Operation Morning Light
4.7/5
Critic Rating
"Best Podcasts of 2022" - Financial TimesOn a January night in 1978, a white light burned through the sub-Arctic sky. It was Cosmos 954, a nuclear-powered Soviet espionage satellite that had malfunctioned and fallen to earth. As the satellite disintegrated, it scattered dangerously radioactive debris across the vast traditional lands of the Dene, Métis, and Inuit in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Operation Morning Light tells the story of the Cosmos 954 disaster, its impact on the land, and the resilience of the communities in the debris field.Operation Morning Light is hosted by Dëneze Nakehk'o, a Denesuline and Dehcho Dene father from...
Critic Reviews
Score: 5
Fiona Sturges • Financial Times • Nov 28, 2022
"In a story that is part Fargo, part Stranger Things...This is more than a tale of Soviet intrigue, however. Aided by an eerie and evocative sound palette — bask in its whipping wind and the distant tinkling of dog sleds — Operation Morning Light tells of a land that is beautiful but unyielding..."
Score: 4
James Marriot • The Times UK • Nov 25, 2022
"...divertingly atmospheric...I like this sort of podcast. No real point — no murder or anything, I mean — just a pleasant way to gather interesting interviews, archive footage and historical speculation around one dramatic event. Deneze Nakehk’o, a member of an indigenous community on whose land the satellite landed. He brings us awestruck eyewitness testimony...It’s eerie, atmospheric and occasionally rather beautiful."
Score: 5
Miranda Sawyer • The Guardian • Nov 19, 2022
"...a captivating retelling of the time...Host Dëneze Nakehk’o of the Dene, an Indigenous people, has a lovely tone, there’s some excellent soundscaping and archive work, and this story gradually unfolds from dreaminess into foreboding. An investigative podcast a la Fargo."
