1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:04,640 Speaker 1: Ah. 2 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:08,879 Speaker 2: The summer of eighty three, across America, teenagers crammed into 3 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:11,560 Speaker 2: theaters to see a new heart throb named Tom Cruise 4 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:15,600 Speaker 2: make some larger than life bad decisions in risky business. 5 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:20,040 Speaker 3: Sometimes you gotta say, what the fuck make you move? 6 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:24,360 Speaker 2: It was such a smash hit, in fact, that all 7 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:27,000 Speaker 2: over the country, and I'm speaking from personal experience here, 8 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:30,960 Speaker 2: emergency rooms were flooded with teenagers with broken bones from 9 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:34,000 Speaker 2: trying to replicate the infamous hardwood floor sock slide. 10 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:36,800 Speaker 4: Fuck. 11 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:42,000 Speaker 2: It was a simpler time, wasn't it. It was the 12 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:47,640 Speaker 2: summer that gave us flashdance, those tasty mouth incinerating hot pockets, 13 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 2: and somewhere down under, a baby Chris Hemsworth entered the world. 14 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:58,280 Speaker 2: But you know what they say, good things never last. 15 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:02,160 Speaker 2: Soon a humid house in summer would turn to fall 16 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:04,760 Speaker 2: and things would get a little bit colder. 17 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:09,640 Speaker 5: I'd heard that of a seven forty seven missing, and 18 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:11,760 Speaker 5: seven forty sevens just aren't missing. 19 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 6: One story dominates the free world news media tonights, the 20 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:18,319 Speaker 6: killing of two hundred and sixty nine innocent people. I 21 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 6: bought a Korean jumbo jip that drifted into Soviet territory. 22 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 7: The United States reacts with revulsion to this attack. Loss 23 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 7: of life appears to be heavy. We can see no 24 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:34,760 Speaker 7: excuse whatsoever for this appalling act. 25 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:38,200 Speaker 1: The United States is demanding that the Soviet Union explained 26 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:40,880 Speaker 1: why it's shot down a Korean airline's plane that had 27 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:42,399 Speaker 1: strayed into Soviet airspace. 28 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 2: I met Helms and This is Snafu, a podcast about 29 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 2: history's greatest screw ups. On season one, we're telling you 30 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 2: the story of a snaffoo that is gigantic, terrifying, and observed. 31 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:04,040 Speaker 2: It's called Able Archer eighty three, the nineteen eighty three 32 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:09,440 Speaker 2: NATO military exercise that may have almost triggered a real 33 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:32,680 Speaker 2: nuclear war. By this point in the season, we've learned 34 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:35,840 Speaker 2: that the Spring of nineteen eighty three firmly ended anything 35 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:39,240 Speaker 2: resembling a good relationship between the United States and the 36 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:43,480 Speaker 2: Soviet Union. In geopolitical technical terms, we'd been downgraded from 37 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 2: frenemies to enemies. Ronald Reagan was casually slinging around evil 38 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:52,639 Speaker 2: Empire insults. NATO announced that it would be deploying medium 39 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:55,680 Speaker 2: range Persion two missiles in Europe, and Reagan got his 40 00:02:55,760 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 2: pet project going SDI aka star Wars. The Soviet Union 41 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 2: whipped themselves into a nuclear frenzy, sending their spies all 42 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 2: around town to confirm what they already believed to be true, 43 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 2: that America was preparing a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union. 44 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:16,680 Speaker 2: But somehow things were about to get even harrier in 45 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:19,680 Speaker 2: this episode, nineteen eighty three spirals out of control. In 46 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 2: the months leading up to Able Archer, the Soviets and 47 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:26,079 Speaker 2: Americans weren't joyfully sliding around in socks so much as 48 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 2: they were dancing on a razor's edge. Now that's what 49 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 2: I call some real risky business. It's June third, nineteen 50 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 2: eighty three. The front page of the New York Times 51 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:45,920 Speaker 2: reads and drop Off meets with Harriman, asks for better ties. 52 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 2: The Harriman referenced here is Avril Harriman, a ninety one 53 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:52,800 Speaker 2: year old who used to be the US ambassador to 54 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:55,880 Speaker 2: the Soviet Union back when Stalin was in power and 55 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 2: the Soviets were American allies. The article said Harriman was 56 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:02,760 Speaker 2: travel to Moscow as a private citizen. He wasn't on 57 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:06,480 Speaker 2: official US business, But it also said that before he 58 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:09,840 Speaker 2: left for Moscow, he met with the Secretary of State 59 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 2: George Schultz, and that he took a State Department translator 60 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:14,760 Speaker 2: with him to the meeting. 61 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:20,680 Speaker 8: He essentially went as an official, unofficial envoy. 62 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 2: This is Nate Jones, our able archer sleuth. Nate wanted 63 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:27,479 Speaker 2: to know what was really said in that meeting. I mean, 64 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:31,240 Speaker 2: it's not normal for an elderly retired diplomat to be 65 00:04:31,279 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 2: summoned out of his lazy boy recliner to speak with 66 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 2: the Soviet head of state. Maybe there was a detailed 67 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 2: record of Harriman's conversation within drop off. Maybe there was 68 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:46,680 Speaker 2: some hint about what was to come. So how could 69 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:50,720 Speaker 2: Nate find such a thing? With a little help from 70 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:55,000 Speaker 2: a friend called FOYA the Freedom of Information Act. It 71 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 2: gives us citizens the right to request government documents. Believe 72 00:04:58,839 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 2: me when I say that Nate ownes, lives, and breathes 73 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:05,640 Speaker 2: foyas he's currently the FOYA director at the Washington Post. 74 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:11,080 Speaker 2: Foya Nate is his Twitter handle, for God's sake. So 75 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:13,160 Speaker 2: the FOYA process looks like this. 76 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:17,960 Speaker 8: The first most important step is to figure out what 77 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:20,279 Speaker 8: records exists that you want to request. 78 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:23,560 Speaker 2: In this case, he figured an important meeting between a 79 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:26,400 Speaker 2: retired diplomat and the head of the Soviet Union. There's 80 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:28,800 Speaker 2: got to be a report on that meeting, right or 81 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 2: like at least some notes. The next step is you 82 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:36,520 Speaker 2: have to figure out which agency holds the document you want. 83 00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:40,440 Speaker 8: And there are, depending on how you count, some two 84 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 8: hundred and fifty agencies and components in the federal government. 85 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:46,240 Speaker 8: So part of the problem is finding the right one 86 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:48,919 Speaker 8: to file to, and it's tricky. I think once you 87 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:52,000 Speaker 8: do this long enough, you get kind of an intuition. 88 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,120 Speaker 2: Nate figured if there was any record of this meeting 89 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:57,599 Speaker 2: between and Drop Bob and Harriman, it would be in 90 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:01,200 Speaker 2: the State Department. So next file a FOYA. 91 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:06,120 Speaker 8: A simple form letter that says, under the FOYA, I 92 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:10,560 Speaker 8: request this document held by your agency, and then you wait. 93 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:16,160 Speaker 8: The law says that they're supposed to release the records 94 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:18,040 Speaker 8: within twenty working days. 95 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:24,839 Speaker 2: Twenty working days, okay, we're talking about the government here. 96 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:28,760 Speaker 2: I'm sorry, it just it never takes twenty days. I mean, hell, 97 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:30,599 Speaker 2: it rarely takes twenty months. 98 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 8: Is not for the faint of heart. You have to 99 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:34,800 Speaker 8: be in it for a long battle. 100 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:40,239 Speaker 2: Being a FOYA warrior entails a lot of polite reminders. Hey, Sandra, 101 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 2: me again. Yeah, I'm still interested in that top secret 102 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:47,120 Speaker 2: document that you're five years late in releasing any update 103 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:50,480 Speaker 2: on that. You know, just let me know whenever you 104 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 2: get a chance. The State Department eventually answered Nates Foya 105 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:01,040 Speaker 2: they had detailed notes from the Harman meeting, which they 106 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:06,000 Speaker 2: released a Nate totally unredacted. He was thrilled until he 107 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:09,360 Speaker 2: read it, and then he was freaked out because the 108 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:13,120 Speaker 2: contents of the conversation were very alarming. 109 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:18,280 Speaker 8: Aevrel Harriman said that and drop Off three times warned 110 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:21,680 Speaker 8: of the risk of nuclear war through miscalculation, and told 111 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 8: him explicitly and genuinely that he feared that their Reagan 112 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 8: administration may be moving towards the dangerous red line of 113 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:29,600 Speaker 8: nuclear war. 114 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:34,960 Speaker 2: Three times and drop Off warned of potential miscalculation. Maybe 115 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:38,880 Speaker 2: the guy had a nuclear crystal ball after all. Basically, 116 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 2: and drop Off asked Harreman to tell Reagan to please 117 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:45,080 Speaker 2: tone things down, make sure all this tension doesn't keep 118 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:50,200 Speaker 2: ratcheting up or worse become normalized. He asked for dialogue 119 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:53,880 Speaker 2: before they found themselves on an irreversible path to the 120 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 2: worst possible outcome. 121 00:07:56,440 --> 00:08:00,520 Speaker 8: Please go back and make sure that despite our differences, 122 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:03,840 Speaker 8: we don't have the catastrophe of nuclear war and. 123 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:07,240 Speaker 2: Drop off said he'd wait for Reagan's call. Harriman may 124 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:09,640 Speaker 2: as well have stayed home in the US that week hell, 125 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:12,080 Speaker 2: instead of spending twenty hours on an airplane, he could 126 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:14,360 Speaker 2: have gone to that new blockbuster of war games, which 127 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 2: coincidentally came out that weekend, because Reagan never picked up 128 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 2: that phone. 129 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:37,560 Speaker 9: Do you think that one of the reasons why this 130 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:42,600 Speaker 9: whole period was so dangerous was because there were no 131 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:47,640 Speaker 9: channels of communication between the two sides, that the complete 132 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:49,320 Speaker 9: different perceptions going on. 133 00:08:49,679 --> 00:08:51,800 Speaker 2: This is from an interview that was conducted for the 134 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:55,199 Speaker 2: documentary nineteen eighty three, The Brink of Apocalypse. 135 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:58,839 Speaker 10: In this particular period o Rhon as we were in 136 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:02,680 Speaker 10: know they see to have broken down and there was 137 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:07,559 Speaker 10: no understanding anymore. And that I think is what made 138 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:10,880 Speaker 10: that particular period in the Code War was so dangerous. 139 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:16,280 Speaker 2: And that's Ryner Rupp, agent Dopez, you remember him from 140 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:20,000 Speaker 2: last episode Stazi man infiltrating NATO spying for the East 141 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:24,120 Speaker 2: alongside his wife. Rupper calls the moment when he could 142 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:27,640 Speaker 2: sense the Stazi were getting a bit more nervous. It 143 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:30,840 Speaker 2: became clear to him that the Soviets were preoccupied with Ryan. 144 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:35,720 Speaker 2: They truly believed a surprise nuclear attack was imminent. 145 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:40,600 Speaker 10: I was asked to keep my eyes open. I also 146 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:46,160 Speaker 10: had systems to relay back of information very fast. 147 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:49,680 Speaker 2: Which was actually very unusual. It's just not easy for 148 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:52,240 Speaker 2: a spy to get messages across the Iron Curtain quickly. 149 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:54,559 Speaker 2: You can't call up your handler and say, hey, Boris, 150 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:58,719 Speaker 2: guess what secret documents I perused in my NATO job today. 151 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:01,360 Speaker 2: That would be a surefi way to get caught. I mean, 152 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:06,280 Speaker 2: come on, no spies usually handed off messages physically, so 153 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:08,160 Speaker 2: getting a message to the other side of the Iron 154 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:11,400 Speaker 2: Curtain took time days at best. But if NATO was 155 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:16,440 Speaker 2: preparing a nuclear attack, the East wouldn't have days. So 156 00:10:16,559 --> 00:10:19,160 Speaker 2: one day in early nineteen eighty three, Rupp met with 157 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:21,840 Speaker 2: his handlers. They presented him with a brand new spy 158 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:25,000 Speaker 2: tool that would significantly speed things up. 159 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 10: It looked like an electronic calculator. 160 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:32,480 Speaker 2: A classic espionage gadget, an ordinary item rewired to do 161 00:10:32,559 --> 00:10:33,840 Speaker 2: something extraordinary. 162 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:37,600 Speaker 10: I would write my message down, I would code it 163 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:39,120 Speaker 10: into numbers. 164 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:41,679 Speaker 2: Type the numbers into this sneaky spy calculator. 165 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:46,160 Speaker 10: This little machine would then condense all this into a 166 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:49,720 Speaker 10: very short sound like a World Beat. 167 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:55,160 Speaker 2: He'd take this magic calculator to a payphone the normal telephone. 168 00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:57,680 Speaker 2: Payphones were normal in nineteen eighty three. Kids just roll 169 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:00,440 Speaker 2: with it. And then he'd dial a number for an 170 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:03,880 Speaker 2: elderly woman in East Germany. He'd say, Grandma, I'd like 171 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:06,440 Speaker 2: to come visit you, which was a code phrase that 172 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:10,840 Speaker 2: would signal this Grandma to start recording the call. Rub 173 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:12,280 Speaker 2: would hold up the calculator to the. 174 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:15,040 Speaker 10: Phone, put that thing on the receiver. 175 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:19,520 Speaker 2: And transmit the coded message. Now, for anyone surveilling the call. 176 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:22,440 Speaker 10: It would just sound like a crackling in the line. 177 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:26,280 Speaker 2: They hang up. Grandma then calls the SAZI. They rush over, 178 00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:28,120 Speaker 2: retrieve the recording, and then. 179 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:30,280 Speaker 10: De sigh for it and see the message. 180 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:34,040 Speaker 2: The intel is transmitted in minutes instead of days. 181 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:36,679 Speaker 10: So that was in case of emergencies. 182 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:41,319 Speaker 2: Emergencies Well, turns out there would only be one emergency 183 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:44,040 Speaker 2: that was so urgent Ryan or Rupp had to use 184 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:47,280 Speaker 2: this system. It was a day in November nineteen eighty three, 185 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:51,680 Speaker 2: during Exercise Able Archer. But before we get to that 186 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:54,840 Speaker 2: faithful day, the US and the Soviet Union were about 187 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:58,640 Speaker 2: to be further downgraded from enemies to I don't know 188 00:11:58,679 --> 00:12:02,360 Speaker 2: what's worse than enemies arch enemies. I'm going to workshop that. 189 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:07,280 Speaker 2: I'll get back to you, because in the middle of 190 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:10,160 Speaker 2: the most tense time in the Cold War, Reagan would 191 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:14,240 Speaker 2: make a batshit crazy decision. He was already poking the 192 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:17,640 Speaker 2: bear publicly humiliating the Soviet Union and backing them into 193 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:21,200 Speaker 2: a nuclear corner. But now it's almost like he wanted 194 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:25,160 Speaker 2: to start stabbing the bear. And you don't stab bears. Okay, 195 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:27,719 Speaker 2: just kidding any get cat. 196 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:29,960 Speaker 4: You know, this is the kind of thing you could 197 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:32,440 Speaker 4: put in a kid's book about, like standing up to 198 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:33,000 Speaker 4: a bully. 199 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:37,520 Speaker 2: This is everyone's favorite nuclear historian Jeffrey Lewis talking about 200 00:12:37,559 --> 00:12:39,160 Speaker 2: Reagan and his administration. 201 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:42,160 Speaker 4: To them, the Soviet Union was big and powerful in 202 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:44,439 Speaker 4: a bully and they were going to stand up. And 203 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:46,000 Speaker 4: you know, at the end of the kid's book, the 204 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:50,600 Speaker 4: bully backs down. And so he's looking at the global 205 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:55,680 Speaker 4: military posture and he's trying to imagine ways to restore 206 00:12:56,160 --> 00:13:00,000 Speaker 4: the strength and the impressiveness of the United States. 207 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:03,120 Speaker 2: In order to do this, Reagan needed to know what 208 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:06,800 Speaker 2: the Soviets were capable of. And as we've established, he's 209 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,120 Speaker 2: not going to call and drop off. Of course, not 210 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:13,199 Speaker 2: that would be too easy, so instead he decided to 211 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:17,560 Speaker 2: test their abilities and their resolve. So he gave the 212 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:23,920 Speaker 2: order for the military to execute psychological operations, or syops. 213 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:27,960 Speaker 2: Here's how these syops went down. A big navy fleet 214 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:30,800 Speaker 2: would cross the Pacific and approach the Soviet Union from 215 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:34,040 Speaker 2: the east, and then day after day, US fighter jets 216 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:38,400 Speaker 2: would fly right up to Russian airspace and then at 217 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:43,000 Speaker 2: the last minute turn around and come back home. And 218 00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:46,840 Speaker 2: then they'd do it again and again and again, but 219 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:51,360 Speaker 2: sometimes they would actually cross the line. One ship shut 220 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:55,559 Speaker 2: off its electronics and approached Soviet waters. Then six Navy 221 00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:59,200 Speaker 2: planes took off. They actually flew over Russian islands, zipping 222 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:02,400 Speaker 2: through Soviet air. As one writer put it, they flew 223 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:04,000 Speaker 2: up Ivan's nose. 224 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:07,880 Speaker 4: Putting the fear of God like literally into the Soviets. 225 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:11,880 Speaker 2: The goal of the exercise was twofold. Number one observed 226 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:15,800 Speaker 2: their defenses. Number two just fuck with their heads a 227 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:17,640 Speaker 2: little or maybe a lot. 228 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:22,560 Speaker 4: If you're the Soviets and you are seeing aircraft and 229 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:28,160 Speaker 4: ships doing unexpected things and probing your defenses, possibly that's 230 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:31,520 Speaker 4: an exercise. Possibly that's a signal to show you that 231 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:34,520 Speaker 4: they that the US means business. But it also looks 232 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:37,560 Speaker 4: a lot like reconnaissance for an attack. It looks a 233 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:40,280 Speaker 4: lot like a dry run of something you might do later. 234 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:45,480 Speaker 4: It looks like probing to find weakness. And so again, 235 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:49,600 Speaker 4: any deviation from a typical exercise pattern is going to 236 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:52,320 Speaker 4: naturally raise alarm bells because the other side is like, 237 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:55,960 Speaker 4: why are you doing this? So they're feeling anxious and 238 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:59,360 Speaker 4: constantly worried about it. People are kind of putting it 239 00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:03,040 Speaker 4: together like you, well, this is like unwise. It was 240 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:06,600 Speaker 4: creating a total panic inside the Soviet Union. 241 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:09,920 Speaker 2: That panic started from the top, but it went all 242 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:12,760 Speaker 2: the way down the chain of command because the Soviet 243 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:15,800 Speaker 2: leaders put out the word the first radar operator who 244 00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:17,920 Speaker 2: spotted any planes off the coast was going to get 245 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:19,160 Speaker 2: a nice, fat bonus. 246 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:24,880 Speaker 4: One of the sad legacies of those psyops is that 247 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:30,160 Speaker 4: the Soviet leadership offers financial rewards to air crews if 248 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:35,400 Speaker 4: they shoot down aircraft that are entering Soviet airspace. 249 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:40,480 Speaker 2: In other words, payday for taking down suspicious planes. It 250 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:42,960 Speaker 2: was risky business for both sides, and it wouldn't be 251 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:50,760 Speaker 2: long before it caused a disaster. On September, first flight 252 00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:54,480 Speaker 2: KAL zero zero seven departed from New York City, flying 253 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:57,960 Speaker 2: west towards Seoul, South Korea. The same night, the Soviets 254 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:02,120 Speaker 2: conducted a missile test. Soviet radars were active and the 255 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:04,680 Speaker 2: officers at the controls weren't surprised to see that the 256 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:06,960 Speaker 2: US Air Force had sent a spy plane to keep 257 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:11,360 Speaker 2: tabs on them. Classic syops. The Soviet radar operators caught 258 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:14,400 Speaker 2: it on their scopes, but the plane was keeping its distance, 259 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:18,560 Speaker 2: following the normal flight paths. Nothing to worry about. The 260 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:22,280 Speaker 2: Soviet radar operators did what they always do. They assigned 261 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:25,080 Speaker 2: the American spy plane a little tracking number to keep 262 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:28,240 Speaker 2: tabs on it through the night. But the spy plane 263 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:32,200 Speaker 2: wasn't alone, and the hours before dawn, another object appeared 264 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:35,680 Speaker 2: on the radar, flying fast from the Pacific Ocean. The 265 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:38,680 Speaker 2: Russians watched as it approached the spy plane, and then 266 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:42,400 Speaker 2: the two crossed paths. For just a moment, it was 267 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:45,360 Speaker 2: impossible to tell the two aircraft apart on the radar, 268 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:48,440 Speaker 2: but as they went their separate ways, the Russian radar 269 00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:52,880 Speaker 2: operators had to make a choice which tracking label should 270 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:57,440 Speaker 2: go with which plane. They hoped, maybe prayed, that they 271 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:02,280 Speaker 2: didn't mix them up. Mixed them up, and when they did, 272 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:04,639 Speaker 2: the radar showed that the air force plane was headed 273 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:08,680 Speaker 2: straight for Russia. But it wasn't the air force plane. 274 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:13,080 Speaker 2: It was actually KL zero zero seven, a commercial flight 275 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:18,120 Speaker 2: with two hundred and sixty nine civilians on board. Soviet 276 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:21,720 Speaker 2: pilots scrambled in minutes, Russian fighter jets were up in 277 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:24,040 Speaker 2: the air, catching up to the plane. For a moment, 278 00:17:24,119 --> 00:17:26,880 Speaker 2: the Russian pilots were confused. The plane they were looking 279 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:30,200 Speaker 2: at wasn't exactly acting like a military flight, lights flashing 280 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:33,119 Speaker 2: on its outstretched wings. It was practically a homing beacon. 281 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:38,320 Speaker 2: A military plane wouldn't have any lights on at all. 282 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:44,119 Speaker 2: This is Soviet pilot Major Osipovic. He says, I see it. 283 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:46,959 Speaker 2: I'm locked onto the target. He takes note that the 284 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:51,080 Speaker 2: plane resembles a passenger aircraft. He doesn't believe that it's 285 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:53,919 Speaker 2: a spy plane. So then he tries to call the 286 00:17:53,960 --> 00:18:00,960 Speaker 2: plane on the radio, demands that it changed course. He says, 287 00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:04,880 Speaker 2: the target isn't responding to the call. Osipovich is commanded 288 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:09,800 Speaker 2: to fire a warning shot. He does so, still no response. 289 00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:13,760 Speaker 2: Ka L zero zero seven just kept barreling on in 290 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:18,440 Speaker 2: total radio silence. Then the Soviet generals on the ground 291 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:24,560 Speaker 2: made the call destroy the target. Osipovich has his orders. 292 00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:32,040 Speaker 2: He fires. I have executed the launch, he says. Missiles 293 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:35,080 Speaker 2: shred the wing and tail of KL zero zero seven. 294 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:38,960 Speaker 2: It spirals into the ocean, a trail of fire, signaling 295 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:46,879 Speaker 2: its fatal dive. Ossipovitch confirms the hit. The target is destroyed, 296 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:51,080 Speaker 2: and just like that, two hundred and sixty nine innocent 297 00:18:51,119 --> 00:18:52,000 Speaker 2: people are dead. 298 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:01,960 Speaker 6: One story, it's the Free World news media tonight, the 299 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:04,879 Speaker 6: killing of two hundred and sixty nine innocent people. I 300 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:09,200 Speaker 6: bought a Korean jumper jet that drifted into Soviet territory at. 301 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:13,160 Speaker 11: The university, who were just shocked. That was very profound 302 00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:18,920 Speaker 11: that I remember talking to my friends about, like who 303 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:23,320 Speaker 11: did that? Who would shoot down an airliner full of civilians. 304 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:28,160 Speaker 2: This is Vetlana Savranskaya recalling the confusion of Soviet citizens. 305 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:30,920 Speaker 2: When news broke about the downing of flight KL zero 306 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:31,919 Speaker 2: zero seven. 307 00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:35,879 Speaker 11: The Soviets issued the denial that they did not shoot 308 00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:41,880 Speaker 11: the airliner and that this is all American provocation. Nobody 309 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:44,080 Speaker 11: shot at the liner. We don't know where it is. 310 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:47,040 Speaker 11: It went somewhere, maybe it crashed, but we had nothing to. 311 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:47,480 Speaker 4: Do with it. 312 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:53,000 Speaker 2: Maybe the plane just crashed. Not exactly believable, but they 313 00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:54,840 Speaker 2: were desperate to cover their asses. 314 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:58,040 Speaker 1: The United States is demanding that the Soviet Union explained 315 00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:00,560 Speaker 1: why it shot down a Korean Airlines plane that had 316 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:02,160 Speaker 1: straight into Soviet airspace. 317 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:06,960 Speaker 11: A week later, the Soviets submitted that they actually shot 318 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:08,200 Speaker 11: down the airliner. 319 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:11,720 Speaker 2: It wasn't long before the Soviets realized that they were 320 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:14,639 Speaker 2: not going to get away with this lie, so the 321 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:18,520 Speaker 2: story changed. Yes, they shot down the plane, but it 322 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:20,000 Speaker 2: wasn't actually their fault. 323 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:23,600 Speaker 7: As outrage mounts over the down to Korean airliner in 324 00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:25,800 Speaker 7: Moscow claims it was a spy plane. 325 00:20:26,119 --> 00:20:30,080 Speaker 2: Later, the pilot Osipovitch revealed that Soviet officials forced him 326 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:33,480 Speaker 2: to record a fake radio exchange from a script. The 327 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:36,960 Speaker 2: idea was to replace the original transmission, rewriting the facts 328 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:41,000 Speaker 2: of that night's events, scrubbing the fact that Osipovich did 329 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:44,600 Speaker 2: actually warn his commanders that the plane in question looked 330 00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:48,280 Speaker 2: like a passenger aircraft before those commanders ordered him to 331 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:51,119 Speaker 2: shoot it down. They even had him hold an electric 332 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:53,119 Speaker 2: razor up to the mic to try to mimic the 333 00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:56,760 Speaker 2: sound of a cockpit yep. Definitely, what I'm seeing here 334 00:20:56,800 --> 00:21:01,040 Speaker 2: is an American warplane, just absolutely covered with weapon. Oh yeah, 335 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:03,480 Speaker 2: it's got American flags paid it all over it. There's 336 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:06,879 Speaker 2: an Uncle Sam riding on top. I mean, this is unmistakable. 337 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:11,720 Speaker 2: Oh well, nice, try, guys. Unlucky for them that Japanese 338 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:15,040 Speaker 2: had intercepted the original transmission that night, and they had 339 00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:18,600 Speaker 2: already shared the recording with Ronald Reagan. He knew the truth, 340 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:22,360 Speaker 2: and he was going to make sure everyone knew what 341 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:26,080 Speaker 2: the Soviets had done. Days after the attack, Reagan addressed 342 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:28,400 Speaker 2: the nation from behind the desk in the Oval Office. 343 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:32,879 Speaker 12: They deny the deed, but in their conflicting and misleading protestations, 344 00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:37,680 Speaker 12: the Soviets reveal that, yes, shooting down a plane, even 345 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:40,960 Speaker 12: one with hundreds of innocent men, women, children, and babies, 346 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:44,760 Speaker 12: is a part of their normal procedure if that plane 347 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 12: is in what they claim as their airspace. 348 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:50,280 Speaker 2: He said, no way, this could be a mistake. The 349 00:21:50,359 --> 00:21:53,520 Speaker 2: Russians knew these were civilians. They didn't care. That's the 350 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:56,800 Speaker 2: Communist way. He played recordings of the Soviet radio chatter 351 00:21:56,880 --> 00:21:58,200 Speaker 2: to a horrified audience. 352 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:00,960 Speaker 12: There is no way a pilot could mistake this for 353 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:04,640 Speaker 12: anything other than a civilian airliner. It was an act 354 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:05,400 Speaker 12: of barbarigim. 355 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:08,480 Speaker 2: But here's the thing, It was a mistake. 356 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:15,240 Speaker 11: The shooting was a tragic mistake. The United States knew 357 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:19,880 Speaker 11: practically immediately because they were able to get the intercepts 358 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:25,480 Speaker 11: of the Russian military communications, that the shooting was actually 359 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:29,720 Speaker 11: a tragic mistake, that it was not deliberate, that they 360 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:34,000 Speaker 11: actually thought they were shooting at an American spyplane. 361 00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:37,520 Speaker 2: So if Reagan knew it was an accident or at worst, 362 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:40,960 Speaker 2: a miscalculation, why was he going on television to say 363 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:43,720 Speaker 2: the Soviets killed innocent civilians on purpose. 364 00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:47,679 Speaker 11: To the Soviet elite, it felt like they were doing 365 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:53,119 Speaker 11: it intentionally to prepare their own population and the European 366 00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:58,240 Speaker 11: populations to a new round of tension, or maybe a 367 00:22:58,320 --> 00:22:59,640 Speaker 11: preparation for war. 368 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:05,240 Speaker 2: Reparation for war. Reagan must be spinning the Korean air 369 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:08,639 Speaker 2: tragedy as propaganda priming the world for a war against 370 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:12,560 Speaker 2: the Soviet Union, right, it was the only explanation that 371 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:16,879 Speaker 2: made any sense to the Soviet leaders. They were terrified 372 00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:20,600 Speaker 2: that a surprise nuclear attack was imminent. And what do 373 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:24,880 Speaker 2: the Russians do when they're scared? They build a computer. 374 00:23:30,119 --> 00:23:34,520 Speaker 13: In the military space. The key issue is reaction time, 375 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:40,600 Speaker 13: decision making speed, and also eliminating the human element from 376 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:42,520 Speaker 13: carrying out those decisions. 377 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:46,600 Speaker 2: This is Simon Miles, assistant professor at Duke. He says, 378 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:49,560 Speaker 2: the Soviet leaders were increasingly concerned that the US was 379 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:53,359 Speaker 2: going to attack in what's called a decapitating strike, which 380 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:56,320 Speaker 2: is exactly what it sounds like, chopping off the head 381 00:23:56,359 --> 00:23:59,520 Speaker 2: of the Soviet Union, killing the leaders in one fell swoop. 382 00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:05,000 Speaker 2: Nobody to retaliate. The solution hit back, even if the 383 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:10,520 Speaker 2: leaders were dead, with an automatic computerized nuke launching system, 384 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:13,040 Speaker 2: utterly terrifying. 385 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:16,120 Speaker 13: Basically a strange lovey and doomsday device. 386 00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:20,359 Speaker 2: About time somebody brought up that old Stanley Kubrick chestnut. 387 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:22,760 Speaker 12: The doomsday machine. 388 00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:24,000 Speaker 11: The doomsday machine? 389 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:24,359 Speaker 10: What is that? 390 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:28,440 Speaker 6: A device which will destroy old human and animal life 391 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:29,000 Speaker 6: on earth? 392 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:33,720 Speaker 2: Doctor Strangelove is fiction, But yeah, the Soviets did build 393 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:36,760 Speaker 2: a system that would do basically the exact same thing. 394 00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:40,439 Speaker 2: They called it perimeter. When we found out about it 395 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:42,679 Speaker 2: in the US, we called it dead hand. 396 00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:48,960 Speaker 13: Nuclear weapons are stationed under these massive walls of concrete 397 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:51,800 Speaker 13: and rebar in sort of the far flung portions of 398 00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:52,600 Speaker 13: the Soviet Union. 399 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:54,760 Speaker 9: But this is fantastic strange love. 400 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:56,679 Speaker 6: How can it be triggered automatically? 401 00:24:57,560 --> 00:24:59,399 Speaker 3: It's so markab be simple to do with that. 402 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:05,880 Speaker 13: First new system uses a wide range of temperature sensors, 403 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:12,720 Speaker 13: pressure sensors, seismographs and things like that, which are calibrated 404 00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:18,199 Speaker 13: basically to read the symptoms of a nuclear strike. So 405 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:21,000 Speaker 13: the way that you get the signal to them is 406 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:26,360 Speaker 13: by launching smaller rockets at them. 407 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:29,640 Speaker 2: Are you following all this? It's insane. If US nukes 408 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:32,679 Speaker 2: hit the Krimlin in response, Soviets fire a bunch of 409 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:36,160 Speaker 2: little missiles at their own big missiles, which then triggers 410 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:38,560 Speaker 2: a big underground computer to launch a bunch of nuclear 411 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:53,720 Speaker 2: missiles at the US and doomsday. 412 00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:53,320 Speaker 6: No sa it is another thing a saying man with 413 00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:55,119 Speaker 6: the doomsday machine is designed. 414 00:25:55,119 --> 00:25:57,560 Speaker 13: We all know what happens next, which is that either 415 00:25:57,600 --> 00:25:59,920 Speaker 13: all human life is wiped out on the planet or 416 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:02,480 Speaker 13: and what is probably a worse outcome, we all become 417 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:05,400 Speaker 13: mole people, or rather a very small subset of us 418 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:06,960 Speaker 13: who survive become mole people. 419 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:11,359 Speaker 3: And so, because of the automated and irrevocable decision making 420 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:17,199 Speaker 3: process which rules out human mettling, so toombsday machine is 421 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:19,720 Speaker 3: terrifying gee. 422 00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:21,359 Speaker 12: I wish we had one of them doomsday machines. 423 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:21,720 Speaker 5: States. 424 00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:29,879 Speaker 2: The way Perimeter aka dead Hand really works is a 425 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:33,640 Speaker 2: deeply buried secret, but Simon Miles believes that it still 426 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:37,080 Speaker 2: had some small human element to it, that it required 427 00:26:37,119 --> 00:26:40,639 Speaker 2: the Soviet leaders to turn it on. So a computer 428 00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:43,879 Speaker 2: wouldn't be launching nukes entirely on its own, not unless 429 00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:47,879 Speaker 2: the leadership was incapacitated and gave it permission to. Plus, 430 00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:49,879 Speaker 2: it's not clear whether or not dead Hand was fully 431 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:53,119 Speaker 2: operational in nineteen eighty three, but what we do know 432 00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:56,479 Speaker 2: is that the Soviet Union fully believed in fighting the 433 00:26:56,520 --> 00:27:01,080 Speaker 2: Cold War with technology, even when that technology was not 434 00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:02,159 Speaker 2: yet perfected. 435 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:05,199 Speaker 5: The system was rushed in. The Soviets brought it in 436 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:07,959 Speaker 5: very quickly. They saw it as an issue of major 437 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:11,639 Speaker 5: national emergency to install a system. 438 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:14,680 Speaker 2: This is Taylor Downing again. He's talking about OCO, which 439 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:18,000 Speaker 2: is another semi functional Soviet system, a network of satellites 440 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:21,879 Speaker 2: hovering above America's missile silos watching for a nuclear launch. 441 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:26,800 Speaker 2: The OCO technology wasn't yet perfected, still a little glitchy, 442 00:27:27,119 --> 00:27:29,760 Speaker 2: and in the days immediately after the Korean air tragedy, 443 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:32,920 Speaker 2: while the Soviets were still reeling and only months before 444 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:36,479 Speaker 2: able Archer, a glitch in the ecosystem would nudge the 445 00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:45,720 Speaker 2: Soviets a little closer to the brink. It's September twenty sixth, 446 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:50,080 Speaker 2: nineteen eighty three, Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov reported to work 447 00:27:50,119 --> 00:27:51,560 Speaker 2: at the OCO Control Center. 448 00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:57,800 Speaker 5: The control center where all of this information came in 449 00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:02,240 Speaker 5: and was interpreted was a place called Sepikov fifteen, which 450 00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:06,359 Speaker 5: was a top secret military site about eighty miles south 451 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:07,120 Speaker 5: of Moscow. 452 00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:11,000 Speaker 2: Petrov was an engineer. He knew computers, he knew satellites, 453 00:28:11,280 --> 00:28:12,480 Speaker 2: he knew communications. 454 00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:16,639 Speaker 5: In fact, he was the deputy chief of the Department 455 00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:19,200 Speaker 5: of Military Algorithms. 456 00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:22,440 Speaker 2: Col job title alert. Anyway, Petrov was at his post 457 00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:24,920 Speaker 2: with a dozen men under his command. His job was 458 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:27,959 Speaker 2: to monitor the seven Russian satellites as they orbited over 459 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:31,880 Speaker 2: American missile silos, scanning for a launch. If he saw one, 460 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:35,520 Speaker 2: Petrov would immediately alert Soviet leadership at the highest levels. 461 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,440 Speaker 2: They would have mere minutes to decide whether to launch 462 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:39,760 Speaker 2: a retaliatory strike. 463 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:42,720 Speaker 5: He is sitting in a gallery like looking down on 464 00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:45,080 Speaker 5: the main control room, and in front of him and 465 00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:47,760 Speaker 5: in front of everybody, is a giant screen with a 466 00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:50,800 Speaker 5: map on it. The North Pole is in the center 467 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:54,240 Speaker 5: of the map. The United States sort of spreads out 468 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:56,600 Speaker 5: to the top of the map, and the Soviet Union 469 00:28:56,760 --> 00:28:58,360 Speaker 5: spreads out across the bottom. 470 00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:01,200 Speaker 2: Kind of an unusual perspective. But this map was all 471 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:06,200 Speaker 2: about tracing intercontinental ballistic missiles and probably Santa too, but 472 00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:07,200 Speaker 2: that's top secret. 473 00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:09,880 Speaker 5: Paul is perfectly normal. Quiet. 474 00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:12,760 Speaker 2: Petrov even remembers that he made himself a cup of tea. 475 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:16,440 Speaker 2: His men were at their stations, and time ticked. 476 00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:20,080 Speaker 5: By until about quarter past twelve in the morning. Just 477 00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:27,440 Speaker 5: after midnight, a clason suddenly starts blaring and a signal, 478 00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:30,719 Speaker 5: A giant signaling red letters comes up on the screen 479 00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:33,720 Speaker 5: in front, which is the Russian word for launch, comes 480 00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:37,880 Speaker 5: up flashing launch Launch, Launch on screen. 481 00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:41,800 Speaker 2: It said High Reliability Satellite number five had detected the 482 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:47,360 Speaker 2: rocket flare of an American cruise missile. Petrov hesitated. All 483 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:49,800 Speaker 2: the heads in the room turned to face him. The 484 00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:51,920 Speaker 2: men under his command were waiting to see how he 485 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:56,080 Speaker 2: would respond. Petrov knew how the system was supposed to work. 486 00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:58,200 Speaker 2: If a nuclear missile had been fired from the United 487 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:03,280 Speaker 2: States in thirty short minutes, a nuclear blast would decimate Moscow. 488 00:30:03,720 --> 00:30:06,880 Speaker 2: Every single moment he hesitated was one moment less that 489 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:10,640 Speaker 2: Soviet leaders could sound the alarms, one moment less for 490 00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:12,800 Speaker 2: his own family to run to their bunkers. 491 00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:16,040 Speaker 5: He'd been part of the setting up of this system, 492 00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:18,400 Speaker 5: and we now know that he didn't have that much 493 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:20,800 Speaker 5: confidence in it. He knew it had been rushed, its 494 00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:24,560 Speaker 5: installation had been rushed. He knew that lots of corners 495 00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:26,880 Speaker 5: had been cut, that the glitches would be worked out 496 00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:28,040 Speaker 5: once it was operational. 497 00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:31,760 Speaker 2: Petrov orders his men to reset the system. 498 00:30:32,280 --> 00:30:35,000 Speaker 5: He gets on the phone to his command center and says, 499 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:36,440 Speaker 5: I believe I have a false alarm. 500 00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:42,240 Speaker 2: But then satellite five pinged again. He shut it off, 501 00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:50,400 Speaker 2: and then another he shut it off. He waited, and 502 00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:58,040 Speaker 2: then it happened again. The screen warned him launched detected. 503 00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:02,480 Speaker 5: Says that he felt his legs that sort of collapsed 504 00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:04,440 Speaker 5: underneath him. He said it was like sitting in a 505 00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:06,080 Speaker 5: in a frying pan. 506 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:12,400 Speaker 2: Stanislov had to decide was his instinct right or was 507 00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:18,480 Speaker 2: the system right. In interviews, Stanislov would later say that 508 00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:21,040 Speaker 2: he didn't know exactly why he made the call he did. 509 00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:23,800 Speaker 2: He just went with his gut and maintained it was 510 00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:24,800 Speaker 2: a false alarm. 511 00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:29,720 Speaker 5: A few minutes passes. He holds his position, and by 512 00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:33,880 Speaker 5: this point, had there been a launch attack other systems, 513 00:31:33,960 --> 00:31:38,200 Speaker 5: the Soviets had radar stations on the North Pole, other 514 00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:41,720 Speaker 5: systems would have picked up incoming missiles, and there's nothing there. 515 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:49,360 Speaker 2: Halujah, Hand to God. Even forty years after this all happened, 516 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:55,400 Speaker 2: I still almost wet myself just thinking about it. Eventually 517 00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:59,400 Speaker 2: the lights blinked out. Satellite number five had malfunctioned. It 518 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:02,640 Speaker 2: detected flashes of light. Yeah, but they weren't the trails 519 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:06,320 Speaker 2: of launch nuclear missiles. They were flashes of light that 520 00:32:06,480 --> 00:32:09,240 Speaker 2: came from the sun reflecting off a pillar of clouds. 521 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:13,960 Speaker 2: That's right. The Soviets built a system that almost blew 522 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:16,800 Speaker 2: all of us to Kingdom come because the dawn's early 523 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:24,280 Speaker 2: light got cozy with some cumulus clouds. Now. Had Petrov 524 00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:26,680 Speaker 2: done what he was supposed to do, he would have 525 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:28,920 Speaker 2: called up to a Soviet leader who very well could 526 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:33,280 Speaker 2: have given a launch order that was protocol. But instead 527 00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:37,480 Speaker 2: he was cool headed, rational. He saved the world by 528 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:38,680 Speaker 2: doing nothing at all. 529 00:32:39,280 --> 00:32:42,840 Speaker 5: We're very lucky that Petrov held his line. 530 00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:46,480 Speaker 2: The Soviets didn't see it that way. He was reprimanded 531 00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:50,120 Speaker 2: for failing to log the alarm and discharged from his position. 532 00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:52,520 Speaker 2: He spent the rest of his life in squalor and 533 00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:57,200 Speaker 2: poverty some reward. The truth is the Soviets weren't the 534 00:32:57,240 --> 00:33:00,520 Speaker 2: only ones who had these kinds of false alarms. Americans 535 00:33:00,560 --> 00:33:05,040 Speaker 2: did too. Both sides relied on faulty technology to navigate 536 00:33:05,080 --> 00:33:09,640 Speaker 2: the nuclear conundrum that is, mutually assured destruction. All I 537 00:33:09,680 --> 00:33:12,080 Speaker 2: know is that we're damn lucky the sun hit those 538 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:15,760 Speaker 2: clouds in September and not two months later, because two 539 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:21,160 Speaker 2: months later the Soviets would hit their breaking point. NATO 540 00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:25,520 Speaker 2: was staging a massive military exercise, concluding with a rehearsal 541 00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:33,120 Speaker 2: for nuclear war called Able Archer eighty three. Next time 542 00:33:33,160 --> 00:33:38,360 Speaker 2: on STAFU, the Soviets watch as NATO practices a nuclear war. 543 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:41,960 Speaker 2: It wasn't a question of would it happen, It was 544 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:44,239 Speaker 2: a question of when was it going to happen. We 545 00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:47,480 Speaker 2: were preparing to fight armageddon. We were training to fight 546 00:33:47,640 --> 00:33:50,640 Speaker 2: the end of the world. The Soviets put their spies 547 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:51,440 Speaker 2: on alert. 548 00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:55,120 Speaker 9: Saying Americans, so now in the middle of their exercise, 549 00:33:55,760 --> 00:33:58,280 Speaker 9: so be ready for ever received. 550 00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:01,520 Speaker 2: And the fate of the world hangs in the balance 551 00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:03,880 Speaker 2: and he had to report to him. 552 00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:07,920 Speaker 13: Hey, sir, there's some anomalies the Soviet forces seemed if 553 00:34:07,960 --> 00:34:11,160 Speaker 13: the air forces have gone on a heightened alert. 554 00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:17,960 Speaker 2: I knew it was a dermatic moment. Snafu is a 555 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:21,720 Speaker 2: production of iHeartRadio, Film, Nation Entertainment, and Pacific Electric Picture 556 00:34:21,760 --> 00:34:25,640 Speaker 2: Company in association with Gilded Audio. Our lead producers are 557 00:34:25,680 --> 00:34:29,360 Speaker 2: Sarah Joyner and Alyssa Martino. Our producer is Carl Nellis. 558 00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:33,880 Speaker 2: Associate producer Tory Smith. It's executive produced by me Ed Helms, 559 00:34:34,040 --> 00:34:38,920 Speaker 2: Milan Papelka, Mike Falbo, Andy Chug, and Whitney Donaldson. This 560 00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:41,480 Speaker 2: episode was written by Carl Nellis and Sarah Joyner, with 561 00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:45,040 Speaker 2: additional writing from Elliott Kalen and Whitney Donaldson. Our senior 562 00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:46,200 Speaker 2: editor is Jeffrey Lewis. 563 00:34:46,560 --> 00:34:48,280 Speaker 4: This is like a Wise. 564 00:34:48,640 --> 00:34:51,880 Speaker 2: Olivia Kenny is our production assistant. Our creative executive is 565 00:34:51,920 --> 00:34:54,879 Speaker 2: Brett Harris. Additional research and fact checking by Charles Richter, 566 00:34:55,200 --> 00:34:58,440 Speaker 2: Engineering and technical direction by Nick Dooley. Original music and 567 00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:02,520 Speaker 2: sound design by Dan rose Otto. Additional editing from Ben Chugg. 568 00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:06,600 Speaker 2: Some archival audio from this episode originally appeared in Taylor 569 00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:10,759 Speaker 2: Downing's Fantastic film nineteen eighty three, The Brink of Apocalypse. 570 00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:14,080 Speaker 2: Thank you, mister Downing for permission to use it. Special 571 00:35:14,120 --> 00:35:16,319 Speaker 2: thanks to Alison Cohen and Matt Aisenstadt.