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Unclear and Present Danger

The Peacemaker

Unclear and Present Danger

Jamelle Bouie

Tv & Film, Society & Culture, History

4.7660 Ratings

🗓️ 28 April 2025

⏱️ 86 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On this week's episode of Unclear and Present Danger, Jamelle and John watched The Peacemaker, a 1997 political action thriller directed by Mimi Leder and staring George Clooney and Nicole Kidman.

When a train carrying nuclear warheads crashes in rural Russia, nuclear specialist Dr. Julia Kelly is brought in by the U.S. government to investigate. She quickly discovers the incident was no accident, but part of a larger conspiracy to steal the warheads. Assigned to work with her is Lt. Col. Thomas Devoe, a brash U.S. Army intelligence officer who specializes in field operations.

Together, Kelly and Devoe uncover a plot involving a rogue Russian general and a vengeful Yugoslav diplomat named Dusan Gavrić. Gavrić plans to detonate a nuclear bomb in New York City as a twisted act of personal vengeance and a misguided attempt at political "peace."

As they chase the warheads across Europe, facing betrayals and dangerous obstacles, Kelly’s strategic thinking and Devoe’s action-driven instincts clash but ultimately complement each other. Their pursuit culminates in a high-stakes showdown in Manhattan, where they must stop Gavrić before he detonates the bomb in a crowded area. Risking everything, they race against the clock to prevent a catastrophic attack and avert a global crisis.

The tagline for The Peacemaker was "Every nuclear device in the world has been accounted for...accept for one."

You can find The Peacemaker to rent or purchase on Apple TV or Amazon Prime.

Our next episode will be on Executive Power, a little-known political thriller directed by David L. Corley. Here is a brief plot synopsis.

While protecting the U.S. President, Secret Service agent Nick Sager helps him to dispose of the body of a young girl, who accidentally died during an adulterous encounter. Some time later, a few weeks before the elections, the disillusioned ex-agent is approached by his former partner. The President’s former aide, and one of few people who knew about the cover-up, is found dead in mysterious circumstances.

You can find Executive Power to rent on Amazon Prime.

Our producer is Connor Lynch and our artwork is by Rachel Eck. You can reach out to us over email at unclearandpresentfeedback@fastmail.com

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

On September 26th, good guys, so us. We chase the bad guys. America will know.

0:08.1

The guy got away with a bomb. The threat is real.

0:13.1

We have the weapon and mass destruction coming into the United States.

0:16.8

You get this man out of here. George Clooney, Nicole Kidman.

0:20.1

Shoot him. Take the shot.

0:21.4

Take the shot.

0:23.1

The peacemaker.

0:24.8

R.

0:25.9

Starts Friday, September 26th. Hello and welcome to Unclear and Present danger, a podcast about the political and military thrillers of the 1990s and what they say about the politics of that decade.

1:03.3

I'm Jamel Bowie. I'm a columnist for the New York Times opinion section.

1:06.4

My name is John Gans. I'm the author of, wait, that's the wrong order. Hold on. My name is John

1:13.6

Gans. I'm a columnist for the nation. I write the substack newsletter Unpopular Front. And I'm the

1:19.0

author of the book, When the Clock Broke, Conman Conspiracists and How America Cracked Up in the

1:25.7

early 1990s, which will be out on paperback, I think, May 27th.

1:32.0

And out in the UK.

1:33.5

Yeah.

1:34.4

June 12th?

1:36.2

Yeah.

1:36.6

That sounds right.

1:37.1

Yeah.

1:37.2

I was going to say there's a new UK edition that has Trump in the title just in case you needed.

1:42.8

Yes.

...

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