Annie Jacobsen

But let's break it up for listeners into two different parts because I think they're important here. One is what happens before nuclear. And that to Amy's question, I thought when you were asking about like leaders and how important is it, I thought of JFK because the Cuban Missile Crisis is so well known. Many amazing books have been written about it.

But let's break it up for listeners into two different parts because I think they're important here. One is what happens before nuclear. And that to Amy's question, I thought when you were asking about like leaders and how important is it, I thought of JFK because the Cuban Missile Crisis is so well known. Many amazing books have been written about it.

But let's break it up for listeners into two different parts because I think they're important here. One is what happens before nuclear. And that to Amy's question, I thought when you were asking about like leaders and how important is it, I thought of JFK because the Cuban Missile Crisis is so well known. Many amazing books have been written about it.

And of course, that was a situation of the old cooler heads prevailed because of a president who could lead with extraordinary foresight, despite having generals that were pushing him, you know, toward nuclear launch. But that's all before. And I didn't want to write that book or rewrite that book.

And of course, that was a situation of the old cooler heads prevailed because of a president who could lead with extraordinary foresight, despite having generals that were pushing him, you know, toward nuclear launch. But that's all before. And I didn't want to write that book or rewrite that book.

And of course, that was a situation of the old cooler heads prevailed because of a president who could lead with extraordinary foresight, despite having generals that were pushing him, you know, toward nuclear launch. But that's all before. And I didn't want to write that book or rewrite that book.

I wanted to write a book that was a speculative scenario based essentially on what you guys do, on what wargaming, nuclear wargaming, those jealously guarded secrets inside the Pentagon that happen with astonishing regularity, I learned. And so I take the reader from nuclear launch to nuclear winter. And in essence... To answer your specific question, redundancy at that point doesn't matter.

I wanted to write a book that was a speculative scenario based essentially on what you guys do, on what wargaming, nuclear wargaming, those jealously guarded secrets inside the Pentagon that happen with astonishing regularity, I learned. And so I take the reader from nuclear launch to nuclear winter. And in essence... To answer your specific question, redundancy at that point doesn't matter.

I wanted to write a book that was a speculative scenario based essentially on what you guys do, on what wargaming, nuclear wargaming, those jealously guarded secrets inside the Pentagon that happen with astonishing regularity, I learned. And so I take the reader from nuclear launch to nuclear winter. And in essence... To answer your specific question, redundancy at that point doesn't matter.

That's what's so astonishing, I think, about reading the book. Once nuclear war begins, it only ends in nuclear annihilation. Everyone at the Pentagon knows that. Everyone knows that. No one has said to me, you know what, Annie, I'm going to change my opinion and take that back.

That's what's so astonishing, I think, about reading the book. Once nuclear war begins, it only ends in nuclear annihilation. Everyone at the Pentagon knows that. Everyone knows that. No one has said to me, you know what, Annie, I'm going to change my opinion and take that back.

That's what's so astonishing, I think, about reading the book. Once nuclear war begins, it only ends in nuclear annihilation. Everyone at the Pentagon knows that. Everyone knows that. No one has said to me, you know what, Annie, I'm going to change my opinion and take that back.

When, you know, you do as I'm the kind of author that just does interviews and interviews and interviews and reading and research. And then then you find the aha moment and then you understand a certain point in the narrative where that aha moment lives, exists. And then you almost reverse and reverse engineer everything from there. And that was for me.

When, you know, you do as I'm the kind of author that just does interviews and interviews and interviews and reading and research. And then then you find the aha moment and then you understand a certain point in the narrative where that aha moment lives, exists. And then you almost reverse and reverse engineer everything from there. And that was for me.

When, you know, you do as I'm the kind of author that just does interviews and interviews and interviews and reading and research. And then then you find the aha moment and then you understand a certain point in the narrative where that aha moment lives, exists. And then you almost reverse and reverse engineer everything from there. And that was for me.

doing an interview with retired general Robert Keillor, who was the commander of STRATCOM. Right. And then at one point I said, just cutting right to that question that you kind of don't want to ask, but have to ask, which is what would happen in a full scale nuclear exchange with Russia? And the general said to me, Annie, the world could end in the next couple of hours. And it was just a boom.

doing an interview with retired general Robert Keillor, who was the commander of STRATCOM. Right. And then at one point I said, just cutting right to that question that you kind of don't want to ask, but have to ask, which is what would happen in a full scale nuclear exchange with Russia? And the general said to me, Annie, the world could end in the next couple of hours. And it was just a boom.

doing an interview with retired general Robert Keillor, who was the commander of STRATCOM. Right. And then at one point I said, just cutting right to that question that you kind of don't want to ask, but have to ask, which is what would happen in a full scale nuclear exchange with Russia? And the general said to me, Annie, the world could end in the next couple of hours. And it was just a boom.

And I went, oh, my God, this is coming from the STRATCOM commander. And I knew that was both the end of the third act before nuclear winter and the moment that it all begins. Because... The sort of inescapable nature of nuclear war is what terrifies all of us. And the second moment was I'm also a television writer. For example, I wrote the Amazon series Jack Ryan.

And I went, oh, my God, this is coming from the STRATCOM commander. And I knew that was both the end of the third act before nuclear winter and the moment that it all begins. Because... The sort of inescapable nature of nuclear war is what terrifies all of us. And the second moment was I'm also a television writer. For example, I wrote the Amazon series Jack Ryan.