Mutually Assured Destruction

by Cole Smith
TV Hour

In the wake of a sexual assault scandal, Chelsea, an Air Force fighter pilot, attempts to rebuild her life and career in a new job as a nuclear missile operator in small town Wyoming.

Cole Smith is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and served as an Air Force officer from 2012 to 2017. During that time, he worked as a nuclear missile operator — working 300 shifts in underground silos where he oversaw the targeting, maintenance, and security of up to 50 nuclear weapons. Cole’s essays on nuclear missile operations have been published in the Guardian. He has appeared on the BBC and NPR to discuss the state of the US nuclear missile force. Cole is the recipient of the 2021 Sloan Screenplay award for his feature script Damascus, which tells the true story of a 1980 Titan Nuclear Missile explosion. He is also an award winning director. His latest animated short film, Bird Poop Fish, stars Kathleen Turner and is a 2022 CUFF select.