7/01/03

LC030701

VAL ZAVALA>> ON THIS SPECIAL EDITION OF LIFE AND TIMES --

ANOTHER LOOK AT THE REMARKABLE STORIES OF PEOPLE WE'VE ENCOUNTERED OVER OUR DOZEN YEARS ON THE AIR. JOIN US FOR ONE OF OUR FAVORITE SHOWS FROM THE VAULT, NEXT ON A SPECIAL CLASSIC EDITION OF LIFE AND TIMES.

LIFE AND TIMES IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE FOLLOWING FOUNDATION:

THE L.K. WHITTIER FOUNDATION
DEDICATED TO IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE BY SUPPORTING INNOVATIVE ENDEAVORS IN THE FIELDS OF MEDICINE, HEALTH, SCIENCE AND EDUCATION.

VAL>> HUNDREDS OF NOTABLE AUTHORS, CELEBRITIES, INTELLECTUALS AND PUBLIC FIGURES HAVE STOPPED BY OUR STUDIO OVER THE YEARS. MANY OF THEM HAVE LEFT A LASTING IMPRESSION ON OUR VIEWERS AND WE THINK A NUMBER OF THESE INTERVIEWS DESERVE TO BE SEEN AGAIN. SO TONIGHT WE REVISIT ONE OF OUR FAVORITE PEOPLE IN A CLASSIC EPISODE SELECTED FROM THE BEST OF LIFE AND TIMES.

DR. EDWARD TELLER IS ONE OF THE GREATEST AND MOST CONTROVERSIAL SCIENTISTS OF OUR TIME. HE'S KNOWN AS THE FATHER OF THE HYDROGEN BOMB AND HE WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN CONVINCING PRESIDENT REAGAN THAT THE UNITED STATES SHOULD DEVELOP THE STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE THAT CAME TO BE KNOWN AS STAR WARS. TELLER HAS BEEN CALLED BOTH A GENIUS AND A MADMAN AND YOU MAY SEE GLIMPSES OF BOTH SIDES IN THIS CONVERSATION FROM 1995 WITH HUGH HEWITT.

HUGH HEWITT>> DR. EDWARD TELLER, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US ON LIFE AND TIMES.

DR. EDWARD TELLER>> HAPPY TO BE HERE.

HUGH HEWITT>> THANK YOU. FIFTY YEARS AGO, NUCLEAR WEAPONS WERE DROPPED ON HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI. DID YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR PERSPECTIVE ON THAT WHEN THE ACTUAL DESTRUCTION OF THE CITIES OCCURRED?

DR. EDWARD TELLER>> HOW COULD IT BE OTHERWISE? OF COURSE, I DID. WE WERE WORKING VERY HARD AND, OF COURSE, THE MAIN DANGER CAME FROM NAZI GERMANY AND WHEN GERMANY COLLAPSED, JUST ABOUT THAT TIME WE WERE ALMOST READY FOR THE ATOMIC BOMB, BUT NOT QUITE. AT THAT TIME, I GOT A LETTER FROM A VERY GOOD FRIEND, A FELLOW HUNGARIAN, BY THE NAME OF LEO SZILARD WHO HAD BEEN WORKING WITH THE PEOPLE WHO WERE PREPARING THE MATERIAL, NOT THE BOMB ITSELF. HE SAID THAT THESE PEOPLE IN CHICAGO HAD A PROPOSAL NOW THAT NAZI GERMANY IS NO MORE. THE BOMB SHOULD NOT BE USED, AT LEAST NOT BE USED WITHOUT FIRST SHOWING THE JAPANESE WHAT IT'S ABOUT. I WENT TO DIRECTOR OPPENHEIMER AND HE DID NOT LIKE IT AT ALL AND TALKED ME OUT OF IT, ESSENTIALLY SAYING THAT, AS SCIENTISTS, IT IS NOT OUR BUSINESS.

HUGH HEWITT>> FIFTY YEARS LATER, DO YOU AGREE WITH THAT PERSPECTIVE? DO YOU WISH --

DR. EDWARD TELLER>> -- TO SOME EXTENT, I DO. I THINK THAT SCIENTISTS HAVE NO MEANS [INAUDIBLE], BUT WHAT WE SHOULD HAVE DONE AT THAT TIME AND DID NOT DO WAS STRONGLY OPPOSE A CONCRETE WAY HOW THE BOMB COULD HAVE BEEN DEMONSTRATED, HOW WE COULD HAVE ENDED THE WAR WITHOUT LOSS OF LIFE. THE WAY TO DO THAT, DROP THE BOMB AT THE VERY HEAD OF TOKYO BAY AT AN ALTITUDE OF THIRTY THOUSAND FEET. WE KNEW THAT IN THE EVENING AT EIGHT O'CLOCK, TEN MILLION JAPANESE WOULD HAVE SEEN IT AND NOBODY WOULD HAVE BEEN HURT. AND HAD THE EMPEROR SEEN IT, PROBABLY THE RESULT WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT. I DO REGRET THAT WE DID NOT TRY SOMETHING OF THAT KIND.

HUGH HEWITT>> LESS THAN SIX WEEKS BEFORE THE BOMB WAS DROPPED ON HIROSHIMA, YOU HAD WATCHED A NUCLEAR DEVICE EXPLODE AT COMPANION HILL AND I BELIEVE YOU CALLED IT "LOOKING THE BEAST IN THE EYE".

DR. EDWARD TELLER>> WELL, LOOK, WHAT HAPPENED WAS THAT WE WERE INSTRUCTED TO ATTEND ON SITE, TO LIE DOWN WITH OUR BACKS TO EXPLOSION. I DID LIE DOWN AND I HAD ALL THE PROTECTION OVER MY EYES, BUT THEN TO TURN AWAY FROM IT WAS TOO MUCH. WITH A LITTLE PERHAPS UNDUE EXAGGERATION, I DID LOOK AT THE BEAST IN THE EYE.

HUGH HEWITT>> WHEN IT WAS FIRST TESTED ABOVE GROUND, DID YOU EVER HAVE ANY CONCERNS THAT YOU KNEW HOW POWERFUL IT WOULD BE OR THAT THE REACTION COULD GO EVEN GREATER THAN YOU HAD ANTICIPATED?

DR. EDWARD TELLER>> I DID HAVE THAT CONCERN. MANY PEOPLE HAD THAT CONCERN AND I WAS SPECIFICALLY WORKING IN A GROUP THAT WAS LOOKING AT UNCONVENTIONAL POSSIBILITIES. ONE OF OUR ASSIGNMENTS WAS COULD WHAT WE WERE DOING THINK OF SOMETHING OMNIPOTENT LIKE THE IGNITION OF THE WHOLE ATMOSPHERE? WE ACTUALLY WORKED ON THAT. OUR GROUP ISSUED A PAPER SHOWING THAT NOT ONLY WAS THAT IMPOSSIBLE ACCORDING TO LAWS OF PHYSICS AS KNOWN AT THAT TIME, BUT IF THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A POSSIBILITY OF THAT KIND, INDICATIONS OF THAT WOULD HAVE SHOWN UP SOMEWHERE.

HUGH HEWITT>> SO THERE WAS NO DOUBT IN YOUR MIND AS YOU LAID DOWN ON COMPANION HILL AND TURNED YOUR EYES TOWARD THE EXPLOSION THAT YOU WERE GOING TO BE THERE WHEN IT WAS OVER?

DR. EDWARD TELLER>> NOT THE LEAST. IT NEVER CROSSED MY MIND, BUT WE WERE BETTING HOW BIG IT WOULD BE. MY BET WAS THE HIGHEST. I WAS WRONG. I OVER-ESTIMATED IT BY A FACTOR OR TWO. MOST OF THE PEOPLE UNDER-ESTIMATED IT BY EVEN MORE. I WAS PREPARED FOR A VERY BIG EXPLOSION AND I DID TAKE PRECAUTIONS WITH MY EYES AND BY PUTTING ANTI-SUNBURN LOTION ON MY FACE. I WAS PREPARED, BUT NOT TO DIE.

HUGH HEWITT>> WERE YOU PREPARED FOR WHAT YOU SAW OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI AFTERWARDS? DID IT STRIKE YOU AS EVEN MORE DEVASTATING IN A CIVILIAN SETTING THAN YOU HAD ANTICIPATED?

DR. EDWARD TELLER>> LOOK, I DID NOT DO ENOUGH OF ANTICIPATION. FEW OF US. WE WORKED AND WORKED, BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT WHEN I SAW UNEXPECTEDLY, IT WAS REALLY IN MY MIND THAT SOON IT WOULD BE USED AND THAT TIME IT WILL BE VERY [INAUDIBLE]. WHEN ACTUALLY WE SAW THE SITES AND WE HEARD THE CASUALTIES, I MUST SAY I WAS VERY UNHAPPY. I AM REALLY SORRY THAT I DID NOT WORK HARDER TO FIND ANOTHER WAY TO DEMONSTRATE BEFORE.

HUGH HEWITT>> DID THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY ENGAGED IN THE MANHATTAN PROJECT HAVE A COLLECTIVE TURN OF HEART AFTER THE PICTURES FROM JAPAN ARRIVED?

DR. EDWARD TELLER>> LOOK, THAT KIND OF TURN OF HEART WAS DIFFERENT WITH DIFFERENT PEOPLE. I CANNOT GIVE YOU A SIMPLE ANSWER, BUT THE FACT IS THAT, BEFORE THE EXPLOSION, IN LOS ALAMOS WHERE WE WERE WORKING, THERE WAS VERY LITTLE DOUBT THAT WE SHOULD USE IT. WHEN WE WERE OVER, EVERYBODY WANTED TO GO HOME AND NOT WORK. WHETHER IT WAS CASUALTIES, I DOUBT IT. IT WAS A FEELING THAT WE HAVE DONE OUR JOB, ENOUGH, THERE SHOULD NOT BE MORE. OF THAT I DIFFER BECAUSE I FELT MORE COULD BE DONE. MORE POWERFUL EXPLOSIONS, LIKE THE HYDROGEN BOMB, ARE POSSIBLE AND IF IT IS POSSIBLE, WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT IT BECAUSE IN A DIFFICULT SITUATION, THE ONE THING THAT CERTAINLY MUST BE AVOIDED IS IGNORANCE.

HUGH HEWITT>> NOW THE COUNTERPART TO THE MANHATTAN PROJECT FOR THE NAZIS WAS THE PROJECT THAT WERNER HEISENBERG WAS WORKING ON. DID YOU EVER THINK ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT HE OUGHT TO HAVE JUST SAID NO, GIVEN THE REGIME FOR WHICH HE WORKED?

DR. EDWARD TELLER>> HEISENBERG VISITED THE UNITED STATES A FEW WEEKS BEFORE THE SECOND WORLD WAR STARTED. MANY PEOPLE, INCLUDING ME, ASKED HIM TO STAY. YOU KNOW WHAT HIS ANSWER WAS? IF YOUR BROTHER HAS STOLEN A SILVER SPOON, HE IS STILL YOUR BROTHER. HEISENBERG WAS WRONG, BUT HITLER DID INCOMPARABLY WRONG AND WORSE --

HUGH HEWITT>> -- THAN STEALING SILVER SPOONS.

DR. EDWARD TELLER>> RIGHT. HOWEVER, I FEEL CERTAIN, I KNOW, THAT HEISENBERG IN FACT SABOTAGED THE NAZI EFFORT. I KNOW THAT FOR MOST VIVID DID THE FOLLOWING. HEISENBERG WAS VERY PROUD, AT LEAST AS A PHYSICIST. HE SHOULD DO EVERYTHING RIGHT. WHEN HE WAS INTERRED IN ENGLAND AT THE TIME OF HIROSHIMA, THEY WERE TOLD BY THE ATOMIC BOMB. THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE IT. THEN HEISENBERG CALLED THEM BACK. ALL THOUGHT THEY DID NOT DO IT AND HEISENBERG SAID, YES, IT WAS AN ATOMIC BOMB, AND THAT IS HOW IT WORKED. THEN HE DESCRIBED IT IN A WRONG WAY. HE MADE A MISTAKE AND CALLED TO SAY IN THE VERY STAGES, I MADE A MISTAKE.

YOU KNOW, HEISENBERG IS A MAN WHOM I ADMIRE. I AM PROUD TO MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE AS HE DOES, BUT I FOUND OUT ABOUT THE MISTAKE. WE WORKED ON IT, WE CORRECTED IT. IT EMERGED AS MUCH MORE. HAD HEISENBERG WORKED SERIOUSLY ON THE POSSIBILITY, BY THE TIME HE HEARD ABOUT THE FIRST ATOMIC BOMB, HE WOULD NOT HAVE MADE A MISTAKE. A GOOD MAN IS NOT ONE THAT DOES NOT MAKE MISTAKES. A GOOD MAN IS ONE WHO KNOWS HOW TO CORRECT THEM.

HUGH HEWITT>> WE TURN TO THE SCIENTISTS IN THE SERVICE OF THE SOVIET UNION DURING THE RACE FOR THE HYDROGEN BOMB. DID THEY BETRAY AN OBLIGATION TO SCIENCE IN WORKING AS THE INSTRUMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT THAT THEY MUST HAVE KNOWN WAS AS REPRESSIVE EVEN AS HITLER'S?

DR. EDWARD TELLER>> GROWING UP BEING SURROUNDED, BEING INDIFFERENT OF THE COMPANY OF SOVIETS, THEY REALLY BELIEVED THERE WAS A DANGER FOR THE SOVIET UNION, FOR RUSSIA, FROM THE UNITED STATES. THE MAN WHO DID VERY SIMILAR THINGS TO WHAT I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED, ANDREI SAKHAROV, WORKED ON IT I'M SURE HEART AND SOUL. HE THEN ARGUED FOR AN UNDERSTANDING TO THE TWO COUNTRIES. HE STOOD UP IN DANGER AND EXCEEDINGLY CALLED FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES IN THE SOVIET UNION AND ENDED UP IN A NOT VERY TERRIBLE EXILE, BUT IN EXILE NEVERTHELESS.

HUGH HEWITT>> LET'S TURN THEN TO THE MODERN DAY. AT THIS TIME AS WE SPEAK, THERE ARE SCIENTISTS AT WORK IN NORTH KOREA IN AN ATTEMPT TO PRODUCE A BOMB, A WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION. SURELY THEY MUST KNOW THAT THEIR GOVERNMENT IS AS OPPRESSIVE AS A GOVERNMENT CAN POSSIBLY BE. DON'T THEY HAVE SOME SORT OF MORAL COMPASS OR SHOULDN'T ALL SCIENTISTS COME TO THE PROJECT WITH A MORAL COMPASS?

DR. EDWARD TELLER>> LOOK, I AM COMPLETELY DISINCLINED TO CRITICIZE PEOPLE OF WHOM I KNOW NOTHING. I DON'T KNOW THEIR CONDITIONS. THE ANSWER TO MY MIND IS NOT CONTINUED IGNORANCE. THE ANSWER IS COOPERATION. ON THAT POINT, WE ARE [INAUDIBLE] AND ONE OF MY GREAT COMPLAINTS IS THAT WE DON'T DO ENOUGH ABOUT THAT AT THIS TIME.

HUGH HEWITT>> YOU KNOW THE SCIENCE OF HYDROGEN BOMB PRODUCTION. DO YOU THINK PROLIFERATION IS INEVITABLE AS WE LOOK NOT JUST YEARS AHEAD, BUT DECADES AND CENTURIES AHEAD?

DR. EDWARD TELLER>> THE SPREAD OF KNOWLEDGE IS INEVITABLE. THE ELIMINATION OF TENSION IS POSSIBLE. I --

HUGH HEWITT>> -- DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT, DR. TELLER?

DR. EDWARD TELLER>> DO YOU THINK I WOULD SAY IT IF I DIDN'T BELIEVE IT?

HUGH HEWITT>> NO, I THINK, THOUGH, ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY THAT HISTORY WOULD BE OVERTHROWN, THAT TENSIONS WOULD ACTUALLY EVER GO AWAY WHEN THEY'VE BEEN IMBUED IN HISTORY FROM DAY ONE.

DR. EDWARD TELLER>> OH, GOD. PEOPLE WANT TO GET ALONG WITH EACH OTHER. THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN A NATION'S STATE THAT EXISTS TODAY DID NOT EXIST A FEW HUNDRED YEARS AGO. THE DIFFERENCE IN THE BACKGROUND, IN THE CULTURE OF PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS IS ENOUGH TO BREACH THAT, IS SOMETHING DIFFICULT, BUT THERE IS EVERY INDICATION THAT IT CAN BE DONE AND WE HAVE MADE GREAT PROGRESS, STARTED, AND WE ARE NOT DOING ENOUGH ABOUT IT.

THE SOLUTION IS NOT DISARMAMENT. THE SOLUTION IS A SUPPORT FOR COLLABORATION, A GREAT ATTEMPT TO UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER, TO WORK ON THINGS THAT ARE FOR EVERYBODY'S ADVANTAGE AND FIND AN INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT TO OPPOSE AGGRESSION, AND THAT WILL END THE OPPRESSION. WE CAN MANAGE TO DO THIS BY BRINGING ABOUT COOPERATION BETWEEN PEOPLE WHO NEVER WORKED TOGETHER ABOUT IT BEFORE. YES SIR, THIS CAN BE DONE. THIS MUST BE DONE AND I THINK THIS WILL BE DONE. WHETHER IT WILL BE DONE IN RESPONSE TO A BIG CATASTROPHE OR WHETHER IT WILL BE DONE TO PREVENT THAT CATASTROPHE, I DON'T KNOW.

HUGH HEWITT>> THAT'S WHERE I WAS GOING. BEFORE THE DAWN OF THE COOPERATIVE ERA, WILL THE HOSTILE USE OF WEAPONS PROVE TO BE INEVITABLE? THEY EXIST, BAD PEOPLE ARISE, THE GULF OF PERSIA AROSE BECAUSE OF A BAD PERSON ARISING.

DR. EDWARD TELLER>> LOOK, THE WEAPONS WERE FIRST PERFECTED IN THE UNITED STATES AND THE UNITED STATES DID SHOW MODERATION, DID TRY TO USE [INAUDIBLE] AND INDEED I WOULD LIKE TO REMIND YOU THAT, AFTER SECOND WORLD WAR, IN [AUDIBLE] WE HAD MANAGED TO HELP OUR BITTER ENEMIES AND DON'T UNDER-ESTIMATE THE AMOUNT OF BITTERNESS, OUR BITTER ENEMIES, THE NAZIS AND THE [INAUDIBLE] TO RECOVER. AS A RESULT, THEY ARE NOW [INAUDIBLE].

IF THAT IS POSSIBLE, THEN SOMETHING SIMILAR CAN BE DONE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD AND IS BEING DONE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. IT IS NOT A YES OR NO QUESTION. IT IS THAT WE TRY TO PREVENT WAR BY ARGUING AGAINST THE INSTRUMENTS. WE SHOULD ARGUE AGAINST THE CAUSES AND THAT IS POSSIBLE AND THAT MUST BE ACCELERATED PARTICULARLY AFTER IT HAD ALMOST [INAUDIBLE]. THE GREAT OPPONENT, THE SOVIET UNION, WENT GENTLY OUT OF EXISTENCE WITHOUT SPILLING ANY BLOOD.

HUGH HEWITT>> WAS THE GREAT OPPONENT, THE SOVIET UNION'S DEMISE, INEVITABLE AS SOME ARE NOW ARGUING OR WAS IT THE RESULT OF CONSCIENCE AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY PURSUED PURPOSEFULLY?

DR. EDWARD TELLER>> LET ME TRY TO BE REALLY ABSURD. IT WAS AN INGENIOUS MIXTURE OF THE TWO. CERTAINLY, IN 1980, AFTER FOUR YEARS OF JIMMY CARTER, THE SOVIET UNION SEEMED TO BE CONSTRUCTED TO LAST FOREVER. THEN REAGAN MANAGED TO OPPOSE THEM IN HALF A DOZEN DIFFERENT EFFECTIVE WAYS FROM LOWERING THE OIL PRICES TO SUPPORTING THE POLISH RESISTANCE TO HELPING THE MUJAHIDEEN STOPPING THE SOVIET AGGRESSION ON THEIR SOUTHERN PROPER AND DEVELOPING THE STRATEGIC DEFENSE, BEGINNING TO SHOW THE SOVIETS THAT THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON MAY HAVE LIMITATIONS.

WHETHER THAT WAS REALISTIC, TO WHAT EXTENT I DO NOT KNOW. EVEN TODAY I DO NOT KNOW, ALTHOUGH IT HAS BECOME VERY MUCH FEASIBLE. WITH THAT, GORBACHEV WAS SCARED TO DEATH THAT A LOT OF THE BACKTRACKING OF THE SOVIET UNION WAS DUE TO REAGAN AND THE FBI AND, I BELIEVE, TO A SPLENDID INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT AND PERFORMANCE IN THE GULF OF PERSIA. THAT I BELIEVE. I BELIEVE THAT REAGAN AND BUSH MANAGED TO DO SOMETHING THAT WAS ALL BUT IMPOSSIBLE. WITHOUT THEM, IT WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED AND, AT LEAST, IT HAPPENED THEN.

HUGH HEWITT>> DR. TELLER, HAS AMERICA BECOME A COUNTRY OF SCIENTIFIC COWARDS? WE'VE HEARD OF OZONE HOLES AND GLOBAL WARMING AND NUCLEAR WINTER, AND WE'VE HEARD OF HOT ZONES AND OUTBREAKS OF VIRUSES. THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH SCIENCE NOW JUST SEEM TO BE IN THE PUBLIC EYE SO LONG.

DR. EDWARD TELLER>> I WOULD NOT CRITICIZE THE UNITED STATES. WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE IS THAT PART OF A WORLD DIVIDES [INAUDIBLE]. AMERICA WAS THE LEADING COUNTRY THAT WELCOMED INNOVATION. INNOVATION CAME ON THE [INAUDIBLE] OF THE FBI, BUT IT WAS MORE STRONG IN GERMANY WITH THE GREEN MOVEMENT. AMERICA JOINED WITH [INAUDIBLE] AND I BELIEVE SOLELY [INAUDIBLE], BUT AMERICA AMONG THE LAST TO JOIN. IT IS NOT UNUSUAL THAT WHEN WE DO SOMETHING, WE OVERDO IT, AND I BELIEVE WE ARE AFRAID OF OZONE HOLES, THIS AND THAT, THAT WE HAVEN'T EVEN UNDERSTOOD.

SCIENCE HAS GONE VERY FAR AND IT HAS BROUGHT ABOUT BEAUTIFUL IDEAS, INCLUDING AN UNDERSTANDING OF EFFORT, INCLUDING AN UNDERSTANDING THAT THE FUTURE IS NOT DETERMINED, THAT THE FUTURE IS CREATED BY EVERY ATOM AND EVERY LIVING BEING IN EVERY FRACTION OF A SECOND. THESE NEW IDEAS HAVE NOT BEEN [INAUDIBLE] EVEN INTO INTELLECTUAL CIRCUITS. LACK OF UNDERSTANDING TOGETHER WITH SURPRISES LIKE HIROSHIMA HAS FRIGHTENED TOO MANY PEOPLE. COWARDS? I DON'T KNOW. POSSIBLY. FRIGHTENED? MISTAKENLY FRIGHTENED, YES. WE SHOULD HAVE MORE CONFIDENCE IN THE FUTURE BASED ON THE MAGNIFICENCE THAT BOTH THE UNITED STATES AND SPECIFICALLY TECHNOLOGY HAS ACCOMPLISHED IN THE LAST COUPLE OF CENTURIES.

HUGH HEWITT>> DR. TELLER, AS WE END OUR INTERVIEW, I'D LIKE TO ASK YOU, AT THE CONCLUSION OF PLATO'S REPUBLIC, SOCRATES TELLS THE MYTH OF ER WHERE ULYSSES GETS TO PICK HIS NEW LIFE, HAVING DIED, AND HE SORTS AROUND FOR A LONG TIME AND THIS GREAT HERO ADVENTURER CHOOSES THE LIFE OF A RURAL FARMER. YOU'RE IN THE MYTH OF ER, DOCTOR. WHAT LIFE WOULD YOU CHOOSE IF YOU WERE GOING TO DO IT OVER AGAIN?

DR. EDWARD TELLER>> LET ME TELL YOU, I'M NOW EIGHTY-SEVEN YEARS OLD. I AM HAPPY ABOUT WHAT I LEARNED AND ABOUT WHAT I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED. I ACCOMPLISHED IT WITH A KNOWLEDGE THAT I CLEARLY ACQUIRED BEFORE I LEFT HIGH SCHOOL THAT SOMEDAY I WOULD DIE AND I KNEW THAT I HAVE WRITTEN IN NOT ALWAYS MOTHER OF DIARIES THAT LIFE WOULD BE INTOLERABLE IF IT WAS NOT KNOWN THAT THERE WOULD BE END TO IT.

HUGH HEWITT>> DR. EDWARD TELLER, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US ON LIFE AND TIMES.

VAL>> EDWARD TELLER CELEBRATED HIS NINETY-FIFTH BIRTHDAY IN 2003. HE IS THE DIRECTOR EMERITUS OF LAWRENCE LIVERMORE LABORATORY AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT HE CAN STILL BE FOUND IN HIS OFFICE THERE EVERY TUESDAY AND THURSDAY.

THANK YOU FOR WATCHING THIS CLASSIC EPISODE OF LIFE AND TIMES. A REMINDER THAT YOU CAN FIND TRANSCRIPTS OR HEAR AUDIO OF LIFE AND TIMES. JUST GO TO OUR WEBSITE AT KCET.ORG. THAT'S OUR PROGRAM. FOR ALL OF US HERE AT LIFE AND TIMES, THANKS AND GOODNIGHT.

LIFE AND TIMES WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE FOLLOWING FOUNDATION:

THE L.K. WHITTIER FOUNDATION
DEDICATED TO IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE BY SUPPORTING INNOVATIVE ENDEAVORS IN THE FIELDS OF MEDICINE, HEALTH, SCIENCE AND EDUCATION.

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