| class="wikitable"
!No.
!Title
!Air date
!Description
!Topics |
| 1
|"Dawn"
|January 23, 1989
|Scientists 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 Nagasaki |
| 2
|"The Weapon of Choice"
|January 30, 1989
|The 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 War |
| 3
|A Bigger Bang for the Buck
|February 6, 1989
|In 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 Incident |
| 4
|Europe Goes Nuclear
|February 13, 1989
|France 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 1956 |
| 5
|At the Brink
|February 20, 1989
|During 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 Bomba |
| 6
|The Education of Robert McNamara
|February 27, 1989
|Robert 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 submarine |
| 7
|One Step Forward
|March 6, 1989
|As 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 China |
| 8
|The Haves and the Have Nots
|March 13, 1989
|A case study of the dynamics of nuclear proliferation—China, India and Pakistan race to acquire atomic weapons.
|Nuclear weapons and 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 War |
| 9
|Carter's New World
|March 20, 1989
|Jimmy 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 War |
| 10
|Zero Hour
|March 27, 1989
|Soviet 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 Treaty |
| 11
|Missile Experimental
|April 3, 1989
|Supporters 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 Midgetman |
| 12
|Reagan's Shield
|April 10, 1989
|President 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 Speech |
| 13
|Visions of War & Peace
|April 17, 1989
|Nations face the challenge of resolving disputes without nuclear weapons or physical force.
|Early-warning radar, Glasnost, Mikhail Gorbachev, First Strike (nuclear strategy), Nuclear proliferation |