The Man Who Said No: Vasili Arkhipov 1926–1998

In the sweltering depths of a Soviet submarine during the Cuban Missile Crisis, one quiet officer’s refusal to launch a nuclear torpedo may have saved the world from annihilation. Vasili Arkhipov’s calm veto on October 27, 1962, stopped a chain reaction that could have killed hundreds of millions within hours. This episode uncovers the little-known story of the man whose “no” preserved history as we know it.