| No.
|
Title
|
Air date
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Description
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Topics
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| 1
|
"Dawn"
|
January 23, 1989
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Scientists worldwide race to create nuclear weapons and be the first to use them in World War II.
|
Fascism,World War II,The Manhattan Project,The Blitz,Strategic bombing,Victory in Europe Day,Victory over Japan Day,Trinity (nuclear test),Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
|
| 2
|
"The Weapon of Choice"
|
January 30, 1989
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The United States and the Soviet Union, once allies, become Cold War adversaries.
|
Soviet atomic bomb project,Operation Crossroads,Greek Civil War,Marshall Plan,Operation Sandstone,1948 Czechoslovak coup d'etat,Berlin Blockade,RDS-1,Thermonuclear weapon,Julius and Ethen Rosenberg,McCarthyism,Klaus Fuchs,Chinese Communist Revolution,Korean War
|
| 3
|
A Bigger Bang for the Buck
|
February 6, 1989
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In the 1950s the United States begins to rely heavily on nuclear weapons for defense after the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik sparks fears of a "missile gap."
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Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower,Tactical nuclear weapon,Massive retaliation,Lockheed U-2,Sputnik 1,Ballistic missile,1960 U-2 Incident
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| 4
|
Europe Goes Nuclear
|
February 13, 1989
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France and England race to acquire nuclear weapons during the 1950s and 1960s; NATO worries about defending Europe from the threat from the East.
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Atomic Energy Act of 1946,Atomic Energy Research Establishment,Operation Hurricane,French Indochina,Suez Crisis,Operation Grapple,Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament,May 1958 crisis in France,Gerboise Bleue,Canopus,Warsaw Pact,Hungarian Revolution of 1956
|
| 5
|
At the Brink
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February 20, 1989
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During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, America and the Soviet Union are each close to initiating nuclear war.
|
Cuban Missile Crisis,Cuba/Soviet Union Relations,Bay of Pigs Invasion,Berlin Wall,Tsar Bomba
|
| 6
|
The Education of Robert McNamara
|
February 27, 1989
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Robert S. McNamara confronts the spectre of nuclear war during his tenure as Secretary of Defense (1961-1968).
|
Strategic Rocket Forces,SM-62 Snark,SM-65 Atlas,North American XB-70 Valkyrie,Convair B-58 Hustler,LGM-30 Minuteman,Berlin Blockade,Flexible response,Counterforce,Nuclear triad,Assassination of John F. Kennedy,Nike Zeus,Nike-X,LIM-49 Spartan,Sprint,Anti-ballistic missile,41 for Freedom,Yankee-class submarine
|
| 7
|
One Step Forward
|
March 6, 1989
|
As the U.S. and Soviet nuclear arsenals reach a rough parity, SALT I, the first arms control agreement, is negotiated.
|
Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex,Strategic Arms Limitation Talks,Detente,Vietnam War,Linkage,Anti-ballistic missile,Safeguard program,MIRV,1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China
|
| 8
|
The Haves and the Have Nots
|
March 13, 1989
|
A case study of the dynamics of nuclear proliferation -- China, India and Pakistan race to acquire atomic weapons.
|
Nuclear weapons and Israel,Operation Opera,Nuclear proliferation,Atoms for Peace,India and weapons of mass destruction,International Atomic Energy Agency,China and weapons of mass destruction,Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty,Sino-Indian War,Indo-Pakistani War of 1971,1973 Oil Crisis,Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978,Soviet-Afghan War
|
| 9
|
Carter's New World
|
March 20, 1989
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Jimmy Carter's goals for his presidency include the reduction of nuclear weapons and improving America's relations with the Soviet Union.
|
Rockwell B-1 Lancer,Strategic Arms Limitation Talks,R-36 missile,First Strike (1979 film),LGM-118 Peacekeeper,Ogaden War,Visit by Den Xiaoping to the United States,Iran hostage crisis,Soviet-Afghan War
|
| 10
|
Zero Hour
|
March 27, 1989
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Soviet leader Gorbachev accepts President Reagan's proposal for both sides to dismantle certain missiles.
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MGM-31 Pershing,RSD-10 Pioneer,Neutron bomb,NATO Double-Track Decision,Cruise missile,Protect and Survive,Anti-nuclear protests,Strategic Defense Initiative,Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
|
| 11
|
Missile Experimental
|
April 3, 1989
|
Supporters and critics of the MX missile discuss its role and how it could best be used.
|
LGM-118 Peacekeeper,SM-65 Atlas,LGM-30 Minuteman,Launch on Warning,Peacekeeper Rail Garrison,Air-launched ballistic missile,Strategic Arms Limitation Talks,Dense Pack,Nuclear Triad,MGM-134 Midgetman
|
| 12
|
Reagan's Shield
|
April 10, 1989
|
President Reagan supports the Strategic Defense Initiative as a means of eliminating the threat of nuclear attack.
|
Strategic Defense Initiative,Railgun,Nuclear Freeze Campaign,Safeguard Program,Korean Air Lines Flight 007,Moscow Summit (1988),Airborne Laser,Evil Empire Speech
|
| 13
|
Visions of War & Peace
|
April 17, 1989
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Nations face the challenge of resolving disputes without nuclear weapons or physical force.
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Early-warning radar,Glasnost,Mikhail Gorbachev,First Strike (nuclear strategy),Nuclear proliferation
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