E29 - 1983: The year of crises that almost ended the world

In September 1983, the Soviet missile launch detection system falsely reported an inbound US missile strike. The actions of Stanislav Petrov that day, who refused to report the launch as true, have often been described as having saved the world. This is the story of 1983. The year the world almost ended. Petrov’s actions in the Soviet missile control centre at Serpukhov-15 near Moscow, arguably prevented a nuclear war. But what’s often not talked about is why the Soviets were prepared to launch a missile strike of their own, based only on a warning for a single detection system. In r...