Public Nuclear Anxiety: From 1980s Drills to 2020s Social Media ebook

For decades, the nuclear threat has haunted public imagination—changing shape but never disappearing. This book traces the shifting landscape of nuclear fear from Cold War school drills and television films to online memes and social media panic. It explores how collective anxiety adapts to new technologies of communication, mirroring both the pace of global politics and the rhythms of everyday life. Drawing from archives, public campaigns, and digital culture, "Public Nuclear Anxiety" reveals how governments, media, and citizens have mediated fear—from the mushroom cloud as symbol of apocalypse to today's viral warnings of escalation. The book shows that nuclear dread is not just about weapons, but about how humans live with unending uncertainty in a connected world.