The Man Who Saved The World

<p>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. </p><br><p>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. </p><br><p>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… </p><br><p>Further Reading:</p><p>• How Vasili Arkhipov Literally Saved The World From Nuclear War (All That’s Interesting, 2018): <a href="https://allthatsinteresting.com/vasili-arkhipov" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://allthatsinteresting.com/vasili-arkhipov</a></p><p>• ‘9 Times the World Was at the Brink of Nuclear War — and Pulled Back’ (Business Insider, 2018): <a href="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" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">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</a></p><p>• ‘Arkhipov family awarded Future of Life award’ (University of Cambridge, 2017): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziFzn8LN6l0%5C" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziFzn8LN6l0\</a></p><br><p><strong>‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ </strong>Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on <em>Today in History with the Retrospectors: </em>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:<a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> </a><a href="http://podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">podfollow.com/Retrospectors</a></p><br><p><strong>Love the show? Join  </strong>🌴<strong>CLUB RETROSPECTORS</strong>🌴<strong> to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!</strong></p><p>Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.</p><p><strong>Join now via </strong><a href="https://apple.co/3xCWWQX" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Apple Podcasts</strong></a><strong> or </strong><a href="https://patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Patreon</strong></a><strong>. </strong>Thanks!</p><br><p><em>The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.</em></p><p><em>Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.</em></p><p><em>Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.</em></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

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