1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,680 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio, 2 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:09,880 Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: show the de Code's history one Day at a Time. 4 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:18,919 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Lusier, and in this episode we're talking about 5 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:23,840 Speaker 1: the legendary Red Phone, a special communications system designed to 6 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:28,120 Speaker 1: keep two nuclear superpowers from accidentally blowing up the planet. 7 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:38,240 Speaker 1: The day was August thirtieth, nineteen sixty three. The first 8 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:42,960 Speaker 1: message was transmitted on the Moscow to Washington hotline. The 9 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:47,239 Speaker 1: communication system was installed to alleviate tensions and reduce the 10 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:51,400 Speaker 1: risk of an accidental nuclear war by establishing a direct 11 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: line between the leaders of the United States and the 12 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:58,680 Speaker 1: Soviet Union. The Soviets had first proposed such a measure 13 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 1: back in the mid nineteen fifties, but it wouldn't be 14 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:04,840 Speaker 1: put into action until after the Cuban Missile Crisis of 15 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:07,760 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty two, which had brought the nations to the 16 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:12,280 Speaker 1: brink of nuclear war. The crisis began when the American 17 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:16,319 Speaker 1: government learned that the Soviets had secretly planted nuclear capable 18 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: missiles on the island of Cuba, just ninety miles off 19 00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: the US coast. What followed was a tense thirteen day 20 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:29,280 Speaker 1: standoff between President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. 21 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 1: The crisis was made far worse by the slow and 22 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:38,200 Speaker 1: cumbersome communication systems through which diplomatic messages were conveyed between 23 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: the nations. The encrypted messages had to be sent by 24 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:45,759 Speaker 1: telegraph or radio transmission and often took as long as 25 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 1: six hours to reach their destination, and that's not even 26 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:54,280 Speaker 1: counting the time that operators spent decrypting and translating the messages, 27 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:57,520 Speaker 1: which were always dispatched in the language of the sender. 28 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: For example, it took more than more than twelve hours 29 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 1: to process Khrushchev's three thousand word opening message to JFK, 30 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,440 Speaker 1: and by the time it was finished, a second, angrier 31 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:15,360 Speaker 1: message had already arrived. Despite those strained exchanges, Kennedy and 32 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:19,360 Speaker 1: Khrushev managed to resolve the crisis peacefully, and in the 33 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: aftermath both sides agreed that a new method of communication 34 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:28,080 Speaker 1: was needed to prevent future confrontations. Being able to just 35 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:30,600 Speaker 1: pick up the phone would have been ideal, but the 36 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:34,919 Speaker 1: technology of the era wouldn't allow for it. Transatlantic phone 37 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:37,800 Speaker 1: calls were thought to be too unreliable and prone to 38 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:42,080 Speaker 1: interception to be counted on in emergency situations, not to 39 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:45,200 Speaker 1: mention that other parties would have to translate for the 40 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:49,520 Speaker 1: leaders in real time, increasing the odds of misunderstandings and 41 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:54,120 Speaker 1: heated displays of emotion. Instead, the countries looked for ways 42 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:58,480 Speaker 1: to speed up written communication rather than verbal. It took 43 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: about nine months for the two sides to hammer out 44 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:05,040 Speaker 1: the details, but finally, on June twentieth, nineteen sixty three, 45 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 1: they signed a formal agreement regarding the establishment of a 46 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 1: direct communications link, or hotline. The agreement stipulated that each 47 00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: side would provide the other with a special teletype machine 48 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 1: through which written messages could be sent directly to official translators. 49 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:27,040 Speaker 1: In addition to the main terminals, the nations also exchanged 50 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:31,079 Speaker 1: a year's supply of tape, ink and replacement parts, as 51 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 1: well as an encryption machine to ensure the secrecy of 52 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 1: all communication and to avoid any accusations of tampering. The 53 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 1: encryption equipment was sourced from Norway, a neutral third party. 54 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:46,400 Speaker 1: It took a couple months to get the system up 55 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: and running, but on August thirtieth, nineteen sixty three, the 56 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 1: Moscow Washington hotline finally went live. The first message sent 57 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: that day came from the United States, and it read 58 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 1: as follows, quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog's 59 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: back one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight nine zero. 60 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:13,600 Speaker 1: The operators wanted to test that every key was working properly, 61 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:16,560 Speaker 1: so they chose a phrase that contained all the letters 62 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:22,280 Speaker 1: of the alphabet and every Arabic numeral, plus an apostrophe. 63 00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:26,919 Speaker 1: The Soviet response was more poetic than practical, consisting of 64 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:31,920 Speaker 1: a long description of a beautiful sunset in Moscow. Apart 65 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 1: from test messages, the system was to be used only 66 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:38,800 Speaker 1: for emergencies, and so wasn't given a permanent place in 67 00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:43,160 Speaker 1: the Oval Office. Instead, the US hotline was installed at 68 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:47,680 Speaker 1: the National Military Commands Center at the Pentagon. Anytime the 69 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 1: President wished to send a message, they would first relay 70 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 1: it to the Pentagon over the phone. Next, the message 71 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:57,600 Speaker 1: would be immediately entered into the teletype machine at the Pentagon, 72 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:01,680 Speaker 1: and finally it would be encrypted, fed into a transmitter, 73 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:04,480 Speaker 1: and then printed out on the corresponding machine in the 74 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:09,040 Speaker 1: Kremlin just a few minutes later. Although not quite as 75 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:12,840 Speaker 1: snappy as text messages or email, the technology was a 76 00:05:12,839 --> 00:05:16,800 Speaker 1: major step forward for its time. And made international communication 77 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:21,920 Speaker 1: easier and faster than ever before. The first US president 78 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 1: to send a message via the hot line was actually 79 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 1: Kennedy's successor, Lyndon B. Johnson. During the nineteen sixty seven 80 00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:34,279 Speaker 1: Six Day War between Israel and Egypt, Johnson notified Soviet 81 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:39,039 Speaker 1: Premier Alexei Koseigan that he was considering sending US troops 82 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:42,640 Speaker 1: into the region. The hot line has been upgraded a 83 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:46,320 Speaker 1: great deal since then. In nineteen seventy one, a phone 84 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:49,640 Speaker 1: line was added, as well as a satellite communication line 85 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:54,159 Speaker 1: to complement the main telegraph line. Then in nineteen seventy eight, 86 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 1: a second terminal was installed at the White House, along 87 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:00,520 Speaker 1: with a third at a military command center not far 88 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:04,160 Speaker 1: from Camp David. In the nineteen eighties, the hot line 89 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:07,880 Speaker 1: was updated to send messages by facts rather than teletype, 90 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 1: and since two thousand and eight, messages have been transmitted 91 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:15,799 Speaker 1: by computer. There's a widespread myth that the hot line 92 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:19,200 Speaker 1: was actually just a red telephone which the President could 93 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:22,600 Speaker 1: pick up any time and be immediately connected to the Kremlin. 94 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:26,599 Speaker 1: But while the system was sometimes referred to as the 95 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:30,159 Speaker 1: Red Phone, it was after all used to communicate with 96 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 1: the Reds. The original hotline didn't involve a phone at all. 97 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 1: The confusion mostly stems from high profile films and TV 98 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:42,560 Speaker 1: shows of the nineteen sixties and seventies, in which a 99 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 1: high stakes hotline system was depicted as a simple telephone, 100 00:06:46,839 --> 00:06:51,120 Speaker 1: usually a red one. Popular examples of this post crisis 101 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:56,120 Speaker 1: trope include movies like Failsafe, James Bond, and Doctor Strangelove, 102 00:06:56,440 --> 00:06:59,719 Speaker 1: as well as the live action Batman TV series starring 103 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:05,880 Speaker 1: at Although to be fair, red telephones have been used 104 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:10,160 Speaker 1: in real politically important discussions, they just weren't a part 105 00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:15,000 Speaker 1: of the Moscow Washington hotline. More than sixty years later, 106 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:19,160 Speaker 1: the channel between the US and Russia remains open, and 107 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 1: while it hasn't seen much official action since the end 108 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 1: of the Cold War, the hotline is still staffed around 109 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:29,880 Speaker 1: the clock and tested hourly to ensure its functionality. Every 110 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:33,640 Speaker 1: even hour, the Pentagon sends a message, and every odd 111 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:38,280 Speaker 1: hour Moscow sends a response. There is no formal script 112 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:41,120 Speaker 1: for the operators to follow, but since the message has 113 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 1: to say something, they like to send things that are 114 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:49,120 Speaker 1: fun or challenging to translate. Sometimes they'll exchange literary excerpts, 115 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:52,800 Speaker 1: with the Americans sending Mark Twain and the Russians responding 116 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 1: with Dostoyevsky. Other times they'll trade encyclopedia entries or magazine articles. 117 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:03,239 Speaker 1: On truly special occasions, they've even been known to swap 118 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:14,080 Speaker 1: recipes for chili ah the Wonders of Diplomacy. I'm Gabe Bluesyay, 119 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:17,480 Speaker 1: and hopefully you now know a little more about history 120 00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. If you'd like to keep 121 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:24,000 Speaker 1: up with the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, 122 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:28,280 Speaker 1: and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and if you have 123 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:31,240 Speaker 1: any comments or suggestions, feel free to send them my 124 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:36,079 Speaker 1: way by writing to This Day at iHeartMedia dot com. 125 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:39,199 Speaker 1: Thanks to Kasby Bias for producing the show, and thanks 126 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:41,560 Speaker 1: to you for listening. I'll see you back here again 127 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:54,199 Speaker 1: tomorrow for another day in History class.