Cuban Missile Crisis
How close was the world to ending over hidden missiles?
4.7 (39)
47 mins
Explore the intense thirteen days of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the world came to the brink of nuclear war. Discover how secret back-channel diplomacy, quiet compromises, and sheer restraint by leaders like Kennedy and Khrushchev averted disaster.
Ep 1:
Thirteen Days to Armageddon
When U-2 spy planes uncover Soviet missiles in Cuba, Kennedy faces an impossible choice—while Khrushchev's desperate gamble to counter American encirclement sets the world on a collision course.
Ep 2:
Blockade at the Brink
As Kennedy announces a naval quarantine and Khrushchev defies it, secret back-channel talks between Robert Kennedy and Dobrynin quietly race to avert catastrophe before the missiles fly.
Ep 3:
Black Saturday's Hidden Countdown
On Black Saturday, Castro urges a preemptive strike as armed warheads sit ready in Cuba—while hidden intelligence failures reveal just how close humanity came to nuclear war.
Ep 4:
From Rivals to Reluctant Allies
In the crisis's aftermath, former adversaries Kennedy and Khrushchev forge an unlikely bond, reshaping Cold War diplomacy and paying steep political prices for peace.
Ep 5:
Lessons from the Nuclear Edge
Sixty years later, the Cuban Missile Crisis still teaches sobering lessons about miscommunication, courage, and the fragile line between deterrence and annihilation.
Discussions (12)
York
Level 5 · 9 mo agoDude really told her she looks like Jane Fonda.
Stewart
Level 8 · 9 mo agoJFK just got lucky really
Luna
Level 6 · 9 mo agoJFK gave up way too much
