The prevailing historical narrative has it that the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, bombings which killed more than 100,000 innocent civilians in a matter of minutes, were not only responsible for bringing about the end of the Second World War, but also morally justifiable due to the disproportionately costly nature of the alternative. However, in recent years some historians have challenged these conventional wisdoms and offered an alternative perspective: that these attacks were neither necessary nor consequential to the end of WWII. And since you won't find these views presented in most American classrooms, today's episode is dedicated to a fair and considerate discussion of the available arguments.

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