27 October (1962): The nuclear war that didn't start

On Saturday, 27 October 1962, the Cuban missile crisis reached its most dangerous hours. Over Cuba, a Soviet missile brought down an American U-2 spy plane and killed its pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson. In the Atlantic, US destroyers dropped small signalling depth charges on a Soviet submarine that had lost contact with Moscow, and its crew believed the war had already begun.

The submarine carried a torpedo with a nuclear warhead. This episode follows what happened on board, how one officer, Vasili Arkhipov, refused to approve its launch, and how Kennedy and Khrushchev found a way back from the edge that same night.

About 12 minutes, two hosts, for listeners new to the story. Made with Podcastery.