In this pivotal episode of The MLK Project, the story traces how the death of Joseph Stalin and the waning of the McCarthy era forced global communism to adapt in order to survive. What had been a “close call” for the movement during the height of anti-communist scrutiny became a lesson in subtlety; an evolution from open confrontation to quiet infiltration. As Khrushchev rebranded the Soviet image and figures like Stanley Levison refined the strategy at home, Marxist influence sought new ways to embed itself within American social and religious institutions. The episode follows the formative years of Martin Luther King Jr., revealing how his theological training and associations reflected this calculated transformation in communist tactics, preserving the ideology’s reach while avoiding its exposure.