Beneath the quiet farmlands of Arkansas, a single dropped tool set off a chain of events that could have changed history forever. In this episode, Shea and Jody take you deep underground into the Titan II missile program &mdash; the Cold War&rsquo;s most volatile secret. What happens when human error meets doomsday weapons? And how close did we really come to nuclear apocalypse in 1980?
Strap in. This rabbit hole goes from darkly funny to downright terrifying.
👉 Full story, blog posts, and more episodes at: <a class="decorated-link cursor-pointer" href="https://www.rainydayrabbitholes.com" data-start="828" data-end="893">www.rainydayrabbitholes.com</a> 🙏 Special thanks to Letha Davis for marketing and website design: <a class="decorated-link" href="http://www.lethadavis.com" target="_new" rel="noopener" data-start="967" data-end="1014">www.lethadavis.com</a>
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<h2 data-start="1023" data-end="1046">⏱ Episode Chapters</h2>
00:00 &ndash; Welcome to Rainy Day Rabbit Holes 04:15 &ndash; Stepping into a Titan II missile silo 09:40 &ndash; The Cold War and Mutually Assured Destruction 15:50 &ndash; America&rsquo;s 103-foot &ldquo;doomsday stick&rdquo; 21:30 &ndash; Accidents in Kansas and Arkansas silos 28:00 &ndash; The Damascus Incident begins 36:20 &ndash; A socket wrench drops&hellip; and disaster unfolds 45:10 &ndash; Explosion in the silo 54:00 &ndash; The end of the Titan II program 01:00:15 &ndash; Women&rsquo;s peace movements take a stand 01:08:30 &ndash; Why remembering this near-apocalypse matters today 01:15:00 &ndash; Closing thoughts (and a little levity)
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<h2 data-start="1630" data-end="1651">🔗 Related Links</h2>
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<li data-start="1653" data-end="1731">
<a class="decorated-link cursor-pointer" href="https://titanmissilemuseum.org/" data-start="1655" data-end="1729">Titan II Missile Museum &ndash; Official Site</a>
</li>
<li data-start="1732" data-end="1843">
<a class="decorated-link" href="https://youtu.be/YPJDZlL17s4?feature=shared" data-start="1734" data-end="1841">PBS American Experience: &ldquo;Command and Control&rdquo; (Documentary)</a>
</li>
<li data-start="1943" data-end="2108">
<a class="decorated-link cursor-pointer" href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/303337/command-and-control-by-eric-schlosser/" data-start="1945" data-end="2106">&ldquo;Command and Control&rdquo; by Eric Schlosser (book on the Damascus accident)</a>
</li>
<li data-start="2109" data-end="2175">
<a class="decorated-link cursor-pointer" href="https://blog.ucs.org/david-wright/60-minutes-nuclear-accident-504/" data-start="2111" data-end="2173">Cold War Nuclear History Blog</a>
</li>
<li data-start="2176" data-end="2291">
<a class="decorated-link cursor-pointer" href="https://www.archives.gov/research/foreign-policy/cold-war" data-start="2178" data-end="2289">U.S. National Archives &ndash; Cold War Nuclear Strategy</a>
</li>
<li data-start="2292" data-end="2393">
<a class="decorated-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO-CE6SW7eo" data-start="2294" data-end="2391">YouTube: Footage of Titan II Missile Test Launches</a>
</li>
</ul>

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