In this episode, we took a break from studying our nuclear attack plans binder to watch an episode from the TV show Madam Secretary called Night Watch (Season 4, Episode 22). What happens when the President gets the call that nuclear missiles are incoming to the United States? What systems are in place to prevent mistakes and accidents from signaling false reports? Why don’t they rename the Presidential Emergency Satchel to the Nuclear Skeeball? Tim Westmyer and special guest Jamie Withorne (@JamieWithorne) answer these questions and more.
Before we receive our text message notifying us about our all expenses paid trip to Mount Weather, we recommend checking out:
- Women of Mass Destruction at https://www.womenofmassdestruction.org/
- Fail-Safe (1964), Ladybug Ladybug (1963), WarGames (1983)
- Matt Stevens and Christopher Mele, “Causes of False Missile Alerts: The Sun, the Moon, and a 46-cent Chip,” New York Times, January 13, 2018
- Terry L. Deibel, “The Death of a Treaty,” Foreign Affairs 81 no. 5, September/October 2002
- The Man Who Saved the World (2018)
Super Critical Podcast 