Discovery Channel Pulls Controversial ‘How It’s Made’ Nuclear Power Episode That Gave Iran Access To Top-Secret Designs

SILVER SPRING, MD—Emphasizing that they never intended to leak the vast trove of state secrets to a foreign entity, Discovery Channel pulled the controversial nuclear power episode of How It’s Made Wednesday after realizing the show had allowed Iran access top-secret U.S. Department of Energy designs. “Had we known the Iranian government would one day use Episode 110: ‘How To Convert Uranium into Nuclear Fuel’ as a step-by-step guide to building their own reactors, we would never have released it,” said Discovery Channel spokeswoman Lisa Greenfield, adding that the 10-minute segment, which covered everything from uranium mining to milling to transporting yellowcake, was meant for educational use only. “Although we pride ourselves on providing accurate tutorials, we should have known that releasing the blueprints of several nuclear power plants, including the Nuclear Generating Station at Palo Verde, was a bad idea. From now on, the only portion of that episode that will air are the segments on how chocolate is made and how belt buckles are produced.” The Discovery Channel also pulled episodes covering the production of long-range nuclear missiles, the development of air-superiority jet fighters, and the manufacture and distribution of weaponized aerosolized botulism.