June 13, 27 • July 11, 25 • August 8 (Cancelled)

There are few events in history of which it can be said that the U.S. almost didn’t survive. Nor are there any events in history where the stakes were so high. Both sides possessed the power to destroy the earth several times over. But recent scholarship on the subject has uncovered now declassi ed stories that present a picture more frightening than was thought. Yes, bombers crashed carrying thermonuclear bombs. Yes, at least one ICBM with a nine megaton thermonuclear warhead exploded in its silo on American soil. Yes, a theory is now circulating that most of the country’s nuclear weapons may not have worked at all. Demystify the technology behind the horrible weapons that have not had to be used, but cost trillions to develop and deploy. Finally, the course looks at the almost anticlimactic end and the possible unnerving results of that ending today, as Vladimir Putin attempts to rebuild the Soviet Empire.