The Cold War Bunker

After digging deep into the history, secrecy, and sheer power of America’s airborne command post, we sit down to reflect. In this special Debrief Episode, Ben is joined by Aaron & Blaire to unpack everything we’ve learned about the E-4B “Doomsday Plane.”

From its Cold War origins to its enduring relevance in the modern era, we break down the biggest revelations, ask the tough questions, and debate the legacy of a flying fortres...

In the final chapter of our deep dive into the E-4B Doomsday Plane, we bring the story full circle. We look at the E-4B’s place in today’s world, its role in a new age of cyber warfare, space weapons, and shifting global threats. The Cold War may be over, but the need for airborne command centers hasn’t gone away.

This serves as a reflection: what does this plane really symbolize? Is it a monument to human ingenuity, or a reminder o...

In this stretch of the story, we dive into the living legacy of the E-4B Doomsday Plane. It explores how the aircraft adapted in the post–Cold War era, shifting from nuclear fears to new global threats like terrorism and cyber warfare. We unravel the mysteries and myths surrounding the plane, from sightings on 9/11 to conspiracy theories that keep it shrouded in intrigue. Finally, we reflect on the enduring symbolism of the E-4B: a...

When the Cold War turned white-hot in the minds of military planners, the E-4B had to prove it could do more than just survive — it had to run the nation from the sky.

In this episode of Command in the Sky, we step inside the heart of the “Doomsday Plane” as it evolves from concept to an airborne command post capable of managing nuclear war in real time.
We explore the cutting-edge (and classified) communications systems, the cre...

In this first episode of Command in the Sky, we take you back to the darkest days of the Cold War, when the fear of nuclear annihilation shaped policy, culture, and innovation. Here we lay the foundation of this gripping tale — a story of airpower, survival, and silent missions flying high above a world on the brink.

We begin by revisiting the geopolitical paranoia of the 1960s and 70s, when Cold War tensions forced U.S. strategists...

The Debrief
Cuban Missile Crisis

Description:
Blaire Hicks & Aaron Baldwin join The Bunker Crew to examine the series on The Cuban Missile Crisis.

How close did we really get to nuclear war? What secrets were kept—and what were the long-term consequences of those whispered deals? What myths have shaped our memory of October 1962, and what lessons have been lost to time?

Together, we explore the hidden costs of compromise, th...

How the World Changed After the Cuban Missile Crisis
In October 1962, the world held its breath. Nuclear war seemed imminent. The Cuban Missile Crisis was resolved in thirteen tense days — but the real impact would last decades. In this immersive, 60,000-word deep dive, we examine how the Cold War was forever changed by those two weeks of near-apocalypse.

From the rise of Mutually Assured Destruction to the birth of nuclear diplo...

In Episode 3 we arrive at the razor’s edge of global catastrophe. With Soviet missiles in Cuba discovered, President John F. Kennedy and his advisors must navigate a series of impossible choices. This episode plunges listeners into the intense hours of October 22–24, 1962, when the world waited, breath held, to see if diplomacy could outpace destruction.

We explore the dramatic televised address that shocked the American public, the...

Episode 2: The Photographs

The crisis begins.
When U.S. reconnaissance flights over Cuba capture shocking images of Soviet missile installations, the world shifts overnight. In Episode 2: The Photographs, we walk hour by hour through the frantic intelligence scramble, the internal debates of Kennedy’s war council, and the sobering realization that the Soviet Union has brought the nuclear threat to America’s doorstep.

Inside the Wh...

Thirteen Days: The Cuban Missile Crisis in Full is an in-depth, longform podcast that walks you hour by hour through the most dangerous standoff in human history.

Across six immersive episodes we explore not just the crisis itself, but the decades of political tension, ideological rivalry, and human miscalculation that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.

This is not a surface-level retelling. There are no dramatizations, ...

Episode 3: The Fallout

After a billion-dollar operation to raise a sunken Soviet submarine in complete secrecy, what came next was a battle for silence—and eventually, the truth. In Episode 3 of our Project Azorian series, “The Fallout,” we examine the aftermath of one of the most audacious covert operations in American history.

How did the CIA handle the media leaks? What happened when journalists, lawmakers, and the families of lo...

Episode 2: Lifting Leviathan

The Cold War Bunker: Project Azorian

In the heart of the Pacific Ocean, a covert CIA operation begins its most dangerous phase: the physical recovery of a sunken Soviet nuclear submarine, K-129. What unfolds is part triumph, part tragedy—and entirely unprecedented.

In this gripping second episode, we follow the Hughes Glomar Explorer as it descends into darkness with a steel claw the size of a small buildi...

Project Azorian: The Sunken Secret | Episode 1 – The Cold War Bunker

In 1968, a Soviet nuclear submarine vanished in the Pacific Ocean. What followed was one of the most audacious and secretive missions in CIA history: Project Azorian. This is the story of how the U.S. government built a billion-dollar ship, created a fake mining company, and tried to steal a sunken enemy submarine from 3 miles beneath the sea—all under the nose...

Welcome to Episode 3 of the Cold War Bunker. This is our Bunker Debrief episode on the Doomsday Clock series here at CWB. Aaron Baldwin joins me today as we discuss our takeaways, and impressions from this series. We will also talk about events, issues and underlying causes that may have influenced the clock settings, and also our lives. Podcast mentions in this episode: Dan Carlin's Hardcore History - https://www.dancarlin...

Welcome to Episode 2 of the Cold War Bunker. Part 2 of our feature on The Doomsday Clock. This video takes a look at the Pop Culture & Societal impacts on the clock since its inception in 1947. Through the years we find that the hands of the doomsday clock are not the only thing changing. Factors that determine the “time”, people who make the decision, and the motives behind its resetting all ebb and flow throughout the years. ...

Welcome to Episode 1 of the Cold War Bunker. Part 1 of our feature on The Doomsday Clock. This video takes a look at the Political and Governmental impacts on the clock since it's inception in 1947. Through the years we find that the hands of the doomsday clock are not the only thing changing. Factors that determine the “time”, people who make the decision, and the motives behind its resetting all ebb and flow throughout the y...

Welcome to The Cold War Bunker! A place where natural sunlight, foods with limited shelf-life & non-reinforced materials are not welcome. If you are anything like me, at least a part of your life was spent living under the ever looming cloud of the threat that is the Cold War. A life lived in the ever-present reality that this Cold War could turn into a "hot war" at any moment. In this show we will journey through th...