#420 – Annie Jacobsen: Nuclear War, CIA, KGB, Aliens, Area 51, Roswell & Secrecy
About this episode
<p>Annie Jacobsen is an investigative journalist and author of “Nuclear War: A Scenario” and many other books on war, weapons, government secrecy, and national security. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:<br /> – <b>HiddenLayer</b>: <a href="https://hiddenlayer.com/lex">https://hiddenlayer.com/lex</a><br /> – <b>BetterHelp</b>: <a href="https://betterhelp.com/lex">https://betterhelp.com/lex</a> to get 10% off<br /> – <b>Policygenius</b>: <a href="https://policygenius.com/lex">https://policygenius.com/lex</a><br /> – <b>NetSuite</b>: <a href="http://netsuite.com/lex">http://netsuite.com/lex</a> to get free product tour</p> <p>Transcript: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/annie-jacobsen-transcript">https://lexfridman.com/annie-jacobsen-transcript</a></p> <p><b>EPISODE LINKS:</b><br /> Nuclear War: A Scenario (book): <a href="https://amzn.to/3THZHfr">https://amzn.to/3THZHfr</a><br /> Annie’s Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/anniejacobsen">https://twitter.com/anniejacobsen</a><br /> Annie’s Website: <a href="https://anniejacobsen.com/">https://anniejacobsen.com/</a><br /> Annie’s Books: <a href="https://amzn.to/3TGWyMJ">https://amzn.to/3TGWyMJ</a><br /> Annie’s Books (audio): <a href="https://adbl.co/49ZnI7c">https://adbl.co/49ZnI7c</a></p> <p><b>PODCAST INFO:</b><br /> Podcast website: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/podcast">https://lexfridman.com/podcast</a><br /> Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://apple.co/2lwqZIr">https://apple.co/2lwqZIr</a><br /> Spotify: <a href="https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8">https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8</a><br /> RSS: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/">https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/</a><br /> YouTube Full Episodes: <a href="https://youtube.com/lexfridman">https://youtube.com/lexfridman</a><br /> YouTube Clips: <a href="https://youtube.com/lexclips">https://youtube.com/lexclips</a></p> <p><b>SUPPORT & CONNECT:</b><br /> – Check out the sponsors above, it’s the best way to support this podcast<br /> – Support on Patreon: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman">https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman</a><br /> – Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/lexfridman">https://twitter.com/lexfridman</a><br /> – Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman">https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman</a><br /> – LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman</a><br /> – Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman">https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman</a><br /> – Medium: <a href="https://medium.com/@lexfridman">https://medium.com/@lexfridman</a></p> <p><b>OUTLINE:</b><br /> Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.<br /> (00:00) – Introduction<br /> (07:37) – Nuclear war<br /> (12:21) – Launch procedure<br /> (18:00) – Deterrence<br /> (21:34) – Tactical nukes<br /> (30:59) – Nuclear submarines<br /> (33:59) – Nuclear missiles<br /> (41:10) – Nuclear football<br /> (50:17) – Missile interceptor system<br /> (54:34) – North Korea<br /> (1:01:10) – Nuclear war scenarios<br /> (1:10:02) – Warmongers<br /> (1:14:31) – President’s cognitive ability<br /> (1:20:43) – Refusing orders<br /> (1:28:41) – Russia and Putin<br /> (1:33:48) – Cyberattack<br /> (1:35:09) – Ground zero of nuclear war<br /> (1:39:48) – Surviving nuclear war<br /> (1:44:06) – Nuclear winter<br /> (1:54:29) – Alien civilizations<br /> (2:00:04) – Extrasensory perception<br /> (2:13:50) – Area 51<br /> (2:17:48) – UFOs and aliens<br /> (2:28:15) – Roswell incident<br /> (2:34:55) – CIA assassinations<br /> (2:53:47) – Navalny<br /> (2:56:12) – KGB<br /> (3:02:48) – Hitler and the atomic bomb<br /> (3:06:52) – War and human nature<br /> (3:10:17) – Hope</p>
Listen to this episode in English to learn English
Podcast episodes are one of the highest-density ways to absorb English at native pace. #420 – Annie Jacobsen: Nuclear War, CIA, KGB, Aliens, Area 51, Roswell & Secrecy from Lex Fridman Podcast gives you natural dialogue, unscripted speech, and vocabulary that actually appears in real conversations.
In the Clue app, every word in the transcript is tappable. Tap an unknown word, see the translation in your language instantly, and keep listening without breaking flow.
Episodes to Learn English
- #497 – Biggest Mysteries in Physics: Antimatter, Dark Energy & ToE – Don Lincoln May 29, 2026
- #496 – FFmpeg: The Incredible Technology Behind Video on the Internet May 6, 2026
- #495 – Vikings, Ragnar, Berserkers, Valhalla & the Warriors of the Viking Age Apr 9, 2026
- #494 – Jensen Huang: NVIDIA – The $4 Trillion Company & the AI Revolution Mar 23, 2026
- #493 – Jeff Kaplan: World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Blizzard, and Future of Gaming Mar 11, 2026
- #492 – Rick Beato: Greatest Guitarists of All Time, History & Future of Music Mar 1, 2026
- #491 – OpenClaw: The Viral AI Agent that Broke the Internet – Peter Steinberger Feb 12, 2026
- #490 – State of AI in 2026: LLMs, Coding, Scaling Laws, China, Agents, GPUs, AGI Feb 1, 2026
- #489 – Paul Rosolie: Uncontacted Tribes in the Amazon Jungle Jan 13, 2026
- #488 – Infinity, Paradoxes that Broke Mathematics, Gödel Incompleteness & the Multiverse – Joel David Hamkins Dec 31, 2025
- #487 – Irving Finkel: Deciphering Secrets of Ancient Civilizations & Flood Myths Dec 12, 2025
- #486 – Michael Levin: Hidden Reality of Alien Intelligence & Biological Life Nov 30, 2025
- #485 – David Kirtley: Nuclear Fusion, Plasma Physics, and the Future of Energy Nov 17, 2025
- #484 – Dan Houser: GTA, Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar, Absurd & Future of Gaming Oct 31, 2025
- #483 – Julia Shaw: Criminal Psychology of Murder, Serial Killers, Memory & Sex Oct 14, 2025
- #482 – Pavel Durov: Telegram, Freedom, Censorship, Money, Power & Human Nature Oct 1, 2025
- #481 – Norman Ohler: Hitler, Nazis, Drugs, WW2, Blitzkrieg, LSD, MKUltra & CIA Sep 19, 2025
- #480 – Dave Hone: T-Rex, Dinosaurs, Extinction, Evolution, and Jurassic Park Sep 4, 2025
- #479 – Dave Plummer: Programming, Autism, and Old-School Microsoft Stories Aug 29, 2025
- #478 – Scott Horton: The Case Against War and the Military Industrial Complex Aug 24, 2025
- #477 – Keyu Jin: China’s Economy, Tariffs, Trade, Trump, Communism & Capitalism Aug 13, 2025
- #476 – Jack Weatherford: Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire Aug 1, 2025
- #475 – Demis Hassabis: Future of AI, Simulating Reality, Physics and Video Games Jul 23, 2025
- #474 – DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Ruby on Rails, Productivity & Parenting Jul 12, 2025
- #473 – Iran War Debate: Nuclear Weapons, Trump, Peace, Power & the Middle East Jun 26, 2025
- #472 – Terence Tao: Hardest Problems in Mathematics, Physics & the Future of AI Jun 15, 2025
- #471 – Sundar Pichai: CEO of Google and Alphabet Jun 5, 2025
- #470 – James Holland: World War II, Hitler, Churchill, Stalin & Biggest Battles May 24, 2025
- #469 – Oliver Anthony: Country Music, Blue-Collar America, Fame, Money, and Pain May 20, 2025
- #468 – Janna Levin: Black Holes, Wormholes, Aliens, Paradoxes & Extra Dimensions May 5, 2025