In this episode, we maxed out our conference call lines while debating the 1964 drama-thriller movie, Fail-Safe. What happens when you can't recall your own nuclear bombers en route to Moscow? How many air planes can you knock out of the sky with a nuclear bomb? How do you convince your enemy that accidents -- even nuclear ones -- do happen? The podcast hosts and special guest/TCM guru Victoria answer these questions and more.
Before our podcast's phone line melted in a fireball, we recommended reading L. Douglas Keeney, 15 Minutes: General Curtis Lemay and the Countdown to Nuclear Annihilation (St. Martin's Griffin, 2012) and two articles at the National Security Archive (see links below).
Other sources to check out include -- you can also access these links on our SoundCloud page:
-William Burr, "The Air Force versus Hollywood," National Security Archive, January 15, 2010, http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb304/index.htm
-Christopher Bright, "Cold War Air Defense Relied on Widespread Dispersal of Nuclear Weapons, Documents Show," National Security Archive, November 16, 2010, http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb332/
-Photos of SAC HQ, http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nukevault/gallery/image04.htm, http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nukevault/gallery/image03.htm, http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nukevault/gallery/image02.htm
-Steve Weintz, "Dreaming of Genie, America's Anti-Aircraft Nuke," War is Boring, March 2, 2014, https://warisboring.com/dreaming-of-genie-americas-anti-aircraft-nuke-df20fe88facd#.clto29h6f
-Bob Raichle, Alaska's Cold War Nuclear Shield," Nike Historical Society, 2012, http://nikemissile.org/ColdWar/AlaskaColdWar/alaska_cold_war.shtml
-Richard Oulahan, "Doomsday is Better as a Farce," LIFE, October 30, 1964, https://books.google.com/books?id=o0gEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA12&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=2#v=onepage&q&f=true
-Ari Schulman, "Doomsday Machines: Fail-Safe was Flop, but Much Smarter about Nuclear War than Dr. Strangelove," Slate, October 7, 2014, http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2014/10/fail_safe_50th_anniversary_sidney_lumet_s_nuclear_war_movie_is_better_than.html
-Sharon Ghamari, Review of Technical Accuracy in Fail-Safe, Strategy Page, https://www.strategypage.com/moviereviews/default.asp?target=Fail%20Safe
-"Revisiting Fail-Safe," Fail-Safe Special Edition DVD, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZdz2HXCgig
-B-58 Hustler, Federation of American Scientists, May 29, 1997, http://fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/bomber/b-58.htm
-Wm. Robert Johnston, MULTIMEGATON WEAPONS: The Largest Nuclear Weapons, April 6, 2009, http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/nuclear/multimeg.html#U1
-Stiletto, Transformers Wiki, http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Stiletto_(BW)
We aim to have at least one new episode every month. Let us know what you think about the podcast and any ideas you may have about future episodes and guests by reaching out at on Twitter @NuclearPodcast, GooglePlay, SoundCloud, Facebook, SuperCriticalPodcast@gmail.com, or YouTube.
Enjoy!
