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Return of the Bomb

Will Self reflects on how President Putin's actions are creating what feels remarkably like a return to the heightened tensions of the Cold War.

Will Self tells the story of Vasily Arkhipov, the commander of a Soviet nuclear-armed submarine, who during the Cuban Missile Crisis refused to fire his vessel's nuclear weapon and averted, many believe, a Third World War.

In the light of President Putin's actions this week, Will argues that the threat of nuclear apocalypse has never really gone away, however much we've tried to convince ourselves otherwise.

Producer: Adele Armstrong
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Sound: Rod Farquhar
Editor: Hugh Levinson

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9 minutes

Last on

Sun 6 Mar 2022 08:48

Broadcasts

  • Fri 4 Mar 2022 20:50
  • Sun 6 Mar 2022 08:48

Podcast