Duck and Cover: Remembering the Days of Fallout Shelters, Conelrad, and Sputnik

What is fallout, a 1950s signboard from Maryland Civil Defense (Source: Maryland Emergency Management Agency)

This program examines Civil Defense from World War II to the time when planning for survival of an all out nuclear attack started fading into the past.  Opening with an examination of World War II era blackout drills, plane spotter stations, and air raid wardens, the program quickly moves to the era where the stakes became higher, the nuclear age.  
   This was a time when air raid sirens wailed out signaling practice drills, Conalrad interrupted radio programs, government officials planned for the worst, and people contemplated building family fallout shelters .  Vintage audio and video footage, such as Bert the Turtle telling schoolchildren to duck and cover, helps  engage the audience in the program.