War and Peace in the Nuclear Age

War and Peace in the Nuclear Age is a 1989 PBS television series focusing on the effect of nuclear weapons development on international relations and warfare during the Cold War. The 13-part series was funded by the Annenberg/CPB Project and produced by WGBH in Boston in association with NHK and Central Independent Television. The New York Times called it "public television's equivalent of a nuclear explosion," praising it as "intelligently conceived and fastidiously balanced."

Episodes No.TitleAir dateDescriptionTopics1"Dawn"January 23, 1989Scientists worldwide race to create nuclear weapons and be the first to use them in World War II.Fascism, World War II, The Manhattan Project, The Blitz, Strategic bombing, Victory in Europe Day, Victory over Japan Day, Trinity (nuclear test), Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki2"The Weapon of Choice"January 30, 1989The United States and the Soviet Union, once allies, become Cold War adversaries.Soviet atomic bomb project, Operation Crossroads, Greek Civil War, Marshall Plan, Operation Sandstone, 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'etat, Berlin Blockade, RDS-1, Thermonuclear weapon, Julius and Ethen Rosenberg, McCarthyism, Klaus Fuchs, Chinese Communist Revolution, Korean War3A Bigger Bang for the BuckFebruary 6, 1989In the 1950s the United States begins to rely heavily on nuclear weapons for defense after the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik sparks fears of a "missile gap."Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Tactical nuclear weapon, Massive retaliation, Lockheed U-2, Sputnik 1, Ballistic missile, 1960 U-2 Incident4Europe Goes NuclearFebruary 13, 1989France and England race to acquire nuclear weapons during the 1950s and 1960s; NATO worries about defending Europe from the threat from the East.Atomic Energy Act of 1946, Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Operation Hurricane, French Indochina, Suez Crisis, Operation Grapple, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, May 1958 crisis in France, Gerboise Bleue, Canopus, Warsaw Pact, Hungarian Revolution of 19565At the BrinkFebruary 20, 1989During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, America and the Soviet Union are each close to initiating nuclear war.Cuban Missile Crisis, Cuba/Soviet Union Relations, Bay of Pigs Invasion, Berlin Wall, Tsar Bomba6The Education of Robert McNamaraFebruary 27, 1989Robert S. McNamara confronts the spectre of nuclear war during his tenure as Secretary of Defense (1961-1968).Strategic Rocket Forces, SM-62 Snark, SM-65 Atlas, North American XB-70 Valkyrie, Convair B-58 Hustler, LGM-30 Minuteman, Berlin Blockade, Flexible response, Counterforce, Nuclear triad, Assassination of John F. Kennedy, Nike Zeus, Nike-X, LIM-49 Spartan, Sprint, Anti-ballistic missile, 41 for Freedom, Yankee-class submarine7One Step ForwardMarch 6, 1989As the U.S. and Soviet nuclear arsenals reach a rough parity, SALT I, the first arms control agreement, is negotiated.Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, Detente, Vietnam War, Linkage, Anti-ballistic missile, Safeguard program, MIRV, 1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China8The Haves and the Have NotsMarch 13, 1989A case study of the dynamics of nuclear proliferation—China, India and Pakistan race to acquire atomic weapons.Nuclear weapons of Israel, Operation Opera, Nuclear proliferation, Atoms for Peace, India and weapons of mass destruction, International Atomic Energy Agency, China and weapons of mass destruction, Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, Sino-Indian War, Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, 1973 Oil Crisis, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978, Soviet-Afghan War9Carter's New WorldMarch 20, 1989Jimmy Carter's goals for his presidency include the reduction of nuclear weapons and improving America's relations with the Soviet Union.Rockwell B-1 Lancer, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, R-36 missile, First Strike (1979 film), LGM-118 Peacekeeper, Ogaden War, Visit by Den Xiaoping to the United States, Iran hostage crisis, Soviet-Afghan War10Zero HourMarch 27, 1989Soviet leader Gorbachev accepts President Reagan's proposal for both sides to dismantle certain missiles.MGM-31 Pershing, RSD-10 Pioneer, Neutron bomb, NATO Double-Track Decision, Cruise missile, Protect and Survive, Anti-nuclear protests, Strategic Defense Initiative, Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty11Missile ExperimentalApril 3, 1989Supporters and critics of the MX missile discuss its role and how it could best be used.LGM-118 Peacekeeper, SM-65 Atlas, LGM-30 Minuteman, Launch on Warning, Peacekeeper Rail Garrison, Air-launched ballistic missile, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, Dense Pack, Nuclear Triad, MGM-134 Midgetman12Reagan's ShieldApril 10, 1989President Reagan supports the Strategic Defense Initiative as a means of eliminating the threat of nuclear attack.Strategic Defense Initiative, Railgun, Nuclear Freeze Campaign, Safeguard Program, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, Moscow Summit (1988), Airborne Laser, Evil Empire Speech13Visions of War & PeaceApril 17, 1989Nations face the challenge of resolving disputes without nuclear weapons or physical force.Early-warning radar, Glasnost, Mikhail Gorbachev, First Strike (nuclear strategy), Nuclear proliferation

Interviews The program features interviews throughout with the following individuals. Abdul SattarGeorge Whelan Anderson, Jr.Petra KellyAgha ShahiGeorgy ArbatovPhillip MorrisonAlbert CarnesaleGerald E. MillerPierre Marie GalloisAlbert WohlstetterGerd SchmucklePierre MessmerAleksandr BovinGlenn T. SeaborgRaja RamannaAlexander AlexeyevHan XuRandall ForsbergAlun Gwynne Jones, Baron ChalfontHans ApelRay S. ClineAndrei GromykoHans BetheRaymond L. GarthoffAndrew GoodpasterHarold BrownRichard C. HotteletAsh CarterHarry RowenRichard NixonBernard T. FeldHelmut SchmidtRichard PerleBernard W. RogersHenry KissingerRichard PipesBertrand GoldschmidtHenry M. JacksonRoald SagdeevCarl Friedrich von WeizsackerHerbert YorkRobert McNamaraCaspar WeinbergerHomi SethnaRobert R. BowieChester Victor Clifton, Jr.Isidor Isaac RabiRoger HilsmanClark CliffordJack RuinaRoger Makins, 1st Baron SherfieldCyrus VanceJames A. AbrahamsonRoswell GilpatricDavid L. AaronJames CallaghanRoyal B. AllisonDavid M. JonesJames R. SchlesingerRudolf PeierlsDavid OwenJerome WiesnerRussell E. DoughertyDavid PowersJimmy CarterSergey KapitsaDean RuskJohn EisenhowerSidney DrellDenis HealeyJoseph NyeSubramanian SwamyDonald SoperK. SubrahmanyamTed SorensenE. P. ThompsonKenneth NicholsThomas Hinman MoorerEdward TellerLakshmi Kant JhaValentin FalinEgon BahrLeslie H. GelbVictor WeisskopfEugene CarrollLew AllenVladimir LomeikoEvgeny VelikhovLynn E. DavisVladimir SemyonovFrank A. CammMaurice SchumannWilhelm GreweFrank RobertsMcGeorge BundyWilliam KaufmannGennadi GerasimovMorarji DesaiWilliam T. FairbournGeorge A. Keyworth IINorman CousinsWilliam Van CleaveGeorge BallNorris BradburyWolf Graf von BaudissinGeorge BunnPaul NitzeZbigniew BrzezinskiGeorge ShultzPaul Warnke

References

UC Berkeley Video Library review