May 19, 2025 • 9 mins
In this explosively strange episode of The Strange History Podcast, Amy takes you deep into the New Mexico desert, where nuclear secrets were born—and stolen. Learn how the hush-hush Manhattan Project gave rise to one of the most unexpected spy rings in U.S. history, and meet the quirky cast of real-life characters: Klaus Fuchs, the physicist-turned-Soviet-agent; Harry Gold, the guilt-ridden courier; and Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, the couple who paid the ultimate price. From covert meetings in Santa Fe cafés to atomic blueprints passed under the noses of the FBI, this story is packed with danger, drama, and a surprising amount of enchiladas. It's espionage, but make it weird.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to the Strange History Podcast, where we peel
back the curtain on the past, shine a flashlight into
the shadows, and ask wait, spies in Santa Fe. I'm
your host, Amy, and Yes, today we're diving into an
explosive tale of nuclear secrets, southwestern scenery, and Soviet subterfuge.
(00:21):
Today we welcome back Dan. He was easily bribed with
a few enchiladas. Don't let him tell you otherwise.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Just don't tell my wife.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
It's the nineteen forties. America's building a weapon so powerful
it could end the war or the world. And in
the unassuming little art town of Santa Fe, spies are
trading atomic secrets over cups of coffee. Just another day
in Santa Fe. This is the Santa Fe Spy Ring
and it's going to get weird.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
The Manhattan Project. Let's build an apocalypse in the desert.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
First, let's set the atomic stage. The Manhattan Project was
the code name for the US effort to develop an
atomic bomb during World War II. It officially began in
nineteen thirty nine after Albert Einstein and physicist Leo Sillard
wrote a now famous letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt
warning that Nazi Germany might be working on nuclear weapons.
(01:18):
FDR responded with yikes, I'm paraphrasing. By nineteen forty two,
the project went full steam ahead, but you couldn't exactly
build a super secret doomsday device in downtown Chicago, though
they did start there with the first nuclear reactor Chicago
Pile I, constructed under the bleachers at the University of Chicago.
(01:40):
Totally safe, right. Eventually the military needed a more isolated,
secure location, somewhere away from prying eyes, paparazzi, or overly
curious cows. Enter Los Alamos, New Mexico. Oppenheimer, the scientific
director of the project and part time dramatic Fewhilosopher, loved
(02:01):
the area. As a young man, he'd ridden horses in
the New Mexico desert and said it was where he
felt most alive, which is oddly poetic considering he helped
invent a death ray. So the government seized a private
boys' school on a mesa and turned it into the
Los Alamos Laboratory. Or simply cite why the staff lived
(02:23):
on campus. Their mail was sent to a fake address
PO Box one six six' Three Santa, Fe New. Mexico
even birth certificates for babies born there listed that. Address
that's how secret it.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Was Santa fe and security should not.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Rhyme the plan was to Isolate Los alamos from the,
world but you tried telling a few thousand brilliant physicists
and engineers that they can't leave the compound for two.
Years despite strict, rules workers regularly traveled Into Santa fe for, food, entertainment,
mail and the occasional. Date that's When soviet intelligence realized
(03:06):
the secrets weren't locked Inside Los. Salamos they were walking
around In Santa fe casually sipping horchata and debating, thermodynamics
and that's when the spies came to. Town meet the spy,
Squad Gold fuchs and the ghosts Of East Palace. Avenue
let's talk About Klaus, fuchs a mild Mannered german physicist
(03:27):
with the ability to calculate nuclear chain reactions and betray entire.
Governments fuchs had Fled Nazi, germany joined The british scientific,
community and was eventually sent to work on The Manhattan
project as a top level. Researcher what THE us didn't
know was That fuchs was also a committed communist who
believed nuclear weapons should be, shared especially With. Stalin. Now
(03:51):
he didn't wear a trench coat or hide in the.
Shadows he wore, glasses worked, hard and passed The soviets, everything, calculations,
designs even with details About Fat man And Little. Boy
the bombs eventually dropped On nagasaki And. Hiroshima he slipped
this info To Harry, gold a courier From philadelphia who
(04:13):
looked like he taught chemistry during the day and chain
smoked out of guilt at. Night gold traveled hundreds of
miles to Meet fuchs In Santa fe in nineteen forty.
Five they met at places like The Lafonda, Hotel East Palace,
avenue and even side streets near the train. Station their
code phrases were stuff like my name Is, RAYMOND i
(04:35):
come From. JULIUS i bring you, greetings which is basically
spy talk for, Hey i'm your. Ride fuchs would hand
over handwritten, notes, sketches even memory based reconstructions of the.
Bomb gold would pass these to another handler who'd eventually
deliver them to The, soviets all under the noses OF us.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Intelligence The, rosenberghs a family Affair now.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Let's head east To New York, city where the heart
of The soviet spy network beats in rhythm With communist
party meetings and family. Dinners Julius rosenberg was an electrical
engineer and Devout communist who had worked with The Army Signal.
Corps he was fired in nineteen forty five for his political,
leanings but not before making connections that helped him recruit
(05:22):
young men with access to military. Secrets his greatest Get David,
greenglass his brother in, law a machinist At Los. Alamos
Green glass Sent julius handwritten notes and drawings of bomb,
components including a crude diagram of the implosion. Mechanism julius
passed this to His soviet, contacts and Allegedly Ethel rosenberg
(05:46):
typed up his notes and facilitated some. Meetings Green glass
later testified That ethel was deeply, involved but years later
he admitted he lied to protect his wife because nothing
says family loyalty like rowing your sister under a radioactive.
Bus the fall of the. Network so what brought this
spy ring? Down one? Word. Venona The Venona project was
(06:10):
a top SECRET us program to Decrypt soviet intelligence. Cables
in the late nineteen, Forties american cryptanalysts cracked parts Of soviet,
communications and slowly the names began to. Emerge raymond Was Harry,
Gold rest Was Klaus, fuchs And, Liberal, yes that Was Julius.
(06:32):
Rosenberg gold was arrested in nineteen Fifty under, questioning he
folded like a wet tortilla and gave Up. Fuchs fuchs
gave Up. Julius julius was. Arrested ethel. Followed soon. After
David greenglass cut a deal and the dominoes fell hard and.
Fast in nineteen fifty, One julius And Ethel rosenberg were
(06:54):
tried for conspiracy to commit. Espionage the trial was A
cold war media. Circus the prosecution had one job proved
that they passed nuclear secrets to The. Soviets the evidence was.
Circumstantial Green glass's testimony carried the. Weight the country was on.
Edge joseph McCarthy was waiving fake lists of communists in The.
(07:16):
Senate fear was. King The rosenbergs were convicted and sentenced to.
Death many called it, justice others called it a witch.
Hunt even, today historians are. Divided most now Agreed julius's past,
secrets But ethel possibly. Innocent but history isn't always, fair
(07:37):
and neither are. Courts in A Cold war, Panic On june,
nineteenth nineteen fifty, three both were executed at Sing Singh.
Prison their, Sons michael And, robert were, orphaned later adopted
by a poet and leftist activist. Couple they spent their
lives trying to clear their parents', names.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Legacy and, fallout and by fallout we do not mean the.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Game back In Santa, fe the secrets faded into. History,
today you can walk past one hundred and Nine East Palace,
avenue the gate through which thousands Of Manhattan project employees
passed on their way To Los. Alamos there's even a,
plaque but for years no one talked about. It locals
(08:22):
whispered about the box on the. Hill families didn't know
where their relatives, worked just that they came home quiet and.
Tense The, soviets of, course successfully tested their own atomic
bomb in nineteen forty, nine years earlier than, expected thanks
in no small part To Santa, Fe Klaus, Fuchs Harry,
gold and The. Rosenbergs so the next time you're enjoying
(08:45):
a quiet afternoon In Santa, fe sipping a margarita and
admiring the. Architecture, remember this town was once a covert
hub of nuclear. Espionage spies walked these, streets secrets changed,
hands and someone may or may not have passed uranium
data in a hollowed out To. Malay that's all for
(09:06):
this episode of The Strange History. Podcast I'm, amy and
remember sometimes the strangest events happen in the quietest. Places rate,
us review, us share with your nerdiest, friend and if
you happen to be From Santa, fe drop us a
line and tell us if your grandma ever mentioned Passing
(09:27):
einstein on the. Plaza until next, time stay, safe stay,
curious and stay.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Strange
Welcome back to the Strange History Podcast, where we peel
back the curtain on the past, shine a flashlight into
the shadows, and ask wait, spies in Santa Fe. I'm
your host, Amy, and Yes, today we're diving into an
explosive tale of nuclear secrets, southwestern scenery, and Soviet subterfuge.
(00:21):
Today we welcome back Dan. He was easily bribed with
a few enchiladas. Don't let him tell you otherwise.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Just don't tell my wife.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
It's the nineteen forties. America's building a weapon so powerful
it could end the war or the world. And in
the unassuming little art town of Santa Fe, spies are
trading atomic secrets over cups of coffee. Just another day
in Santa Fe. This is the Santa Fe Spy Ring
and it's going to get weird.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
The Manhattan Project. Let's build an apocalypse in the desert.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
First, let's set the atomic stage. The Manhattan Project was
the code name for the US effort to develop an
atomic bomb during World War II. It officially began in
nineteen thirty nine after Albert Einstein and physicist Leo Sillard
wrote a now famous letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt
warning that Nazi Germany might be working on nuclear weapons.
(01:18):
FDR responded with yikes, I'm paraphrasing. By nineteen forty two,
the project went full steam ahead, but you couldn't exactly
build a super secret doomsday device in downtown Chicago, though
they did start there with the first nuclear reactor Chicago
Pile I, constructed under the bleachers at the University of Chicago.
(01:40):
Totally safe, right. Eventually the military needed a more isolated,
secure location, somewhere away from prying eyes, paparazzi, or overly
curious cows. Enter Los Alamos, New Mexico. Oppenheimer, the scientific
director of the project and part time dramatic Fewhilosopher, loved
(02:01):
the area. As a young man, he'd ridden horses in
the New Mexico desert and said it was where he
felt most alive, which is oddly poetic considering he helped
invent a death ray. So the government seized a private
boys' school on a mesa and turned it into the
Los Alamos Laboratory. Or simply cite why the staff lived
(02:23):
on campus. Their mail was sent to a fake address
PO Box one six six' Three Santa, Fe New. Mexico
even birth certificates for babies born there listed that. Address
that's how secret it.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Was Santa fe and security should not.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Rhyme the plan was to Isolate Los alamos from the,
world but you tried telling a few thousand brilliant physicists
and engineers that they can't leave the compound for two.
Years despite strict, rules workers regularly traveled Into Santa fe for, food, entertainment,
mail and the occasional. Date that's When soviet intelligence realized
(03:06):
the secrets weren't locked Inside Los. Salamos they were walking
around In Santa fe casually sipping horchata and debating, thermodynamics
and that's when the spies came to. Town meet the spy,
Squad Gold fuchs and the ghosts Of East Palace. Avenue
let's talk About Klaus, fuchs a mild Mannered german physicist
(03:27):
with the ability to calculate nuclear chain reactions and betray entire.
Governments fuchs had Fled Nazi, germany joined The british scientific,
community and was eventually sent to work on The Manhattan
project as a top level. Researcher what THE us didn't
know was That fuchs was also a committed communist who
believed nuclear weapons should be, shared especially With. Stalin. Now
(03:51):
he didn't wear a trench coat or hide in the.
Shadows he wore, glasses worked, hard and passed The soviets, everything, calculations,
designs even with details About Fat man And Little. Boy
the bombs eventually dropped On nagasaki And. Hiroshima he slipped
this info To Harry, gold a courier From philadelphia who
(04:13):
looked like he taught chemistry during the day and chain
smoked out of guilt at. Night gold traveled hundreds of
miles to Meet fuchs In Santa fe in nineteen forty.
Five they met at places like The Lafonda, Hotel East Palace,
avenue and even side streets near the train. Station their
code phrases were stuff like my name Is, RAYMOND i
(04:35):
come From. JULIUS i bring you, greetings which is basically
spy talk for, Hey i'm your. Ride fuchs would hand
over handwritten, notes, sketches even memory based reconstructions of the.
Bomb gold would pass these to another handler who'd eventually
deliver them to The, soviets all under the noses OF us.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Intelligence The, rosenberghs a family Affair now.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Let's head east To New York, city where the heart
of The soviet spy network beats in rhythm With communist
party meetings and family. Dinners Julius rosenberg was an electrical
engineer and Devout communist who had worked with The Army Signal.
Corps he was fired in nineteen forty five for his political,
leanings but not before making connections that helped him recruit
(05:22):
young men with access to military. Secrets his greatest Get David,
greenglass his brother in, law a machinist At Los. Alamos
Green glass Sent julius handwritten notes and drawings of bomb,
components including a crude diagram of the implosion. Mechanism julius
passed this to His soviet, contacts and Allegedly Ethel rosenberg
(05:46):
typed up his notes and facilitated some. Meetings Green glass
later testified That ethel was deeply, involved but years later
he admitted he lied to protect his wife because nothing
says family loyalty like rowing your sister under a radioactive.
Bus the fall of the. Network so what brought this
spy ring? Down one? Word. Venona The Venona project was
(06:10):
a top SECRET us program to Decrypt soviet intelligence. Cables
in the late nineteen, Forties american cryptanalysts cracked parts Of soviet,
communications and slowly the names began to. Emerge raymond Was Harry,
Gold rest Was Klaus, fuchs And, Liberal, yes that Was Julius.
(06:32):
Rosenberg gold was arrested in nineteen Fifty under, questioning he
folded like a wet tortilla and gave Up. Fuchs fuchs
gave Up. Julius julius was. Arrested ethel. Followed soon. After
David greenglass cut a deal and the dominoes fell hard and.
Fast in nineteen fifty, One julius And Ethel rosenberg were
(06:54):
tried for conspiracy to commit. Espionage the trial was A
cold war media. Circus the prosecution had one job proved
that they passed nuclear secrets to The. Soviets the evidence was.
Circumstantial Green glass's testimony carried the. Weight the country was on.
Edge joseph McCarthy was waiving fake lists of communists in The.
(07:16):
Senate fear was. King The rosenbergs were convicted and sentenced to.
Death many called it, justice others called it a witch.
Hunt even, today historians are. Divided most now Agreed julius's past,
secrets But ethel possibly. Innocent but history isn't always, fair
(07:37):
and neither are. Courts in A Cold war, Panic On june,
nineteenth nineteen fifty, three both were executed at Sing Singh.
Prison their, Sons michael And, robert were, orphaned later adopted
by a poet and leftist activist. Couple they spent their
lives trying to clear their parents', names.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Legacy and, fallout and by fallout we do not mean the.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Game back In Santa, fe the secrets faded into. History,
today you can walk past one hundred and Nine East Palace,
avenue the gate through which thousands Of Manhattan project employees
passed on their way To Los. Alamos there's even a,
plaque but for years no one talked about. It locals
(08:22):
whispered about the box on the. Hill families didn't know
where their relatives, worked just that they came home quiet and.
Tense The, soviets of, course successfully tested their own atomic
bomb in nineteen forty, nine years earlier than, expected thanks
in no small part To Santa, Fe Klaus, Fuchs Harry,
gold and The. Rosenbergs so the next time you're enjoying
(08:45):
a quiet afternoon In Santa, fe sipping a margarita and
admiring the. Architecture, remember this town was once a covert
hub of nuclear. Espionage spies walked these, streets secrets changed,
hands and someone may or may not have passed uranium
data in a hollowed out To. Malay that's all for
(09:06):
this episode of The Strange History. Podcast I'm, amy and
remember sometimes the strangest events happen in the quietest. Places rate,
us review, us share with your nerdiest, friend and if
you happen to be From Santa, fe drop us a
line and tell us if your grandma ever mentioned Passing
(09:27):
einstein on the. Plaza until next, time stay, safe stay,
curious and stay.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Strange
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