Out of Control

What happens when a nuclear weapon detonates?

Stanislav Petrov: The Man Who Saved the World

On this day in 1983, a Soviet officer named Stanislav Petrov saved the world from nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. There's a video about him on Vimeo, produced by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and an article on BBC News that provides further information. 

Most people alive today owe their lives to Officer Petrov's decision that day. 

Countdown to Zero

A thorough and chilling documentary from 2010, called Countdown to Zero, on the risk of nuclear war from intentional and unintentional causes. 

Noam Chomsky on the Nuclear Era

An essay by Noam Chomsky on nuclear weapons and the nuclear era.

I perceive this essay as one-sided, in a tritely partisan way that undermines the gravity of the topic--all the malefactors being human, surely there's enough irresponsibility to be apportioned to everyone? 

Others may not think so. Nonetheless, it's an important read.