Beneath the quiet farmlands of Arkansas, a single dropped tool set off a chain of events that could have changed history forever. In this episode, Shea and Jody take you deep underground into the Titan II missile program — the Cold War’s most volatile secret. What happens when human error meets doomsday weapons? And how close did we really come to nuclear apocalypse in 1980? Strap in. This rabbit hole goes from darkly funny to downright terrifying. 👉 Full story, blog posts, and more episodes at: www.rainydayrabbitholes.com🙏 Special thanks to Letha Davis for marketing and website design: www.lethadavis.com ⏱ Episode Chapters 00:00 – Welcome to Rainy Day Rabbit Holes04:15 – Stepping into a Titan II missile silo09:40 – The Cold War and Mutually Assured Destruction15:50 – America’s 103-foot “doomsday stick”21:30 – Accidents in Kansas and Arkansas silos28:00 – The Damascus Incident begins36:20 – A socket wrench drops… and disaster unfolds45:10 – Explosion in the silo54:00 – The end of the Titan II program01:00:15 – Women’s peace movements take a stand01:08:30 – Why remembering this near-apocalypse matters today01:15:00 – Closing thoughts (and a little levity) 🔗 Related Links Titan II Missile Museum – Official Site PBS American Experience: “Command and Control” (Documentary) “Command and Control” by Eric Schlosser (book on the Damascus accident) Cold War Nuclear History Blog U.S. National Archives – Cold War Nuclear Strategy YouTube: Footage of Titan II Missile Test Launches

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.