Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War

A 9-part documentary series on Netflix
65 to 80 min. per episode
Directed by Brian Knappenberger
Released March 12, 2024

There is nothing remarkable about this series about – well, the title says it.

It spans from the development of the atomic bomb to the proliferation of nuclear weapons, including a good, succinct, exploration of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the rise of Vladimir Putin, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Like most good documentaries of its kind, Turning Point tells its story with a wealth of old videos and photos and with interviews of historians, military experts, and technical experts – all cut and spliced to make it comprehensible and compelling.

It is sober and straightforward. And had I the time, I could have binge-watched the whole series in one seating.

There were several things about this modest (and as far as I know, unheralded) documentary that I especially liked.

1. It was – or at least it felt to me – largely objective and unbiased. It was only until the very end, when it was covering Putin and the events leading to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, that I felt it tilt a little too favorably towards Ukraine. But that bias was light. I don’t think it would ruin the series for anyone on either side of that debate.

2. It managed to provide a surprising amount of relevant and interesting facts about not just the chronology, the strategies, the actions, and the motivations of the Cold War, but also insights into many of the influential people that decided to begin the war and kept it going for so long.

3. Quite rightly, I think, it demonstrated that, contrary to popular myth, the Cold War didn’t end when the Berlin Wall was taken down. It’s alive and well now.

If you have prejudices or preconceived beliefs about either the use of the atom bomb or the Cold War, you should definitely put aside the time to watch Turning Point. It will keep you interested. It will give you facts you didn’t know. And it may even change your perspective a bit.

Critical Reception 

Reviews were mostly positive. But I was surprised to see that Noah Rothman, the critic for the National Review, called it “revisionist history” and said it was “the worst Cold War documentary ever made.” You can read his review here.

I’m hardly an authority on the subject, so you may agree with him.

You can watch the entire series on Netflix and judge for yourself. If you do, tell me what you think.

Here’s the trailer.