Cold War

A nuclear-powered car lined with lead and other materials to protect its passengers from radiation would weigh at least 50 tons—more than 25 times as heavy as the average vehicle.

Visions of Nuclear-Powered Cars Captivated Cold War America, but the Technology Never Really Worked

From the Ford Nucleon to the Studebaker-Packard Astral, these vehicles failed to progress past the prototype stage in the 1950s and 1960s

Cyclists pass a preserved section of the Berlin Wall.

How the Berlin Wall Became a 100-Mile Bike and Pedestrian Trail

Once one of the world’s most dangerous border crossings, Berlin's symbol of death and division has been turned into a tangible way to experience history

A lead canister carrying the fuel rods from the U.S. Army’s Camp Century nuclear reactor in Greenland, during decommissioning in 1960s.

The Odd Arctic Military Projects Spawned by the Cold War

Many offbeat research efforts were doomed to fail, from atomic subways to a city under the ice.

The bunker is located 14 feet below a field in Derbyshire.

You Can Own a Rare Nuclear Bunker Built in England in the 1950s

The underground hideout, which will go to auction this month, was designed to shelter three people for two weeks in the event of an attack

Members of the U.S. team participate in the opening ceremony at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.

At the 1960 Olympics, American Athletes Recruited by the CIA Tried to Convince Their Soviet Peers to Defect

Al Cantello, a star of the U.S. track and field team, arranged a covert meeting between a government agent and a Ukrainian long jumper

The cargo ship Dali ran into the Key Bridge after losing power on March 26.

A Massive Crane Helping With the Baltimore Bridge Cleanup Was Built to Recover a Sunken Soviet Submarine

The Chesapeake 1000 was used to construct a ship for a top-secret CIA mission in the 1970s

The hideout boasted more than 1,000 bunk beds, a 400-seat cafeteria, individual auditoriums for both the Senate and the House of Representatives, vast water tanks, and a trash incinerator that could serve as a crematorium.

The Town That Kept Its Nuclear Bunker a Secret for Three Decades

The people of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, helped keep the Greenbrier resort's bunker—designed to hold the entirety of Congress—hidden from 1958 to 1992

Runit Dome in the Marshall Islands contains radioactive waste from U.S. activity during the Cold War. A new report says climate change may cause its contaminants to enter the environment.

Climate Change May Unearth Cold War-Era Nuclear Waste Stored by the U.S. in Other Countries

A new report finds that melting ice and rising sea levels could disturb radioactive contamination left over from American nuclear tests after World War II

The missile was declared "inert" by members of the Bellevue Police Department’s bomb squad.

Inert Cold War-Era Missile Discovered in a Washington Man's Garage

A resident of Bellevue, Washington, attempted to donate the historic artifact to a museum, which alerted authorities

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Oppenheimer Has a Long History On Screen, Including the Time the Nuclear Physicist Played Himself

Now with 13 Academy Award nominations to its credit, the blockbuster film comes after nearly eight decades of mythologizing the father of the atomic bomb

Charles Robert Jenkins, pictured here in 2004, hoped to surrender to North Korea, then seek aslyum at the Soviet Embassy and eventually make his way back to the United States via a prisoner swap.

The American Soldier Whose Fear of Fighting in Vietnam Led Him to Defect to North Korea. He Stayed There for 40 Years

During his time in the repressive country, Charles Robert Jenkins married a Japanese abductee, taught English at a school and appeared in propaganda films

Images from Corona, a U.S. military program that ran from 1960 to 1972

Declassified Cold War Satellite Photos Reveal Hundreds of Roman-Era Forts

Once thought to be defensive military bases, the forts may have supported peaceful trade and travel

An artist's rendering of what the tunnels could look like by 2027

Secret World War II-Era Tunnels Could Become a London Tourist Attraction

Built as a shelter during the London Blitz, the subterranean network could open as an immersive experience

Helen Mirren as Golda Meir

The Real History Behind the 'Golda' Movie

A new film explores how Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir navigated the 1973 Yom Kippur War

In 1984, Ivo Zdarsky fled from communist Czechoslovakia to Vienna in a homemade flying machine.

The Man Who Pierced the Iron Curtain in a Flying Go-Kart—and Left Civilization Forever

Escaping communism in a DIY aircraft wasn’t enough for Ivo Zdarsky. So he invented his own way of life in a Utah desert ghost town

Spam musubi, a Japanese-American dish created in Hawaii, is made of Spam, rice and seaweed.

How Spam Became a Staple of Asian Cuisine

When American G.I.s fought abroad in wars in the 20th century, they left behind an unlikely legacy: canned meat

Did lions once live in ancient Greece?

Did Lions Live in Ancient Greece? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

President John F. Kennedy meets with William Fitzjohn, Sierra Leone's charge d’affairs in Washington, in the Oval Office on April 27, 1961.

The African Diplomats Who Protested Segregation in the U.S.

Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy publicly apologized after restaurants refused to serve Black representatives of newly independent nations

The door of the 1,900-square-foot Nantucket fallout shelter

Inside JFK's Secret Doomsday Bunker

The president's Nantucket nuclear fallout shelter could become a National Historic Landmark—but efforts to preserve its history have stalled

As of January 24, the Doomsday Clock sits at 90 seconds to midnight.

The Doomsday Clock Is Now Closer Than Ever to Midnight

The reset comes amid the war in Ukraine, nuclear threats and climate change

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