How the U.S. 'Accidentally' Invaded a Country — and Gave It Back

Imagine a navy sailing into a peaceful harbor, Marines ashore and the American flag raised—only to discover a newspaper proving there is no war. In this episode, Time Tellers follows Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones as a string of assumptions, fear of being late, and a system that rewards decisive action nearly turns a mistake into international crisis. We trace the story from Monterey’s surreal occupation to later near-disasters—Tampico, the USS Vincennes, and the terrifying Able Archer exercise—showing how small misreadings and momentum can scale toward catastrophe. Through sharp storytelling and tense, human moments, the episode reveals how restraint, a single pause, and a few courageous voices have sometimes been the only things standing between normalcy and war.