Alternate Histories: The End of the World as We Know It

<p>On September 26, 1983, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Soviet army saved the world.</p> <p>When the Oko nuclear-warning system erroneously reported an incoming barrage of American missiles, Stanislov Petrov chose not to alert his superiors, and averted the apocalypse. But what if he had made a different decision? Would civilization still exist? What would the world look like today? </p> <p>Join the boys as they examine the uniquely human obsession with revising history, and take a journey down the "what if" rabbit hole.</p> <p>~</p> <p>Support the show by becoming a Midnight Minion, Menace, or Maniac, and unlock exclusive bonus content over at <a href='https://www.patreon.com/mffi?fan_landing=true'>PATREON</a></p> <p>~</p> <p>Join the MFFI community and vote on episode topics via <a href='https://discord.gg/4KUWbgj4PN'>DISCORD</a></p> <p>~</p> <p>In this episode:  </p> <ul><li>The Roman Origins of Alternate History</li> <li>Titus Livius's Ab Urbe Condita</li> <li>Points of Divergence</li> <li>Chaos Theory</li> <li>The Butterfly Effect</li> <li>Edward Norton Lorenz</li> <li>"For Want of a Nail" </li> <li>Apocalyptic Futures</li> <li>Lieutenant Colonel Stanislov Petrov</li> <li>The Oko Warning System</li> <li>"Launch on Warning" Protocol</li> <li>Mutually Assured Destruction</li> <li>Northern Hemisphere Effects vs. Southern</li> <li>Fallout</li> <li>Little Ice Age vs. Nuclear Winter </li> <li>What if the North Hadn't Won the Civil War?</li> <li>Likelihood of a Northern Failure/Southern Stalemate</li> <li>Abraham Lincoln and the Election of 1864</li> <li>McClellan Negotiates a Ceasefire</li> <li>Lincoln's Legacy</li> <li>Slavery Continues</li> <li>Southern Decline</li> <li>Westward Expansion, Further Fragmentation</li> <li>WWI in America</li> </ul> <p>Join the Midnight Masses! </p> <p>Become an Insomniac by dropping a review, adding us on social media, and contacting us with episode ideas. </p> <p>And we now have Midnight Merch! Show your Insomniac pride and pick up a tee shirt or coffee mug to spread the word! </p>