Two friends, connected by family histories on opposite sides of World War II, set out to explore the lasting trauma of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. While Japanese hibakusha (survivors) endure lifelong health complications and psychological scars, American atomic veterans who witnessed the bombings’ aftermath also struggle with radiation-related illnesses and PTSD.

As the world approaches the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, much of the American public remains unaware of the psychological and physical toll left on both sides of the war. For Karin and Victoria, it is a part of history that’s close to home.

Karin’s great-great-uncle was from Hiroshima and dedicated his life to peace-building after the bomb, serving as the first president of Hiroshima University. Victoria’s grandfather, an American veteran who served as a medic in Nagasaki, was haunted by his experiences and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. He died young from PTSD-related alcoholism.

Together, Karin and Victoria seek answers from family members and historians, and speak with the last remaining survivors, before time runs out. Through their travels, conversations, and acts of reconciliation, they offer a new perspective on the nuclear age and its enduring consequences, urging reflection and peace as the global nuclear threat continues to grow. 

Speakers:

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Karin Tanabe is a producer of the 2025 PBS documentary Atomic Echoes: Untold Stories from World War II. A Japanese American nisei, her grandmother’s uncle Morito Tatsuo was Japan’s post-war Minister of Education and in 1950, the first president of Hiroshima University, helping build an institution dedicated to peace.

A novelist, journalist, and speechwriter, Karin is the author of seven novels published by St. Martin’s Press and Simon & Schuster, and is currently at work on her eighth work of fiction. Several of her books have been optioned for film and television, including The Gilded Years to Sony/Tristar (through Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine), and most recently A Woman of Intelligence to NBC Universal. As a speechwriter, she often writes for U.S. ambassadors on foreign policy. A former Politico reporter, she also remains a frequent contributor to The Washington Post.

Karin is an honors graduate of Vassar College and lives in Washington, D.C. 

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Victoria Kelly is a producer of the 2025 PBS documentary Atomic Echoes: Untold Stories from World War II. Her grandfather, a Navy medic, was one of the first American troops to enter Nagasaki after the atomic bomb. 

Victoria is the author of four books of fiction and poetry: Homefront (University of Nevada Press), Mrs. Houdini (Simon & Schuster), When the Men Go Off to War (Naval Institute Press), and Prayers of an American Wife (Autumn House Press). Her fiction and poetry have appeared in Best American Poetry, The Autumn House Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry, Prairie Schooner, Southwest Review and dozens of other journals and anthologies. She is also a consultant for corporate and nonprofit thought leadership.

Victoria graduated Summa Cum Laude from Harvard University. She received her M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and her M.Phil. in Creative Writing from Trinity College Dublin, where she was a U.S. Mitchell Scholar. She lives in Virginia with her three daughters. 

Moderator:

Kiyoteru Tsutsui is the Henri H. and Tomoye Takahashi Professor, Professor of Sociology, Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and Director of the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, where he is also Director of the Japan Program and Co-Director of the Southeast Asia Program. Tsutsui’s research interests lie in political/comparative sociology, social movements, globalization, human rights, and Japanese society. His most recent publication, Human Rights and the State: The Power of Ideas and the Realities of International Politics (Iwanami Shinsho, 2022), was awarded the 2022 Ishibashi Tanzan Award and the 44th Suntory Prize for Arts and Sciences.