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)