The Man Who Saved The World
Rerun. Soviet naval officer Vasili Arkhipov may not have the name recognition of Castro, Kruschev and Kennedy - but his actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis on 27th October, 1962 almost certainly prevented World War Three from erupting. On-board a sweltering Russian submarine, he talked Captain valentyn Savitsky down from firing a nuclear torpedo at the United States Navy, whom, Savitsky falsely believed, were attacking his boat. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly speculate about what Arkhipov said to Savitsky to stop him from firing his ‘special weapon’; explain why his heroic story stayed untold until the ‘90s; and reveal where Jimmy Carter kept his nuclear codes… Further Reading: • How Vasili Arkhipov Literally Saved The World From Nuclear War (All That’s Interesting, 2018): https://allthatsinteresting.com/vasili-arkhipov • ‘9 Times the World Was at the Brink of Nuclear War — and Pulled Back’ (Business Insider, 2018): https://www.businessinsider.com/when-nuclear-war-almost-happened-2018-4?r=US&IR=T#:~:text=The%20Cuban%20Missile%20Crisis%20is%20perhaps%20the%20closest,DEFCON%203%2C%20two%20steps%20away%20from%20nuclear%20war • ‘Arkhipov family awarded Future of Life award’ (University of Cambridge, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziFzn8LN6l0\ ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices