When the CIA Lost a Nuclear Device in India

About this episode

This episode discusses the CIA's loss of a nuclear device in India during the 1960s and the subsequent investigation by journalists.

In the 1960s, the CIA lost a plutonium-fueled generator on top of a mountain in India. The generator was supposed to power an unmanned listening station, intended to pick up signals from China’s missile tests. But when mountaineers ascended the near 26,000-ft Nanda Devi – under the guise of studying the environment – weather got in their way. They left the nuclear device behind and months later, when they returned, it was gone. New York Times reporter Jeffrey Gettleman reconstructed this event with a team of journalists. The story took about seven years, thousands of miles, and earning the trust of many men who had grown old and have since passed away. Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ For more information about the International Spy Museum, visit: https://www.spymuseum.org/ And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by email at spycast@spymuseum.org. This show is brought to you by N2K Networks, Goat Rodeo, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. This episode was produced by Flora Warshaw and the team at Goat Rodeo. At the International Spy Museum, Mike…

People in this episode

Host: Sasha Ingber

Topics covered

• CIA
• nuclear device
• India
• mountaineering
• journalism
• history

Keywords

• CIA
• nuclear device
• plutonium
• Nanda Devi
• Jeffrey Gettleman
• journalism
• India
• mountaineers

Sponsors

N2K Networks, Goat Rodeo, International Spy Museum

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New York Times

Places: India, Nanda Devi, Washington, DC

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