Even the best laid plans can go catastrophically wrong when humans get involved. This week, people bungle simple operations on some of the most dangerous weapons in the world.
ACT 1
In 1980, deep in a nuclear missile silo in Arkansas, a simple human error nearly caused the destruction of a giant portion of the Midwest. Joe Richman, founder of Radio Diaries tells the story.
Eric Molinsky helped report this story. Thanks to Eric Schlosser who was a huge help to us and whose book Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety covers this accident and others like it. (35 minutes)
Read more and listen to the program at 634: Human Error in Volatile Situations
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