In 1983, the Cold War escalated to new heights after the Soviet Union mistakenly shot down a passenger jet, Korean Air Flight 007, killing all 269 people on board. Just weeks later, Russian Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov was on duty when the nuclear missile detection system reported an incoming U.S. strike. With Cold War tensions already at a breaking p ... Show More
Aug 2025
WikiLeaks: The Hacker Who Exposed America's Darkest Secrets
When Julian Assange released classified footage of a U.S. helicopter strike that killed two journalists and several civilians in 2010, it catapulted WikiLeaks into global headlines. As Assange unleashed a flood of classified documents, he sparked protests, fractured alliances, an ... Show More
35m 39s
Aug 2025
Castle Bravo: America's Deadliest Nuclear Mistake
On March 1, 1954, a Japanese fishing boat called the Lucky Dragon No. 5 was sailing near the Marshall Islands when its crew was caught in the fallout of a secret U.S. hydrogen bomb test. Code named Castle Bravo, the test released far more radiation than scientists had anticipated ... Show More
29m 51s
Aug 2025
A Redacted Medical Mystery: Weather Warriors/Red Menace
In this special MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries and Redacted Crossover episode, MrBallen and Luke Lamana join forces to bring you two shocking stories of the military testing bizarre, deadly weapons of war in secret. In “Weather Warriors,"" the U.S. Army goes to extreme lengths to d ... Show More
38m 23s
Mar 2024
Fatal Neutrality: Lumumba, the CIA, and the Cold War
In 1960, the Congo gained independence from Belgium. Patrice Lumumba was elected prime minister and Joseph Kasavubu president. Within a year, Lumumba was deposed and assassinated. This week on Deconstructed, executive editor of Foreign Affairs and author Stuart Reid joins Ryan Gr ... Show More
46m 10s