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Cuban Missile Crisis: October 1962

The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 brought the world closer to nuclear war than at any other moment in history — and this podcast tells that story in gripping, authoritative detail. For thirteen terrifying days, President John F. Kennedy, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, and Cuban leader Fidel Castro stood at the edge of annihilation, making decisions that would determine the fate of millions. Cuban Missile Crisis: October 1962 takes listeners inside the secret deliberations, the brinkmanship, the miscalculations, and the extraordinary human drama that unfolded at the height of the Cold War. Drawing on declassified documents, historical archives, and the latest Cold War scholarship, each episode unpacks the key turning points, the key players, and the behind-the-scenes moments that history textbooks rarely capture. Whether you are a history enthusiast, a student of international relations, or simply someone who wants to understand how close civilization came to collapse — and how it survived — this podcast delivers depth, clarity, and storytelling that brings one of the twentieth century's most pivotal events vividly to life. Subscribe now and experience the thirteen days that changed the world.

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7 episodes · Verified by YesOui

Episodes

Latest episodes

6 Aug 2026 · 12 min

The Line in the Water: How the Crisis Almost Slipped Beyond Control

U-2 photographs, ExComm's secret debates, Khrushchev's two letters, and the intelligence gaps that nearly made nuclear war inevitable — this is the full story of how the Cuban Missile Crisis unfolded from the inside. Discover how many times the world almost came apart despite Kennedy and Khrushchev's best efforts.
5 Aug 2026 · 12 min

October 27: The Day the World Almost Ended

On the single most dangerous day of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a U-2 was shot down, a Soviet submarine nearly launched a nuclear torpedo, and a secret deal was being struck that no one would admit to for decades. This is the chapter where every thread of the crisis converged — and somehow didn't detonate.
4 Aug 2026 · 13 min

Incomplete Intelligence: What ExComm Didn't Know Could Have Ended the World

ExComm debated air strikes and invasion while working from a fatally incomplete picture — 140 Soviet nuclear warheads already inside Cuba, invisible to U-2 cameras. This chapter traces how the Cuban Missile Crisis unfolded from the first U-2 photographs to Khrushchev's two contradictory letters, and why the margin for catastrophe was far wider than anyone in that room understood.
3 Aug 2026 · 12 min

The U-2 Film, the Missing Warheads, and the Deal Nobody Told You About

In October 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis unfolded in secret while the world went about its business — and the U.S. didn't even know 140 nuclear warheads were already armed on the island. This episode traces the U-2 discovery, Kennedy's ExComm deliberations, the naval quarantine, and the secret Jupiter missile deal that ended the crisis but stayed hidden for decades.
2 Aug 2026 · 13 min

Vasily Arkhipov and the Torpedo That Wasn't Fired

On Black Saturday, a Soviet naval officer in a crippled submarine refused to launch a nuclear torpedo — and the world never knew. This episode traces the Cuban Missile Crisis from the U-2 photographs to the secret Jupiter deal that ended it.
1 Aug 2026 · 12 min

ExComm, the Quarantine, and the Secret Jupiter Deal

Kennedy convened a secret committee, ordered a naval quarantine, and made a hidden deal over Jupiter missiles in Turkey — all while the public had no idea how close the world was to nuclear war. This is the inside story of the decisions that defined the Cuban Missile Crisis.
31 Jul 2026 · 15 min

Thirteen Days From Annihilation: How the Crisis Unfolded

In October 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world to the edge of nuclear war — and most people still don't know how close it really got. This opening chapter sets the stage: the U-2 photographs, ExComm's secret deliberations, and the hidden architecture of a standoff that nearly ended civilisation.