Episode 2: The Photographs

The crisis begins.
When U.S. reconnaissance flights over Cuba capture shocking images of Soviet missile installations, the world shifts overnight. In Episode 2: The Photographs, we walk hour by hour through the frantic intelligence scramble, the internal debates of Kennedy’s war council, and the sobering realization that the Soviet Union has brought the nuclear threat to America’s doorstep.

Inside the White House, President Kennedy wrestles with impossible choices: launch a military strike that could ignite World War III—or risk allowing the missiles to become operational.
Across the ocean, Nikita Khrushchev plays a dangerous game of brinkmanship, confident that his gamble remains hidden.

From the clandestine U-2 flights to Kennedy’s televised address that shocked the world, this episode captures the moment the Cold War teetered on the edge.

The missiles are in place. The decisions cannot wait.
The clock is now ticking.

Thirteen Days: The Cuban Missile Crisis in Full is an in-depth, longform podcast that walks you hour by hour through the most dangerous standoff in human history.

Across six immersive episodes we explore not just the crisis itself, but the decades of political tension, ideological rivalry, and human miscalculation that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.

This is not a surface-level retelling. There are no dramatizations, no reenactments—only the real history, fully detailed, with original sources, key player profiles, and careful analysis that pulls you inside the rooms where decisions were made.

From the aftermath of World War II to the rise of Fidel Castro, from secret U-2 flights to the tense meetings of Kennedy’s ExComm, from backchannel diplomacy to the final resolution—this is the Cuban Missile Crisis as you’ve never heard it before.

Because sometimes, understanding how the world almost ended… is the only way to understand how it survived.

Episode 1: A World Divided

Before the world held its breath during the thirteen fateful days of October 1962, a much longer story had already been unfolding. In Episode 1: A World Divided, we journey into the origins of the Cuban Missile Crisis—decades before the U-2 photographs, the quarantines, and the brink of nuclear war.

We explore the fractured alliances at the end of World War II, the birth of the Cold War, and the global chessboard that emerged from the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. We trace the rise of Fidel Castro, the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion, and the dangerous miscalculations of John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev.

This episode provides the critical context: the ideological battles, the proxy wars, the personal ambitions, and the diplomatic failures that shaped the most dangerous confrontation in human history. It’s the story of how the world became divided—and how that division set the stage for the most perilous standoff of the 20th century.

Episode 3: The Fallout

After a billion-dollar operation to raise a sunken Soviet submarine in complete secrecy, what came next was a battle for silence—and eventually, the truth. In Episode 3 of our Project Azorian series, “The Fallout,” we examine the aftermath of one of the most audacious covert operations in American history.

How did the CIA handle the media leaks? What happened when journalists, lawmakers, and the families of lost Soviet sailors demanded answers? And how did six simple words—“We can neither confirm nor deny”—become a cornerstone of U.S. secrecy law?

This episode traces the ripple effects of Azorian through legal doctrine, ethics, declassified footage, and Cold War diplomacy. Featuring archival audio, expert interviews, and a haunting burial at sea, “The Fallout” asks what secrecy costs—and who ultimately pays the price.

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.

Project Azorian: The Sunken Secret | Episode 1 – The Cold War Bunker

In 1968, a Soviet nuclear submarine vanished in the Pacific Ocean. What followed was one of the most audacious and secretive missions in CIA history: Project Azorian. This is the story of how the U.S. government built a billion-dollar ship, created a fake mining company, and tried to steal a sunken enemy submarine from 3 miles beneath the sea—all under the nose of the Soviets.

 In Episode 1:

• The mysterious disappearance of K-129

• The Cold War stakes that led to a top-secret salvage mission

• Howard Hughes, billionaire cover stories, and oceanic espionage

• The engineering marvel of the Hughes Glomar Explorer

• And the origin of the famous phrase: “We can neither confirm nor deny…”

Listen in for deep-sea drama, spycraft, and the first steps of a mission that redefined secrecy and shaped Cold War history.

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#ProjectAzorian #ColdWar #CIA #Submarine #Espionage #ColdWarBunker #HistoryPodcast #GlomarExplorer

In this episode we climb to 70,000 feet and dive into one of the most dramatic - and embarrassing - spy missions of the entire Cold War... The story of the 1960 U-2 incident

Welcome to Episode 3 of the Cold War Bunker.

Welcome to Episode 2 of the Cold War Bunker. Part 2 of our feature on The Doomsday Clock. This video takes a look at the Pop Culture & Societal impacts on the clock since its inception in 1947.

Welcome to Episode 1 of the Cold War Bunker. Part 1 of our feature on The Doomsday Clock. This video takes a look at the Political and Governmental impacts on the clock since it's inception in 1947.