Kennedy and Khrushchev: 9. Black Saturday

The Bomb

BBC

History

4.4 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 26 January 2026

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Soviet anti-aircraft fire takes down an American spy plane over Cuba, as the crisis spirals. The pilot is killed. With nuclear missiles almost ready for launch in Cuba, how can the two superpower leaders pull back from the brink of war? This is the personal and political history of the Cuban Missile Crisis, told by Nina Khrushcheva and Max Kennedy.

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:05.0	This episode contains strong language.
0:10.0	It's midnight in Fairbanks, Alaska, where Captain Charles Maltsby is preparing to take off in a U2 spy plane.
0:17.0	... spy plane.
0:26.5	He's heading for the North Pole to take samples of air and atmospheric dust.
0:31.7	It's part of the top secret Project Stardust.
0:34.7	What he collects will be analyzed for evidence of Soviet nuclear detonations.
0:40.3	His compass does not work near the magnetic North Pole, so he has to navigate with a sextant,
0:47.3	leaning like an 18th century sea captain, using only the stars as his guide.
1:01.9	But when the vivid pinks and greens of the northern lights brighten the sky,
1:07.9	Maltsby can no longer see the stars, and his plane strays dangerously off course,
1:10.1	towards the Soviet Union.
1:17.6	Saturday, October 27th, will become known as Black Saturday.
1:20.6	The tensest point of the crisis.
1:24.3	Arguably, the most dangerous day in human history.
1:29.0	From the BBC World Service, this is the bomb.
1:31.7	Season 3, Kennedy and Khrushchev.
1:35.6	Episode 9, Black Saturday.
1:39.9	With me, Nina Khrushcheva.
1:42.0	And me, Max Kennedy.
1:47.8	Cuba, early hours of Saturday,
1:52.4	Soviet officers are expecting an attack at daybreak.
	...

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