SYMHC Classics: Nuclear Close Calls
Summary
Hosts Tracy B. Wilson and Holly Frine explore three harrowing Cold War incidents where the world narrowly avoided nuclear catastrophe. They detail the 1962 B-59 submarine crisis, where a Soviet officer’s refusal to launch a nuclear torpedo during the Cuban Missile Crisis averted war. The episode also covers Stanislav Petrov’s 1983 decision to ignore a false satellite alarm indicating a US missile strike. Finally, they discuss a 1995 false alarm caused by a Norwegian scientific rocket, the only known instance where a head of state activated their nuclear briefcase.
Listen ad-free on Castria