Join award-winning filmmaker and author Jon Else in conversation with Elizabeth Raymond, professor of history at the University of Nevada, Reno, for a discussion of Frenchman Flat: The Rise and Fall of Atomic Bombs. This free program will take place at the Thistle & Nightshade bookstore in Reno on Friday, September 27, 2026 at 6:00 pm.
In 1957, the U.S. government built a miniature American town in the Nevada desert—complete with homes, a bank vault, and a freeway overpass—only to destroy it with a nuclear bomb more than twice as powerful as the one dropped on Hiroshima. Drawing on decades of research, Else tells the remarkable story of the Nevada Test Site, the people who built the bomb, and the scientists, diplomats, and ordinary citizens who ultimately helped end atmospheric nuclear testing.
Set against Nevada's own history, Frenchman Flat offers a timely look at the nuclear age and asks what its lessons can teach us today.
Nevada Humanities is a community partner for this event.
