Get out the popcorn. It's November.

Today, friends, we tackle the Cold War, that angst-ridden epoch in human history that began shortly after World War II and continued until the collapse of the Warsaw Pact. Back in the early 1960s, tensions between the US and the Soviet Union brought the world to the brink of nuclear confrontation, so it's fitting that we remember the history.

But we don't always have to be too serious about it, as today's short subject illustrates.

Today's Short Subject: Professor Tom Lehrer is both mathematician and satirist. His humour is infectious, even when he's singing about scary topics. Back in the day, he warned us that when it came to nuclear war, we would all go together when we went. Enjoy.

And now for the serious part:

Today's Feature Film:The Missiles of October, a rather long-winded (two and a half hours) made-for-TV film about the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis was a very frightening event for the entire world. For a couple of weeks, it looked like World War III might break out. In fact, I remember this, because I and all the other schoolchildren at Macon Elementary had to practice running out into the corridor and crouching down to hide from The Bomb, just like in that Duck and Cover video. I even had dreams about those bombs, based on Herblock cartoons. (In my dreams, The Bomb went in one large window, then out the other, missing us all because we were properly crouched in the hallway as instructed.) I asked my mom and dad if we were going to build a fallout shelter in our backyard, but they said no. The Lord would take care of us. I felt reassured, and hey, He did: He made Bobby Kennedy smart enough to figure it out, and Nikita Khrushchev flexible enough to deal with the situation.

To paraphrase Admiral Halsey, there are no great men. There are just clever angels who put in overtime dealing with human stupidity.

This film is interesting. It's based on actual transcripts of conferences held by the officials involved. It's accurate in detail, and features major figures in history. But what may keep you watching are the actors. William Devane may not be familiar to you, but his John F Kennedy is riveting. You're definitely going to recognise Bobby Kennedy, though: the President's brother (and Attorney General) is played by another TV president, Jeb Bartlet…er, Martin Sheen. What Sheen lacks in not looking much like Robert Kennedy (he's kind of short, too) he makes up for in nailing that Boston accent.

But the pièce de résistance is Khrushchev, played by Howard Da Silva. Howard Da Silva is a very funny actor, known for his portrayal of Ben Franklin in 1776. Casting him as the Russian who notoriously beat a conference table with his shoe (a very Russian thing to do) was sheer genius. You like him already. Besides, he's sort of a passive-aggressive Soviet tovarich.

Unless you're a real history junkie, you probably won't want to watch the whole saga. But this faithful reenactment will give you a flavour of the time and place, and remind us all to be grateful that the crisis was averted before the whole planet became soot and ash.

Tomorrow, I'll tell you about the communist bank heist…