Episode 2: Lifting Leviathan

The Cold War Bunker: Project Azorian

In the heart of the Pacific Ocean, a covert CIA operation begins its most dangerous phase: the physical recovery of a sunken Soviet nuclear submarine, K-129. What unfolds is part triumph, part tragedy—and entirely unprecedented.

In this gripping second episode, we follow the Hughes Glomar Explorer as it descends into darkness with a steel claw the size of a small building. As the CIA’s billion-dollar gamble teeters on the brink, we uncover what was salvaged, what was lost, and the haunting human cost hidden inside the wreckage.

From high-tech engineering to a solemn burial at sea, from top-secret analysis to the birth of a legendary phrase—“We can neither confirm nor deny”—this chapter captures the tension, fallout, and humanity behind the most audacious intelligence mission of the Cold War.

Listen now to witness the moment America tried to pull secrets from the deep—and came face to face with its consequences.