This week is the 65th Anniversary of the United State’s first use of the Atomic Bomb, and as our Greg Mitchell reports, times have changed—for the first time in 65 years, the US has sent an envoy to commemoration ceremonies in Japan. Mitchell, who with Robert Jay Lifton wrote a book on the subject, Hiroshima in America, has been covering the anniversary and the history of the Truman Administration’s horrifyingly casual announcement of the bombing. The Nation, of course, has a long history of sharp and outspoken coverage of nuclear and atomic issues; I encourage you to flip through our slideshow, The Nation in the Nuclear Age. 

Also this week …

Video: The Nation’s New TV Ad …

Over 4,000 of you have watched and commented on our new TV ad, running now on cable networks nationally. One way to support The Nation is to share the ad on Facebook and Twitter—see the ad here and let us know what you think. 

Debate: Kill the Energy Bill? 

At TheNation.com last week, author and energy scholar Charles Koumanoff argued that the death of the energy bill in the Senate, which he called lackluster, "clears the way for genuine solutions." In short, he views the death of the bill as a good thing. Challenged on Twitter by Dave Roberts of Grist.org, we brought both onto The Nation on GRITtv for a debate. Is the death of the climate bill good or bad for the environment? And what’s next for the issue? Watch their passionate, yet civil back and forth here.

The Nation in the News: Jeremy Scahill on Obama’s Plan for Iraq … 

Is President Obama’s plan for Iraq just a rehash of the Petraeus-Bush plan? Watch Jeremy Scahill’s conversation with Amy Goodman here. 

Podcast: The Breakdown With Chris Hayes … 

There are no new editions of "The Breakdown" until September 10th, but for this week we dusted off an old one that is as timely as it was six months ago: Can we ever bust the filibuster? In this short primer, Chris Hayes gives an overview of what the filibuster is, how it came to be and what it’s doing to our democracy. Listen here.

Next Week on The Nation on GRITtv

Three good segments on Monday’s coming edition of The Nation on GRITtv: Reporter A.C. Thompson on his ongoing investigation into police misconduct in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina; Executive Editor Betsy Reed on women in Afghanistan and the jobs crisis; and reporter Robin Templeton tells us about a local New York organization on the front lines of the ridiculous "anchor baby" controversy. Watch the full episode Monday at GRITtv.org, or watch videos here at TheNation.com surfaced throughout the week. 

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That’s all for this week. As always you can keep up by following The Nation on Facebook here, or follow me on Twitter – I’m @KatrinaNation.