The U-2 Incident

How did a single crisis unfold global diplomacy?

4.7 (26)

32 mins

Explore the high-stakes world of Cold War espionage through the lens of the U-2 spy plane and its fateful flight over Soviet territory. Discover how a top-secret mission gone wrong triggered a global diplomatic crisis and exposed the limits of secrecy.

Ep 1:

Building the Invisible Plane

Amid Cold War paranoia, Lockheed's secret Skunk Works engineers a radical spy plane, and a quiet West Virginian pilot is recruited into a shadow war with deadly stakes.

Ep 2:

Into Enemy Skies

Francis Gary Powers slips deep into Soviet airspace on a fateful 1960 mission, unaware that missiles are already climbing toward his 'untouchable' U-2 high above Sverdlovsk.

Ep 3:

The Cover Story Collapses

Washington's carefully rehearsed cover story unravels as Khrushchev reveals a captured, living pilot, forcing Eisenhower into a stunning admission that shatters a fragile Cold War summit.

Ep 4:

Ghosts in the Sky

From Powers' mysterious death to satellites replacing spy planes, unresolved questions swirl—plus how U-2 flights accidentally birthed America's UFO obsession and its secret keepers.

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