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The John Batchelor Show

HEADLINE: President John F. Kennedy Learns of Soviet Missiles in Cuba GUEST NAME: Professor Serhii Plokhy BOOK TITLE: Nuclear Folly TOPIC: Accidental War Warning SUMMARY: On October 16, 1962, McGeorge Bundy informed President John F. Kennedy that Soviet n

The John Batchelor Show

John Batchelor

Books, Arts, News, Society & Culture

4.52.8K Ratings

🗓️ 22 September 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

HEADLINE: President John F. Kennedy Learns of Soviet Missiles in Cuba GUEST NAME: Professor Serhii PlokhyBOOK TITLE: Nuclear Folly TOPIC: Accidental War Warning SUMMARY: On October 16, 1962, McGeorge Bundy informed President John F. Kennedy that Soviet nuclear-armed ballistic missiles had been spotted in Cuba. Kennedy was immediately upset, viewing Nikita Khrushchev as an "immoral gangster." Initial options included an air strike (Kennedy's preferred hawk stance) or a quarantine/blockade. John McCone of the CIA was notably absent, being on his honeymoon.
1963

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:32.0

The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962, it is a vast window on the Cold War and on the misunderstandings,

0:37.3

misstatements, mistakes that were made by the leaders of several nations, most notably the Soviet Union and the United States.

0:40.5

And it's a great pleasure to welcome Serhi Plokhi, a professor at Harvard University and the author of the new book,

0:48.5

Nuclear Folly, a history of the Cuban Missile Crisis. We begin with the drama of dramas.

0:55.7

It is October 16, 1962, approximately 8 a.m. at the White House.

1:01.0

McGeorge Bundy, former Harvard Dean, now the National Security Advisor, enters President John F. Kennedy's bedroom.

1:09.0

Mr. Kennedy, I learned from Professor Plokie,

1:13.0

enjoys reading the Sunday papers before he gets out of bed. Mr. Bundy has very bad information

1:20.5

for the president that upsets him. Professor, a very good evening to you. Thank you for this.

1:25.9

What does McGeorge Bundy tell President Kennedy that morning? Good evening to you. Thank you for this. What does McGeorge Bundy tell President Kennedy that morning? Good evening to you.

1:31.3

Good evening, John. And thanks for having me on your show. It's a real pleasure.

1:37.3

Well, Bundy is bringing the news that are not in the newspapers. And again, we are in a very different place

1:46.1

compared to our today's world. It's 1962. The news are not spread with the help of Twitter

1:53.6

and of Facebook. So the news are at least 24 hour old.

2:01.4

And what Bundy brings, he brings the news that are not in the newspapers,

...

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