Here in the US, we like to think that our nuclear weapons exist to prevent our enemies from detonating a nuclear explosion on US soil — that is, when we think about them at all. The thing is, nuclear weapons are just machines. And like all machines, sometimes they break, and sometimes, there’s user error. When the system that controls these civilization-ending weapons isn’t prepared for the inevitable technological and human screw ups, then we’re in real trouble.
Because the consequences for a mistake are enormous. We’re reminded of that by Robert Kenner, the producer and director of Command and Control, a spectacularly gripping documentary premiering tonight at 9:00PM ET on…