This is John Batchelor. Escalation. I spoke with Serhi Ploki, of a historian at Harvard University,

about his book Nuclear Folly, a history of the Cuban Missile Crisis. And I'm reminded again and again

how escalation is not predictable or logical. Right now there's an escalation underway in Europe, a new escalation.

We've seen several phases. The U.S. says you can fire missiles long range into Russia.

London says it. Paris says it. Soon enough, others will say it. Mr. Putin says we're going to respond and defend ourselves.

They talk about the nuclear threshold.

Not especially logical at this point, but it will be eventually as the escalation continues.

That was the case with the Cuban Missile Crisis, which Serhi Plokie documents.

The White House believed that it was about Berlin. Khrushchev knew it was about Cuba,

and basing missiles within striking distance of the U.S., similar to missiles that were stationed

in Turkey within striking distance of the Soviet Union.

Escalation is not logical.

Listen here to Therhe Polki explained how Jack Kennedy, John Kennedy, the president, was held

responsible for losing Berlin by letting the wall build in 61.

It wasn't his doing, but it was his watch.

And Cuba was another provocation, and they believed that the fight was going to become

in Germany, not in Cuba until, well, listen, this is the setup. Escalation is not logical. It's not

all ordered up in a line. It jumps back and forth with misperceptions is what I learned.

See what you learned from me.

Well, it was on Kennedy's watch. Then the Berlin Wall was built in August of 1961.

And he was criticized for the way how he handled that, that he allowed that wall to be built.

President Eisenhower went publicly, actually, claiming that on his watch, on President

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