SNAFU with Ed Helms
S4E1: Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey, and the Lost Nuke
Released: October 8, 2025
Episode Overview
In the season four premiere of SNAFU, host Ed Helms is joined by his former The Office castmates and current Office Ladies podcast hosts, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. Together, they unpack one of history’s wildest military blunders: the story of the “lost nuke”—a 1965 incident where the U.S. Navy accidentally dropped a hydrogen bomb off the coast of Japan, then covered it up for years. The conversation weaves personal SNAFU stories, signature friendly banter, and real historical outrage, all in the show’s signature blend of history lesson, group therapy, and hangout pod.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
Catching Up & “The Office” Nostalgia
(02:05–09:22)
- Ed, Jenna, and Angela reminisce about their days filming The Office and how their close-knit, collaborative environment felt “like a little bubble,” fostering both creative magic and intimate, mundane moments.
- Jenna: “I miss being silly with you. Like, we would get so silly.” (03:47)
- Ed: “Fans don’t always understand… our experience making the show is actually this whole tapestry of small moments.” (03:58)
- Unique experiences of joining the show, particularly Ed’s “gentle entry” during a hot period (season 3).
- Ed: "All of my butterflies and anxiety just washed out so quickly because everyone...was so lovely. Right out of the gate." (08:06)
Personal SNAFU Stories
(09:03–13:15)
- Jenna shares a high school mishap: Flipping her desk and possibly breaking her arm in front of a cute classmate—her “teen movie meet-cute gone wrong.” (09:26-11:07)
- Angela recalls peacocking for her neighbor—without pants: “I was so into my Esprit top that I forgot to put on the bottoms of the outfit.” (12:34)
Introducing the “Lost Nuke” SNAFU
(13:26–15:59)
- Ed tees up the main story: The 1965 USS Ticonderoga “broken arrow" incident—a term the military uses (euphemistically) for losing a nuclear weapon.
- Angela: “Now I know why they call it broken arrows… If you say we have 32 lost nuclear weapons, you’re like, wait, stop. What? Say again?” (01:53 & 36:25 / 36:38)
- Ed: “Euphemisms make hard things a lot easier.” (02:06 & 36:39)
Main Segment: The 1965 USS Ticonderoga Broken Arrow Incident
What Happened?
(15:59–26:39)
- Routine turns catastrophic: During a training exercise, an A4E Skyhawk fighter jet rolls off the elevator of the USS Ticonderoga, plunging into the Pacific.
- Ed: "As the Skyhawk was being positioned on the elevator, it suddenly began rolling backward...it rolled off the side of the carrier...and vanished into the ocean.” (21:24)
- Onboard: Lieutenant Douglas Webster (the pilot), and a 1-megaton hydrogen bomb—70 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb.
- Rescue & cover-up: Search and rescue fail to recover plane or pilot; only the helmet is found. Instead of transparency, the Navy initiates a cover-up due to the proximity of Japan—where both nuclear weapons and U.S. government dishonesty are especially sensitive topics.
Reactions & Comedic Analogies
(22:33–26:39)
- Angela compares the incident to dropping your phone in the toilet—once it’s gone, it’s really gone. (22:42)
- Roleplay twist: “What plane?" banter on how the Navy might have covered up the incident. (23:47–24:03)
The Secrecy & the Diplomatic Fallout
(26:39–34:07)
- Why the cover-up? The incident technically occurred in Japanese waters, violating an explicit anti-nuclear treaty.
- Jenna pivots the conversation to the legal and diplomatic issues: “Was the ship more than 200 nautical miles off the coastline of Japan?” (26:39)
- US-Japan silent deal: “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy about nukes on ships.
- The long cover-up: The U.S. concealed the incident for over 15 years. Only in 1981 does it become public, and it’s buried in a memo. In 1989, Greenpeace and a naval expert finally reveal the full truth: the bomb was just 70 miles from Japan’s shore, much closer than previously claimed.
Fallout and Lessons
(34:07–38:59)
- Ecological & ethical concern: The bomb, though unarmed, is 16,000 ft underwater and could potentially leak pollutants as it decays—contrary to Pentagon assurances.
- “It is hard to believe… that a nuclear missile just decaying on the bottom of the ocean is like, completely harmless.” — Ed (40:05)
- Angela: “Would you take a dirty penny and put it in a glass of water… It’s doing something down there for sure.” (40:43)
- Diplomatic choreography: Ed wonders whether expressions of outrage in international incidents are genuinely personal or just “grand institutional emotion.” (33:23–34:07)
- Handy euphemisms: Discussion returns to why the term “broken arrow” is used—“broken arrow” sounds less scary than “lost nuclear weapon.”
- Staggering statistic: Since 1950, there have been 32 "broken arrow" incidents, including theft, accidental detonation, and unaccounted losses.
- Angela: “Like, yeah, I don't know, like which one bothers me the most. I don't know if it's that we lost some, that they were stolen or accidentally detonated." (37:56)
- Ed: "The next time you're feeling clumsy for dropping something, just remember that the US Navy dropped an entire hydrogen bomb into the ocean and then kicked sand over it for 15 years." (38:15)
- “Lessons learned”:
- Comedic twist on moral lessons learned:
- Jenna: “Lie plus time. Give it time.” (39:05)
- Ed: “Let them devour you from the inside.” (39:07)
- Angela: “Thank you, Greenpeace… for holding people accountable.” (39:38–40:01)
- Comedic twist on moral lessons learned:
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- Ed:
- “Basically, this is a classic workplace comedy—except if Michael Scott was in charge… and instead of paper jams, we’re dealing with hydrogen bombs.” (15:39–16:02)
- “Euphemisms make hard things a lot easier.” (02:06 & 36:39)
- "All I know is what I've been told, and that to half truth, is a whole lie.” (16:19 & 28:06)
- Angela:
- “Now I know why they call it broken arrows…” (01:53 & 36:25)
- “Would you take a dirty penny and put it in a glass of water and let it sit overnight and then drink that glass of water the next day? … It's doing something down there for sure.” (40:43)
- Jenna:
- "Those meet cutes are a lie." (11:16)
- “32 super duper nukes?” (36:15)
- “I think instead of broken arrow, they should be called a dirty penny.” (41:02)
- Group banter:
- Comparing lost nuclear weapons to The Office “candy bags” and “bloopers”—ways of softening scary or unpleasant truths. (36:44–37:35)
Important Segment Timestamps
- 02:05 – Angela and Jenna join; “The Office” memories
- 09:22 – Personal SNAFU stories
- 13:26 – Main snafu introduction: the “lost nuke”
- 15:59 – The 1965 USS Ticonderoga incident play-by-play
- 22:33 – Crew reactions, phone-in-toilet analogy
- 26:39 – Geographic, diplomatic, and secrecy issues
- 31:55 – The cover-up, Greenpeace, and final Pentagon admission
- 34:07 – Aftermath: ecological, diplomatic, and ethical questions
- 36:12 – Accidental nuclear weapons tally (32 broken arrows)
- 38:15 – Ed’s lesson: "Lie...and eventually it fades”
- 39:38 – Angela: “Thank you, Greenpeace.”
- 41:02 – Jenna: “Call them dirty pennies!”
- 41:18 – Jenna and Angela plug current projects
What’s Next From the Guests?
(41:18–43:36)
- Office Ladies podcast:
- "All new material every Wednesday; Office rewatch library plays on Mondays." – Jenna (41:45)
- Jenna Fischer:
- Starring in the world premiere play "Ashland Avenue" at the Goodman Theater in Chicago, written by her husband Lee Kirk.
- Angela Kinsey:
- Her husband, a self-taught chef, is publishing a family cookbook titled "You Can Make This" in October.
Tone and Takeaways
- Casual, irreverent, but thoughtful: The hosts and guests mix jokes, nostalgia, and genuine concern for history and the present.
- Underlying message: Language softens harsh truths—“broken arrow” instead of “lost nuke”; “candy bag” instead of “extra work.”
- Serious undertone: Institutions will sometimes cover up mistakes for decades; accountability often comes from diligent outsiders (like Greenpeace).
- Final word:
- Angela: “Thank goodness you’re [Greenpeace] around. Because maybe we would have never known.”
- Ed: “The next time you're feeling clumsy for dropping something, just remember that the US Navy dropped an entire hydrogen bomb into the ocean and then kicked sand over it for 15 years.”
Summary Table: The 1965 USS Ticonderoga Broken Arrow
| Incident | Location | What Happened | Secrecy/Aftermath | |----------------------|-------------|------------------------------------|----------------------------------| | USS Ticonderoga | Off Japan | Plane with a hydrogen bomb lost at sea; pilot perished | Covered up 15+ years, exposed in 1989 by Greenpeace |
For fans of history, The Office, or real-life farces, this episode delivers funny and sobering reminders of how human error, language, and secrecy always shape the fate of even the world’s most powerful institutions.