Radio War Nerd EP144—"Able Archer 83" Declassified, with Nate Jones

What this episode covers

Guest: Nate Jones, author & director of FOIA Project at the National Security Archive  Recorded: August 7, 2018  The War Nerd welcomes FOIA ninja Nate Jones to talk about his frightening discoveries uncovering the secret history of Able Archer 83—when Reagan's Cold War nearly scared the Soviets into launching a preemptive nuclear first strike. It was the closest the world came to nuclear holocaust since the Cuban Missile Crisis. Jones helps recover that lost history through relentless FOIA efforts to declassify Cold War secrets — and reminds us how relevant this story has become again, now that the US and Russia are rebuilding their nuclear arsenals and sliding back into Cold War madness. . .  At 1:14:00 the Nerd and Ames talk about current war news: US-Saudi alliance with Al Qaeda in Yemen; WaPo asks why their own Yemen death count stuck for 2 years, something RWN has been harping on endlessly; Trump sanctions/subversion efforts against Iran; Maduro assassination attempt in Venezuela; "Jihadi Charles" Lister spreading more Saudi disinformation; latest on Boko Haram's attack on Nigeria military base . . . Buy Nate Jones' book Able Archer 83: The Secret History of the NATO Exercise That Almost Triggered Nuclear War. Nate is also chief editor of the National Security Archive blog UNREDACTEDFollow Nate on Twitter @NSANate