Interview focuses on Oliver's training and career as a seismologist, covering the period until 1970. Oliver gives an account of his training at Columbia University's Lamont Geological Observatory and his subsequent career in seismology. He discusses his participaiton in the International Geophysical Year and in early nuclear arms control negotiations, and his contributions to the improvement of seismic capabilites for the detection of underground nuclear explosions in the late 1950s and 1960s. He also reflects on the changes in seismology as a consequence of the DOD's "Project Vela Uniform" and talks about his role in the Plate Techtonics revolution.