How A Nuclear War Will Start - Minute by Minute

This video was made possible through a grant by Open Philanthropy.

Mr. President! Nuclear missiles will strike our country in 14 minutes. I know it’s your first day in office so I’m going to walk you through it, but you’re the only one who can authorize our nuclear retaliation in response and you’ve only got a few minutes to make a decision!

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[NorthoftheBorder]

This was very informative and well done and I hated every single second of it.

[deltalord]

The fact that the entire explanation is said in extreme haste about only 5 minutes really amplifies the dread of the entire situation and how things can go south really quickly

[TheAdvertisement]

1:21 I like the detail that when the President peers to his left into the bunker, the general's voice pans to our right ear for a moment with headphones.
4:36 Omg and the fact the, because the general's uniforms is green, his uniform is momentarily keyed out by the greenscreen before being fixed.

[crowsenpai]

It’s amazing/terrifying how the world is in a soft yet constant state of “on the brink of total annihilation” just because like 7 guys can’t get along.

[burneraccount]

The funny thing about the nuclear submarine during the Cuban missile crisis was that the system only needed 2 officers to authorize and both the captain and 1st mate agreed to do it but at that time there just happened to be a higher-ranking officer there at the moment and his vote overide the 1st mate so it didn't go through. absolutely pure coincidence and we were so lucky to have that man aboard at that time.

[sp_ce.]

The incredible part is that Vasili Arkhipov wasn’t even supposed to be on that submarine. I believe he had a choice and the fact he chose that one was a sheer coincidence, and one that may have saved millions or even billions.

[_ormorecharacters]

5:14 "CAN WE LAUNCH?" dumbledore said calmly

[TheAdvertisement]

Hearing the Kurzgesagt narrator's voice coming from a panicked military officer is an experience

[corruptuser]

Vasili Arkhipov wasn't just an officer, but the head of the fleet; he had achieved fame previously during the "widomaker" incident.

[Efthimisko]

Discussing about nuclear war in a vacuum might be grim enough, but seeing it unfold moment to moment really puts into perspective how gut wrenching the whole ordeal is. The first person point of view really helps sell the effect, I have to say.

[GCWFilms]

This video got to me! The pacing, the dialogue and the animation are insane! This 9 minute video made me feel more than most of the feature length films I’ve watched in my life. That’s why I love this channel!

[bernardoavila]

This is definitely the best you tube video I’ve seen. The production, the tension and the explanation is perfect, im really impressed.
I’ve already seen it at least 10 times and get impressed all of them!

[Desperajoe]

Man, I am actually in VR and saw you guys uploaded 2 minutes ago. I hit the video up IN VR. And the start was so literally so bizarre. This couldn't have been better, lmao

[MindinViolet]

I find it both horrifying and moving to consider that we are only alive today because of a few good, sane people who made the decision in an intense situation not to act, not to launch.

[egames]

Perfectly made video with great attention to detail. Quick and straight to the point, used fake countries to remove any controversy, and small details like the general's uniform disappearing and reappearing when they have a visual representation like it was actually a green screen. (4:42)

[jhwblender]

Wow!! This was amazingly done. Immediately sucked me to the story. Love this animation style. Would love to see more of it.

[Tjalve]

There was also the time when the US missile detection system in Greenland went live. The rising Moon was interpreted as a missile attack. And possibly the only reason why USA didn't "retaliate", was because someone remembered that Khrushchev was in New York at the time. And it was considered unlikely that USSR would launch an attack while their leader was in USA.

[DrOSami]

Stanislav Petrov, 'The Man Who Saved The World', a former Soviet military officer. In 1983, he was on duty when the Soviet Union's early warning satellite indicated the U.S. had fired nuclear weapons at his country. He suspected, correctly, it was a false alarm and did not immediately send the report up the chain of command. Petrov died at age 77.

[jaseg]

I legit got teary eyed from realief when yoinsaid that the amount of nuclear weapons went from 70, 000 to 12, 500. Its still way to many, but just knowing we made progress makes me so much less scared

[PrimeGaming]

I will never want my nation to reduce our nuclear arsenal because we can never truely be sure other nations do the same.