What Nuclear War Would Actually Look Like with Annie Jacobsen
Factually! with Adam Conover
Headgum
4.6 • 2.3K Ratings
🗓️ 28 January 2026
⏱️ 92 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
For decades, the threat of total nuclear annihilation cast a long shadow on everyday life. Nowadays, it almost seems like an old-fashioned kind of fear. Unfortunately, the possibility of human civilization ending at the touch of a button is more real than we think. Journalist Annie Jacobsen’s book NUCLEAR WAR: A Scenario outlines an excruciating and fascinating play-by-play of how the world as we know it could go up in smoke. Find Annie's book at factuallypod.com/books
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is a headgum podcast. |
| 0:05.8 | New Year, same extra value meals at McDonald's. |
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| 0:17.9 | Prices may be higher in Hawaii, Alaska, and California, and for delivery. |
| 0:20.5 | I don't know the truth. I don't know the truth. |
| 0:23.4 | I don't know the way. |
| 0:26.0 | I don't know what to think. |
| 0:28.8 | I don't know what to say. |
| 0:31.7 | Yeah, but that's all right. |
| 0:34.6 | That's okay. |
| 0:37.1 | I don't know anything. |
| 0:43.1 | Hey there, welcome to Factually. |
| 0:44.8 | I'm Adam Conover. |
| 0:45.8 | Thank you for joining me on the show again. |
| 0:47.8 | You know, there are a lot of crises in the world right now. |
| 0:51.8 | In fact, there are so many potential dooms staring us in the face, |
| 0:56.1 | whether it's the rise of fascism, climate change, or, yes, AI, that you might not want to think |
| 1:01.1 | about another one. But you know what, let's do one anyway. Let's take a little break from all those |
| 1:05.8 | other nightmare scenarios and talk about a fun one. That's right. This week we're talking about |
| 1:10.5 | nuclear war. And I know, |
| 1:12.7 | that might seem like your mom and dad's crisis about the end of the world. Oh, you had to do drills |
... |
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