In October 1962, a U-2 reconnaissance plane captured images of Soviet missile sites under construction in Cuba. What followed was a tense 13-day standoff between the US and the Soviet Union—an event that became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.

This pivotal moment in the Cold War revealed the catastrophic potential of nuclear war and the urgent need for diplomacy. Today, we're diving deep into the national security principle of strategic deterrence—a policy designed to win wars not by preparing for their inevitability, but by preventing them outright.

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Big Ideas Lab is a Mission.org original series. 

Executive Produced and Written by Lacey Peace. 

Sound Design, Music Edit and Mix by Daniel Brunelle. 

Story Editing by Daniel Brunelle. 

Audio Engineering and Editing by Matthew Powell. 

Narrated by Matthew Powell. 

Video Production by Levi Hanusch. 

Guests featured in this episode (in order of appearance): 

• Dr. Marvin Adams, Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration
• Michael Zika, Principal Associate Deputy Director for Strategic Deterrence at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• Brad Wallin, Deputy Director for Strategic Deterrence at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Brought to you in partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.