# SSAB - May 18, 2026

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-audio-blog-of-steven-sirski-7041700/ssab-may-18-2026
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-audio-blog-of-steven-sirski-7041700/ssab-may-18-2026.md
Podcast: [The Audio Blog of Steven Sirski](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-audio-blog-of-steven-sirski-7041700)
Published: 2026-05-18T08:39:07+00:00
Episode link: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/ssab-may-18-2026--72053726
Audio file: https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72053726/7029b4bd_00a4_1a57_94fe_8eb93c3443f4.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-audio-blog-of-steven-sirski-7041700/episodes/ssab-may-18-2026
Duration seconds: 2860

## Resource

Hey Happy Birthday to me… podcast! Welcome to Nagasaki! What a trip! Forgot the PIN to my credit card so it took a little work to get everything booked. Cashier only took cash or card, no tap. Luckily another service staff member helped me book the ticket online. That way, you enter the card number and a password then use that same card to pick up the tickets at the station. A run around but it got done. Maybe should have taken the night bus Why Nagasaki? Very good question. Why not? The bomb exploded here and I wanted to see what the city was like these days. I was in Hiroshima ten years ago so figured Nagasaki would be a good complement. Got in very late, bad planning on my behalf. But I wanted a full day in the city, guess I could have stayed overnight in Osaka and then taken the first train out in the morning. Stayed at Toyoko Inn, good for the late check in, but to renew was expensive so I found a hostel down the street at half the cost. Not only that, Belleview hotel was locked when I got in and later in the morning when I checked they said book it on the app, it’s cheaper. Mostly digital checking out and amenities are left at the front desk. Atomic bomb museum, how was it? Gentle. They do make it a point to show how the bombs destroyed human lives, but they also put it in the context of why it happened: the Japanese were expanded their empire in the Pacific and that put them in conflict with a bunch of other countries. The city was largely rebuilt after the bombs were dropped, shown by a pair of pictures showing the city after the bomb and then again in 1950. It’s hot here, and that bomb was dropped in August. I can only imagine how much worse it would have been. Not only that, a lot of the declarations and policies weren’t signed or put into effect until the 19…

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## Transcript

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