Six decades ago, humanity came closest to the end of the world as we know it. The nuclear tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union reached a fever pitch during the 13-day period known as the “Cuban Missile Crisis.”

Fortunately, both sides climbed down and it remains the closest the planet has come to nuclear Armageddon. However, once again we are entering a period of tension between the same sides again with the war in Ukraine and the inciting missile usage of North Korea.

Here & Now‘s security analyst Jim Walsh is a senior research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Security Studies Program and joins Here & Now guest host Celeste Headlee for a look back on those dangerous days and what we must learn from them.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.