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PODCAST

Cold War Conversations Podcast

Experience the Cold War like never before with Cold War Conversations — an award-winning podcast recommended by The New York Times. Each week, host Ian Sanders brings you raw, firsthand accounts from the people who lived through one of history’s most tense and transformative eras — soldiers, spies, civilians, and more. These aren’t stories from textbooks. They’re unfiltered voices from the frontlines of history — emotional, gripping, and deeply human. This is Cold War history, told from

history documentary

All Episodes

82:42

America's Cold War Scottish Bastion (345)

Cold War Conversations Podcast ·

2024/05/10

David McKay is a former Cold War special forces officer and author of Bubbleheads, SEALs and Wizards: America's Scottish Bastion in the Cold War. His book highlights the Scottish bases' significant role in supporting the US military over three decades. David brings his expertise into play, examining this intriguing story by reaching out to more than one hundred veterans and expert witnesses. Their contributions reveal the personal stories of history, not high-end diplomacy. We also delve into the

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53:08

The Challenges of a Christian East German Childhood...

Cold War Conversations Podcast ·

2024/05/03

Tilo offers an engaging and personal account of growing up in East Berlin before the fall of the Berlin Wall. He begins by describing his early childhood in a rundown building in Prenzlauer Berg before moving to a new prefab neighbourhood in Lichtenberg.Tilo’s grandfather on his mother’s side was a pastor in the Lutheran church and second in command to a Bishop at the end of his career. His grandfather on his father’s side had been a teacher and had joined the Nazi party After the World War Two he

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82:01

Commanding a Cold War US Navy Nuclear Missile...

Cold War Conversations Podcast ·

2024/04/26

Bill Woodman is a former US Navy nuclear missile submarine commander, who shares his rich experiences from joining the US Naval Academy in 1964 to commanding two SSBN submarines, the USS James Monroe and the USS Alabama during the Cold War. Bill opens up about his initial aspirations, rigorous training at the Naval Academy, and his challenging interviews with the legendary Admiral Rickover who directed the original development of US naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three

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59:47

My friend the Bridge of Spies spy - Part 2 (342)

Cold War Conversations Podcast ·

2024/04/19

Burt recounts the surreal experience of learning about Fisher's true identity from a newspaper headline, the subsequent FBI interrogations, and the emotional courtroom testimony where he struggled to reconcile his friendship with the stark reality of espionage.Burt's journey leads him to Moscow in a failed attempt to reconnect with Fisher, revealing a labyrinthine world of secrets and paranoia. He shares a heartfelt letter he left for Fisher, expressing regret and longing for a simpler time when

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67:08

My friend the Bridge of Spies spy - Part 1 (341)

Cold War Conversations Podcast ·

2024/04/12

In a riveting episode that peels back the layers of Cold War espionage, we sit down with Burt, an artist who unwittingly befriended a man better known as Colonel Abel, the infamous Bridge of Spies Spy who was exchanged for shot down US U2 pilot Gary Powers. Burt knew Abel as Emil Goldfuss but his real name was Willie Fisher from Newcastle Upon Tyne in England. Fisher was a Soviet agent deeply embedded in the fabric of New York City's bustling art scene. Burt's tale unfolds in a studio building

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45:16

A Diver Sapper in the Cold War Soviet Navy (340)

Cold War Conversations Podcast ·

2024/04/05

Valeriy was a Soviet Navy diver sapper and was born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine. I have used a human translator for this episode so the main voice you will hear is my translator Galina Ryabova who was kindly funded by one of my financial supportersValeriy opens up about his childhood, the impact of the Great Patriotic War on his family, and his mother's resilience in raising him after his father's untimely death. He shares insights into his schooling, where history and geography sparked his

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97:13

Gymnastics and Pills: An East German Childhood (339)

Cold War Conversations Podcast ·

2024/03/30

Sirka offers a comprehensive exploration of life in East Germany, detailing the experiences of growing up in Neubrandenburg, the influence of the East German state and the Stasi, and the societal impacts of Mikhail Gorbachev's policies leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall. She also talks of her intensive gymnastics training and being given pills by her trainer... Sirka also describes the transition to reunification, highlighting the challenges of adapting to a new economic system and the mixed

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69:50

The Soviet Afghan War (338)

Cold War Conversations Podcast ·

2024/03/23

The Soviet-Afghan War lasted ten years between 1979-1989 and led to the deaths of between 500k and 2m Afghan civilians. I speak with Nick Geering a Russian history and language teacher. From his memories of the haunting sight of uniformed amputees in St Petersburg to the complex origins of the conflict, we explore the intricacies of a war that was both an accident and a tragedy. Our conversation traverses the murky politics that led to the Soviet invasion, the unpreparedness of the conscript-heavy

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55:36

Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War on Netflix...

Cold War Conversations Podcast ·

2024/03/20

Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War, is a nine-part documentary series from director Brian Knappenberger, that provides a comprehensive appraisal of the events that led to the Cold War and traces the conflict around the world and through the decades. While the Cold War ended in 1991, even a casual appraisal of current headlines reveals that relations between the United States and Russia — the one-time centre of the Soviet Union — remain tense, to say the least. The global repercussions of the

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90:17

Sex, spies and scandal : the John Vassall affair (336)

Cold War Conversations Podcast ·

2024/03/16

Alex Grant’s new book Sex, Spies and Scandal The John Vassall Affair has everything: a honey trap, industrial-scale espionage, journalists jailed for not revealing their sources and the first modern tabloid witch-hunt, which resulted in a ministerial resignation and almost brought down Harold Macmillan’s government.With access to newly released MI5 files and interviews with people who knew Vassall from the 1950s until he died in 1996, this book sheds new light on a neglected spy scandal. Despite

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88:23

V-Bombers: Britain's Nuclear Frontline in the Cold...

Cold War Conversations Podcast ·

2024/03/09

V-Bombers: Britain's Nuclear Frontline in the Cold War is a new book by Dr Tony Redding that takes a deep dive into Britain's V-bomber force's operational nuclear war role. Tony reveals the intense preparations and the stark realities faced by the aircrews, who lived in a perpetual state of wartime readiness despite being in a country at peace. The narrative intertwines technical analysis and personal accounts, offering a comprehensive view of the crews' complex systems and psychological

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52:27

On the Streets of Cold War Estonia fighting for...

Cold War Conversations Podcast ·

2024/03/02

Timo takes us on a journey through the tumultuous events of the 1991 Soviet coup attempt, as experienced from the streets of the Baltic States.As the coup unfolds, Timo finds himself in Lithuania, planning to covertly visit the closed city of Kaliningrad. He shares the tension sharing a dining table with a Soviet officer, unknowingly on the eve of the coup. As the coup escalates, Timo's narrative becomes a vivid street-level account of the Estonian people's defiance. He describes the formation of

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69:09

Borderlands and Battles: A Finnish Town's Cold War...

Cold War Conversations Podcast ·

2024/02/24

Timo takes us to the remote Finnish border town of Kuusamo. He paints a vivid picture of a childhood overshadowed by his grandparent’s memories of their home lost during World War II and their proximity to the Soviet Union.As a child, he was fascinated by the invisible line that marked the end of the world— the heavily guarded border with the USSR. Timo recounts a tense encounter with border guards while visiting his grandparents, and his meeting with a Soviet escaper. He travels to Moscow and

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86:23

Australian Cold War Maritime Air Patrols (332)

Cold War Conversations Podcast ·

2024/02/17

Leigh joined the RAAF in 1978 to train as a pilot but was scrubbed after a few months and transitioned to training as an Air Electronics Officer (AEO) at the RAAF School of Air Navigation. He flew on the P-3C Orion and was employed in operations across the Indo-Pacific region on maritime patrol surveillance operations in the region - which included both usual surface surveillance of the region and operations alongside the US against Soviet submarines transiting the area. He also had the opportunity

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84:34

A traumatic childhood journey from Cold War Poland to...

Cold War Conversations Podcast ·

2024/02/10

In this deeply personal episode, our guest, Norbert, vividly recounts his traumatic childhood journey from Cold War Poland to the United States. With vivid recollections, he describes the struggles of his parents amid food shortages and the poignant decision of the family to leave everything behind for an uncertain future in the United States. We also explore the cultural shock and the struggle to find identity in a new world, as Norbert navigates life as a Polish immigrant in 1980s America. From

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76:01

Planning for a Hot War in the Cold War (330)

Cold War Conversations Podcast ·

2024/02/03

Dan served in the War Plans office of the US Army VII Corps working on counterattack plans and reorganization of the US Army’s General Defence Plan. He describes the debriefing of a Polish Special Forces operator who had defected to the West and who revealed surprising knowledge of US plans and order of battle. Dan also details his experiences on the Able Archer 83 exercise and his views about how dangerous that was. In addition to his work in the War Plans office, we discuss terror attacks on the

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77:48

The Picnic That Ripped Open The Iron Curtain (329)

Cold War Conversations Podcast ·

2024/01/27

In August 1989, a group of Hungarian activists did the unthinkable: they entered the forbidden militarised zone of the Iron Curtain - and held a picnic. Word had spread of what was going to happen. On wisps of rumour, thousands of East German 'holiday-makers' had made their way to the border between Hungary and Austria, awaiting an opportunity, fearing prison, surveilled by lurking Stasi agents. The stage was set for the greatest border breach in Cold War history: that day hundreds would cross from

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78:09

US Army Anti-Aircraft Missile Battery Command in Cold...

Cold War Conversations Podcast ·

2024/01/20

Dan served as a lieutenant and captain in a US Army air defence artillery battalion in West Germany from 1980 until 1985. He describes details of Soviet overflights deep into West Germany and we discuss how the Warsaw Pact attempted to track their units. Now who knew that the US Army experimented with geese for perimeter security?! Dan reveals details of this little-known specialist unit. Dan worked with the improved Hawk anti-aircraft missile system. We talk about its capabilities, the

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95:55

Britain's first Cold War Nuclear Attack Warning...

Cold War Conversations Podcast ·

2024/01/13

The Jodrell Bank observatory in Cheshire in the UK played a significant secret role during the Cold War. It was established in 1945 by Bernard Lovell, a radio astronomer at the university, to investigate cosmic rays after his work on radar in the Second World War. We hear some intriguing details of the site’s Cold War roles including being Britain’s first nuclear attack early warning station and its signals intelligence collaboration with GCHQ, the UK’s Government Communications Headquarters. Even

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98:01

The East German Tank Commander (326)

Cold War Conversations Podcast ·

2024/01/06

In the mid-1980s Dag was a T72 tank commander in the NVA, the East German Army and is now a volunteer at the Tank Museum at Bovington in the UK. He describes his initial tank commander training, the battle readiness of the NVA, and the challenges of a conscript army as well as a startling revelation about a significant change in doctrine in 1987. We also dig deep into the technical details of the T72, including the autoloader, deep water wading, radio communication and its advantages and

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445 results

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