India-Pakistan: On the Brink of Nuclear War
Warfare
History Hit
4.5 • 943 Ratings
🗓️ 22 August 2022
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In 1970, the deadliest storm in modern history ripped Pakistan in two, leading the world to the brink of nuclear war after American and Soviet forces converged in the Bay of Bengal.
Over the course of just a few hours, the Great Bhola Cyclone would kill 500,000 people and begin a chain reaction of turmoil, genocide, and war.
In this episode James is joined by Scott Carney and Jason Miklian, who take us deep into the story of the cyclone and its aftermath, told through the eyes of those who lived through it - including the infamous president of Pakistan, General Yahya Khan, and his close friend Richard Nixon.
Edited by Aidan Lonergan.
For more Warfare content, subscribe to our Warfare Wednesday newsletter here. If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android or Apple store.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hey Hotels.com here. |
| 0:03.0 | Struggling to keep up with your toddler? |
| 0:06.0 | We know a hotel that'll keep them entertained. |
| 0:09.0 | Book family-friendly hotels with pools in the Hotels |
| 0:12.0 | in the Hotels.com app to find your perfect somewhere. |
| 0:14.7 | Hello everyone welcome back to the warfare podcast I'm your host James Rogers and |
| 0:21.3 | I'm on the move today. I'm heading to |
| 0:23.0 | Greenland to the top of the world to research just how important this massive Arctic |
| 0:27.3 | island was during the Cold War and how important it remains for European and |
| 0:31.5 | North American security today. |
| 0:33.3 | So keep your ears and eyes open for a new podcast episode on Cold War Greenland coming soon. |
| 0:38.9 | But if you're interested in the Cold War, then this episode is an incredible eye-opener to that period of history. |
| 0:45.2 | You see, in November 1970, the deadliest storm in modern history set a collision course with East Pakistan, |
| 0:51.4 | specifically a region which is the most densely populated coastline on Earth. |
| 0:55.9 | Over the course of the next few hours, the Great Boler Cyclone would kill 500,000 people |
| 1:01.6 | and begin a chain reaction of turmoil, genocide, and war. |
| 1:05.8 | The war that followed between 1970-71 would draw India and Pakistan backed by the world's |
| 1:11.1 | superpowers into a tense standoff and the brink of nuclear war. |
| 1:16.4 | Not only this, it would lead to the formation of the state of Bangladesh. |
| 1:20.6 | To take us through this history, I'm joined by Scott Carney and Jason Miklion. |
| 1:24.0 | They're the authors of a new book, Vortex, which reveals this history and details how a |
| 1:28.6 | megastorm sparked revolution and bought the world one step closer to be here. thank you so |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from History Hit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of History Hit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.