Episode #68: WarGames - The Dead Code Super Critical Podcast

In this episode, we watched a whopper, err WOPR of a movie in the 2008 direct to video-on-demand sequel to the classic nuke movie called WarGames: The Dead Code. What could go wrong when you put artificial intelligence back in charge of the nukes and the predator drones? How to do you convince a machine that nuclear war is not winnable? What happens when you don’t know what “The Dead Code” is and at this point you’re too afraid to ask? Tim Westmyer (@NuclearPodcast) and returning special guest Lucy Steigerwald (@lucystag) answer these questions and more.

Before we booked our flight to Montreal, we recommend:
-WarGames (1983)
-Miracle Mile (1988)
-The Iron Giant (1999)
-Natasha Bajemna, Rescind Order, 2020
-David Hoffman, The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy, 2009
-Future Man (2017-2020, Hulu TV Show)
-Zachary Kallenborn, “Giving an AI Control of Nuclear Weapons: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?,” The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, February 1, 2022
-Hackers React to WarGames: The Dead Code, Alex Chaveriat, YouTube, July 28, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PghUBYY4fpE

Check out our website, SuperCriticalPodcast.com, for more resources and related items. We aim to have at least one new episode every month. Let us know what you think about the podcast and any ideas you may have about future episodes and guests by reaching out at on Twitter @NuclearPodcast, GooglePlay, Spotify, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Stitcher Radio, Facebook, SuperCriticalPodcast@gmail.com, and YouTube.

Enjoy!