On August 6, 1945, Tsutomu Yamaguchi survived the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. Three days later, back home in Nagasaki, he survived the second one. This is the true story of the only person officially recognized by Japan as a survivor of both atomic bombings.

A Mitsubishi engineer on a business trip, a forgotten name stamp, a train ride through a destroyed country, and a boss who would not believe one bomb could destroy a city, until it happened again. Then sixty years of silence, and a final decision to tell the world.

00:00 Twice in three days

00:46 An ordinary engineer

01:59 The forgotten stamp

02:55 8:15 a.m. in Hiroshima

04:31 The road home

05:27 "How could one bomb destroy a city?"

07:13 Sixty years of silence

09:05 Breaking the silence

11:03 His last message

12:13 Outro

Sources:

Tsutomu Yamaguchi (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsutomu_Yamaguchi

History.com, The Man Who Survived Two Atomic Bombs: https://www.history.com/news/the-man-who-survived-two-atomic-bombs

Hiroshima Peace Media Center: https://www.hiroshimapeacemedia.jp/?p=14868

Guinness World Records: https://guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-confirmed-person-to-survive-two-nuclear-attacks

Visuals are AI-generated illustrations, not historical photographs.

Prefer to watch? This episode is also on YouTube: https://youtu.be/WNoUjOx0XXE

The Unlikely: true stories, real what-ifs, and the hidden science behind everyday life.