Annie Jacobsen

And then I consider that the current president of the United States hasn't spoken to the president of Russia in two years.

And I think back to that time in history, what's known as the Reagan reversal, where Reagan went from this incredible hawk to learning about nuclear weapons in, of all things, an ABC television movie called The Day After, having the crap scared out of him.

And then realizing this is the president of the United States, realizing we cannot continue on this path.

It is too dangerous.

And that is why Reagan reached out to Gorbachev.

And that's why we have the Reykjavik summit.

It was called the Reagan reversal.

So in other words, my point is Reagan, who, you know, the axis of evil speech, like this idea of seeing your enemy as the arch evil villain, had to change for him when he understood

nuclear war by seeing a film.

And so when I look to today and I consider that the current president isn't speaking to the president of Russia, it doesn't make any sense to someone like me.

That's probably why I wrote this book.

Like, please understand this.

And I...

One has to imagine that the current president with all his decades in office understands all of this.

And so I don't fundamentally understand why there is no communication.

It is way too dangerous.

Hence, what you just showed us, the facts will come in of whose weapon systems those are.

But either way, the perception, to your point,

The fact that the perception, a misperception could ignite nuclear war, could ignite that situation that is unreversible, that should be astonishing to all of us.

That's terrifying.