Professor at the University of Chicago in the Enrico Fermi Institute; the Department of Physics, Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, and Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics presents a discussion about global annihilation. We recognize this is a bummer. Complimentary popcorn will be provided with every ticket purchase—and drink specials will be offered!

Gene Siskel Film Center Chicago, IL

Film Synopsis

A technical malfunction sends American planes to Moscow to deliver a nuclear attack. Can all-out war be averted?

    During the Cold War, U.S. bomber jets are equipped with fail-safe boxes that instruct pilots when and if to attack. When an attack order is inadvertently administered due to a system malfunction, the President of the United States (Henry Fonda) must scramble to fix the mistake before the bombs are dropped on Moscow. He manages to stop almost all the bombers headed for Moscow, except for one determined pilot who manages to complete his mission, with deadly consequences

    Photo credit: Columbia Pictures

    About the Speaker

    Daniel Holz is a Professor at the University of Chicago, in the Enrico Fermi Institute, the Department of Physics, the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics. His research focuses on gravitational waves, and he is particularly interested in what we can learn about physics, astronomy, and cosmology from the detection of gravitational wave sources.