This is an iHeart Podcast. Hey, it's Bobby from the Bobby Bone Show. I had an incredible time at this year's iHeartRadio Music Festival and even got the chance to hang out with Diplo and Bailey Zimmerman while I was there. How did Ashes come together, Diplo? I pulled up real quick.
He was about to leave on tour. You're about to jump in your tour bus, and we had like three hours. It was really cool. He literally just like randomly showed up to my house. I'm like, oh, hey, Diplo, what are you doing?
He's like, I have a song that I want to show you. And I was like, okay. You can listen to the full episode out now wherever you get your podcast. And big shout out to my friends at Hyundai for making this possible. At a blast, cruising around the festival weekend in the all-new Palisade Hybrid.
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Learn the signs and how to report at dhs.gov/slash blue campaign. I'm Scott Hanson, host of NFL Red Zone. Lowe's knows Sundays are for football. That's why we're here to help you get your next DIY project done, even when the clock isn't on your side. Whether that's a new Filtrite filter or Bosch and Cobalt power tools, Lowe's has everything you need to feel like the MVP of DIY.
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Take on Daniel Jones and the Colts in Berlin. to the fourth quarter. Then in week 11, Jaden Daniels and the Commanders played. Face Tua and the Dolphins in Madrid. Snooze off, game on.
It's Sunday morning football. continues November 9th at 9.30 Eastern only on NFL Network. This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star. and the American people coming to you from the city where the West begins. Fort Worth, Texas.
PAL codes, or codes for permissive action links, or complex multi-digit combinations. It vary for each nuclear weapon system, which prevent the unauthorized use. nuclear weapons but This wasn't always so. Here to tell the story of Simon Whistler. from the Today I Found Out YouTube channel.
Let's take a listen. During the height of the Cold War, the US military put such an emphasis on rapid response to an attack on American soil that to minimize any foreseeable delay in launching a nuclear missile, for nearly two decades they intentionally set the launch codes at every silo in the United States to a string of eight zeros. We guess the first thing that we need to address is how this came to be in the first place.
Well, in 1962, JFK signs the National Action Security Memorandum 160, which was supposed to ensure that every nuclear weapon in the US was fitted with a permissive action link, PAL, basically a small device that ensured that the missile could be launched with only the right code and with the right authority. There was particularly a concern that the nuclear missiles the United States had stationed in other countries, some of which had somewhat unstable leaderships, could potentially be seized by those governments and launched. With the PAL system, this became much less of a problem. Beyond foreign seizure, there was also the problem that many US commanders had the ability to launch nukes under their control at any time. Just one commanding officer who wasn't quite right in the head, and World War III begins.
As U.S. General Horace M. Wade stated about General Thomas Power: I used to worry about General Power. I used to worry that General Power was not stable. I used to worry about the fact that he had control over so many weapons and weapon systems and could, under certain conditions, launch the force.
Back in the days before we had real positive control, i.e., PAL locks, SAC had the power to do a lot of things and it was in his hands. and he knew it. Uh To give you an idea of how secure the PAL system was at this time, bypassing one was described once as being about as complex as performing a tonsillectomy while entering the patient from the wrong end. This system was supposed to be essentially hotwireproof, making sure only people with the correct codes could activate the nuclear weapons and launch the missiles.
However, though the devices were supposed to be fitted on every nuclear missile after JFK issued his memorandum, the military continually dragged its heels on the matter. In fact, it was noted that a full 20 years after JFK had ordered PALs to be fitted to every nuclear device, half of the missiles in Europe were still protected by simple mechanical locks. Most that did have the new system in place weren't even activated until 1977. Those in the US that had been fitted with the devices, such as the one in the Minuteman silos, were installed under the close scrutiny of Robert McNamara, JFK's Secretary of Defense. And the conventional wisdom is: don't make the same mistake twice, learn from your mistakes.
And we all do. Maybe we make it the same mistake three times, but hopefully not four or five. there'll be no learning period. With nuclear weapons. You make one mistake and you're going to destroy nations.
However, the Strategic Air Command greatly resented McNamara's presence, and almost as soon as he left, the code to launch the missiles, all 50 of them, was set to eight zeros. Oh, and in case you actually did forget the code, it was handily written down on a checklist handed out to soldiers. As Dr. Bruce G. Blair, who was once a Minuteman launch officer, stated.
Our launch checklist in fact instructed us, the firing crew, to double check the locking panel in our underground launch bunker to ensure that no digits other than zero had been inadvertently dialed into the panel. This ensured that there was no need to wait for presidential confirmation that would have just wasted valuable Russian muking time. To be fair, there was also the possibility that command centers or communication lines could be wiped out, so having a bunch of nuclear missiles sitting around unlaunchable because nobody had the code was seen as a greater risk by the military brass than a few soldiers simply deciding to launch the missiles without proper authorization. Mm. Dr.
Blair, whose resume to date is far too long to write out here, is the one who broke this 8-0es news to the world in his 2004 article, Keeping Presidents in the Nuclear Dark. He also outlines the significant disconnect between the nation's elected leaders and the military when it came to nuclear weapons during the Cold War. Dr. Blair had previously made waves in 1977 when he wrote another article entitled The Terrorist Threat to World's Nuclear Programs. He had first attempted to communicate the serious security problems at the nuclear silos to congressmen starting around 1973.
When that information fell on mostly deaf ears, he decided to outline it for the public in this 1977 article where he described how just four people acting in tandem could easily activate a nuclear launch in the silos he had worked in. Further, amongst other things, the PAL system Magnamara had touted was barely in operation and thus launches could be authorized by anyone without presidential authority. He also noted how virtually anyone who asked for permission to tour the launch facility was granted it with little to no background checks performed. It is perhaps not coincidence that the PAL systems were all activated and the codes changed the same year this article was published.
So to recap, for around 20 years, the strategic air commands went out of their way to make launching a nuclear missile as easy and quick as possible. To be fair, they had their reasons, such as the fact that the soldiers in the silos in the case of a real nuclear war may have needed to be able to launch the missiles without being able to contact anyone on the outside. That said, their actions were in direct violation of the orders of the commander-in-chief. Further, not activating this safeguard and lack security ensured that someone with very little planning, someone with three friends who had a mind to, could have started World War III. We don't even think that could pass for a bad conspiracy theory film plot, but history is so often stranger than fiction.
And a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling by our own Greg Engler. And a special thanks to frequent contributor Simon Whistler from the Today I Found Out YouTube channel. And its sister, the Brain Food Show podcast. I recommend both of them. Heartily.
The story of the remedy for the nuclear launch code here on Our American Stories. Lee Habib here, and I'd like to encourage you to subscribe to Our American Stories on Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, Spotify. Or wherever you get our podcasts, any story you missed or want to hear again. can be found there daily. Again, Please subscribe to the Our American Stories podcast on Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, or anywhere you get your podcasts.
It helps us keep these great American stories coming. Hey, it's Bobby from the Bobby Bones Show. I had an incredible time at this year's iHeartRadio Music Festival and even got the chance to hang out with Diplo and Bailey Zimmerman while I was there. How did Ashes come together, Diplo? I pulled up real quick.
He was about to leave on tour. You're about to jump in your tour bus, and we had like three hours. It was really cool. He literally just like randomly showed up to my house. I'm like, oh, hey, Diplo, what are you doing?
He's like, I have a song that I want to show you. And I was like, okay. You can listen to the full episode out now wherever you get your podcast. And big shout out to my friends at Hyundai for making this possible. At a blast, cruising around the festival weekend in the all-new Palisade Hybrid.
Hey, what's up, it's Marla Lopez. Back to schools, an exciting time, but it can also be overwhelming and kids may feel isolated, a vulnerability that human traffickers can exploit. Human trafficking doesn't always look like what you expect. Everyday moments can become opportunities for someone with bad intentions, whether you're a parent, teacher, coach, or neighbor. Check in.
Ask questions. Stay connected. Blue Campaign is a national awareness initiative that provides resources to help recognize suspected instances of human trafficking. Learn the signs and how to report at dhs.gov/slash blue campaign. Greetings for my bath, festive friends.
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The NFL International Games continue on NFL Network. And here, our stars come out in the morning. Week 10, Bajon Robinson and the Falcons. Take on Daniel Jones and the Colts in Berlin. to the fourth corner.
Then in week 11, Jaden Daniels and the Commanders talk! Face Tua and the Dolphins in Madrid. Snooze off, game on. It's Sunday morning football. continues November 9th at 9.30 Eastern, only on NFL Network.
This is an iHeart podcast.
