While I agree very strongly[1] wist the rest of that comment, it is very important to require some human involvement.
This isn't theoretical. Without Stanislav Petrov's good judgment[2] that the automated warning about an incoming missile attack was a false alarm, WW3 might have started in 1983.
[1] How strongly? My username is a reference to a fictional drug in Schismatrix that forces the user to adapt to a new perspective/mode-of-thought. Tech only increases, so our need to learn how to live together also becomes increasingly urgent.
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Soviet_nuclear_false_alar...
What seems to be his opinion is the danger of giving so much power in the hands of only one man (in this case the John Kennedy as the President of the USA and Nikita Khrushchev as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union). Never before the nuclear weapons one human being has had such a destructive power. In his other podcasts, he alerts about this danger in the current political environment as Obama worked to concentrate even more power in the presidency during his time and we never know who might end up being president in the future, it is a very risky thing to do. For some, Trump is the personification of this exact risk; but for others, who support Trump now, it worth thinking that they don't know either who might end up next at the presidency with all this power.
Specifically where nuclear strikes are concerned, a lot of planning has gone into maximising the probability of compliance. Missile combat crew carry a sidearm to threaten their counterpart with death if they refuse to act on an authenticated launch order. They wear 4 point harnesses during launch sequence, primarily as a psychological device to prevent them from getting up and walking away mid sequence if their conscience gets the better of them, etc.
If trump or any other president said launch, there would be a launch.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Integrated_Operational_...
Everyone involved in the chain is part of the Personnel Reliability Program. It's mostly to make sure someone doesn't launch without an order but also probably to make sure that they will follow orders, including launch orders.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personnel_Reliability_Program?...
Ultimately if the President orders the launch, it will happen. And it's the President's decision alone.
https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/graphics/2016-nuclear-wea...
Dan Carlin is great, but you should take his warning that he's not a historian to heart: he enthusiastically speculates and characterizes the people in a way a historian would not, and can be very guilty of picking and choosing events to support the narrative he paints. You will almost certainly get a better understanding of the topics from looking at the academic materials from which he bases his own podcasts.
That said, enjoy him—he really does make the topics come alive, and I haven't been satisfied with JUST his podcast after he's piqued my interest. That's a great thing.
All six episodes are still on the free feed, and will be for at least a little while longer. Anyone reading this could do a lot worse than to at least download them for later listening, if not to go ahead and get into the series now.
In my imagination, you play the game by huddling in a trench or bunker for extended periods as massive explosions go off around you, and if you try to leave you are almost immediately blown up or sink and drown in the mud.
I suspect they went for something a bit less bleak. ;)
> Gore Settings: Players can now experience the real horrors of WW1.
before I started laughing, and I still haven't stopped.
The funny thing is that my parents bought this for me way back when but then, upon opening it, no one wanted to actually play it. I spent quite a few hours futzing with it though :-)
Oddly I listen to it in bed just before I go to sleep, I find Dan's voice very soothing
But even on brazilian, humorous podcasts i dont speed up. I listen while doing chores and the ocasional commute. No hurry. I took about a month to finish this one.
I can understand how keeping it at a normal rate is beneficial as deep as he goes on the material.
I've found the audio has to be clean and clear to take advantage of higher speeds of listening. Takes practice, but almost every podcast I enjoy I do 1.5x+.
Your english is very good! Congratulations!
It is better in written form. Two tips: always review it after writing and use Grammarly (https://www.grammarly.com/).
I feel that Ira Glass (This American Life), Jad Abumrad (Radiolab) and Roman Mars (99 Percent Invisible) all have this same effect.
Hope this helps!
The podcast covers the political and military landscape and events between 1945 and 1962, culminating at the Cuban Missile Crisis, focusing on the American side of the Cold War.
If you know Dan Carlin's work, and take a hint from the episode's length, you know that it is a profound analysis, thoroughly studied from a variety of sources and with a real, intelligent effort to understand all sides, all parties, all individuals, and all context of the events. A real historian work.
Of particular interest is the glimpse on what was passing through all those brilliant scientists minds throughout and after the development of the tech. This is concentrated in the first half of the podcast if you are interested.
(1): http://www.dancarlin.com/hardcore-history-59-the-destroyer-o...
EDIT: just finished it, I think the final words of the episode are worth sharing:
"As I said, human beings are 70+ years into an on-going experiment to see if they can adapt or evolve to handle their weapon's technology. So far, so good. But let's remember that we are a long way from the edge of this tightrope. These might not even be the most powerful weapons we are creative enough to invent. And the systems we have in place still have human beings involved, which is one of those variables that makes it tough to think that we can go another 100, 30 or so years, and have the human story end with the words '...and we lived happily, ever after.'" Dan Carlin