The Missile Crisis - Part One

The Missile Crisis - Part One

Author: Simone Whitlow October 2, 2024 Duration: 30:17
On 16th October 1962, American President John F Kennedy was presented with three indistinct photos taken of several tubes laid out in a field in Cuba. Kennedy at first took the scene for a football field. His brother Robert, on viewing the scene, wondered if it depicted a farm house in mid construction.  It was, of course, a nuclear missile site in mid construction, and the following thirteen days brought humanity closer to nuclear war than any time before of since.  This fortnight, and next we’re looking at the Cuban Missile Crisis, primarily from the perspective of three potentially inciting incidents - one involving two saboteurs, another a spy plane, and the third a Foxtrot submarine. Sources Include: One Minute to Midnight by Michael DobbsAnd Nuclear War by Annie Jacobsen     Support the show on Patreon for $2 US a month and get access to exclusive content, or Try our 7 Day Free Trial.  Patrons get bonus content, and an Ad-Free feed… usually a day or two early.  |Patreon| Or, if you’re looking to support us other ways - please leave Tales a like and a review wherever you listen, and/or share Tales with a friend. Creative projects like Tales grow best by word of mouth, and higher star ratings etc also make it easier for folk to find us.  Tales of History and Imagination is on | Facebook |TikTok | Threads | YouTube |    Music, writing, narration, mixing yours truly- with one credit I needs must acknowledge today. I stole the melody for the marimba music that plays under the Miguel Orozco parts from the verses of Jimmy Soul’s ‘If You Wanna Be Happy.’ Soul, in turn, had stolen that melody from the Trinidadian Calypso great Roaring Lion’s ‘Ugly Woman’ - no commentary meant on either artist, Mrs Soul or Mrs Lion - just needed a melody from that general location…   

Simone Whitlow hosts Tales of History and Imagination, a podcast dedicated to unearthing those peculiar, overlooked stories that conventional history books often skip. Each episode feels like a conversation about a fascinating secret, whether it's delving into the life of an obscure figure who tried to alter our very concept of time or examining the panic caused by a legendary beast in eighteenth-century France. You'll encounter the clever pranksters and the enigmatic side characters-the individuals who played brief but unforgettable cameo roles on the world's stage. Rather than re-treading well-worn narratives, this show seeks out perspectives rarely considered, finding the extraordinary within the ordinary march of events. Listening to this podcast is an exercise in curiosity, where major historical moments are often reframed through a surprising, human lens. It’s for anyone who suspects the past is far weirder and more wonderful than they were taught, blending rigorous research with a storyteller's sense of wonder. The result is a consistently engaging mix that sits at the crossroads of history, culture, and sheer human imagination.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Tales of History and Imagination
Podcast Episodes
The Hammersmith Ghost [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:44
Last week when I covered the Tale of Spring Heeled Jack, I mentioned a couple of people in passing without explanation… Apologies all, I’ll be coming back to a few of those people sometime in the near future… But with re…
Spring Heeled Jack [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:35
This week on Tales of History and Imagination we return to an episode from the first season to give it a new coat of (red) paint… speaking of, we’re going back to London in 1837 to discuss newspapers, the death of ‘Silly…
Murder in Belgravia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:28
This week on Tales of History and Imagination we discuss a murdered nanny, the murderer… his awful ancestors, and said murderer’s mysterious disappearance. Trigger warnings: murder. Sources Include: A Different Class of…
The Batavia: Part Four - Batavia’s Graveyard [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:34
This week on Tales of History and Imagination we return one last time to the wreck of the Batavia. This is where things, finally, go all ‘Lord of the Flies’ on Batavia’s Graveyard. This is part four of a four parter - th…
The Batavia: Part Three - The Longboat [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:48
This week on Tales of History and Imagination we return to the wreck of the Batavia. In part two we follow the adventures of the 48 in the longboat as they make their way along Australia’s Western coast; learn a little m…
The Batavia: Part Two - The Heretic [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:00
This week on Tales of History and Imagination we return to the wreck of the Batavia. In part two we discuss heresy, and the harrowing life of under-merchant Jeronimus Cornelisz. This is part two of a four parter. Trigger…
The Batavia: Part One - The Shipwreck [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:39
This week on Tales of History and Imagination we return to Australia for a real life soap opera that was considerably more bloody than Neighbours or Home and Away. First we need to take a cruise on a Dutch VOC flagship c…
The Ballad of Tom Wills [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:06
This week we travel to Australia for a game of Marn Grook, to discuss origin stories; perhaps the archetypal troubled sportsman - and horrific massacres. Trigger warnings: Murder, suicide, colonialism, and to the Aborigi…
The Cancellation of Ilda Orme [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:40
The American actress Ilda Orme knew a thing or two about being cancelled, a long, long time before social media put the cancel button in the hands of the public at large. Her cancellers, she suspected were two hateful fo…
Archias The Exile Hunter [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:04
On, or around 11th June 323 BC Alexander the Great died in Babylon. While there are mysteries surrounding his passing - did an Indian holy man prophesy his passing a year prior while self immolating in Alexander’s presen…