1981
- January - President Reagan issues a top secret executive order authorizing the FBI to use whatever means necessary to neutralize Soviet agents operating within the United States. (Pilot)
- March 30 – President Reagan shot by John Hinckley Jr. (In Control)
1982
- The Belomorsk, a Soviet submarine, went down due to a catastrophic propellor malfunction, killing 160 men. (New Car)
- June 4 -Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan opens in theaters (referenced by Henry in Operation Chronicle).
- November 10 - Leonid Brezhnev passes away (EST Men)
- November 22 - Time Magazine lead article on Andropov (Open House)
1983
- March 8 - President Reagan gives his famous speech in which he condemns the Soviet Union as an “evil empire” (March 8, 1983)
- April 8 - Illusionist David Copperfield makes the Statue of Liberty disappear (The Magic of David Copperfield V: The Statue of Liberty Disappears)
- November 20 – The television movie ‘The Day After’ is aired (The Day After)