Podcasts by Cold War Conversations

Cold War, Warm Hearts - Hitchhiking behind the 1960s Iron Curtain (322) from 2023-12-09T00:00

In 1966 most of Bridget’s friends, in their early twenties, were settling down with jobs and/or husbands… She, on the other hand, set off alone to travel across Poland relying on the kindness of st...

Cold War Tank Tales from the Land Down Under (321) from 2023-12-02T00:00

Many of Tim’s family had served in WW1 and WW2 and from a young age, he was determined to follow their path. Overcoming huge competition for places he became a driver of the Leopard AS1 MBT at 1st...

Jack's dramatic Cold War escape across the fortified Inner German border (320) from 2023-11-25T00:00

Jack Wesolek was born in East Germany in 1966. His grandfather was a member of the Red Orchestra, a Communist Anti-Nazi resistance organisation in Germany during World War 2. He later became Chief ...

How President Kennedy's assassination almost started World War 3 (319) from 2023-11-22T00:00

On 23rd Nov 1963 at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea a detachment of US Air Force B-57 Canberra bombers were parked on an alert pad each with a live nuclear weapon in their bomb bay and ready to fly at...

The lazy schoolboy who became a Cold War Vulcan nuclear bomber pilot (318) from 2023-11-18T00:00

Kevin was born in Wigan in North West England and joined the RAF as an apprentice in 1956 with only 3 O Levels. He came top of his course but was posted into supplies at RAF St Mawgan. However, he ...

Across the Iron Curtain in a yellow MG Midget sports car (317) from 2023-11-11T00:00

Andrew McNeile decided to travel through Eastern Europe in a yellow MG Midget Sports car, a ​car ​that's ​going ​to ​stand ​out ​no ​matter ​where you are! He recalls his adventures travelling thro...

1983 - the year the Cold War almost turned hot (316) from 2023-11-04T00:00

This week is the 40th anniversary of the Able Archer NATO Exercise where it is reckoned that the Soviet Union and NATO almost started a nuclear war. 1990 an investigation by the US President’s Fore...

Serving in a Cold War Danish Reconnaissance Squadron (315) from 2023-10-27T23:00

Denmark joined NATO as a founding member in 1949. However, it originally laid down limitations to NATO membership, effectively excluding the country from full military integration. The conditions w...

The Cold War Atomic Spies (314) from 2023-10-20T23:00

On 29 August 1949 at 7:00 a.m. the Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb.  The test stunned the Western powers. American intelligence had estimated that the Soviets would not produce an atomi...

Spying on NATO from a Cold War East German Army radio monitoring base Part 2 (313) from 2023-10-13T23:00

This is the second part of my chat with Thomas who worked in a secret East German radio monitoring base. He describes how a BRIXMIS or another Allied Military Liason Mission vehicle had once got in...

Spying on NATO from a Cold War East German Army radio monitoring base Part 1 (312) from 2023-10-06T23:00

Born in 1968 in East Germany Thomas had a "normal socialist" but happy childhood in a small town near Dresden. His family was viewed as exotic at that time as his mother had Hungarian citizenship w...

Cold War US Army tank gunner serves with a Bundeswehr Panzer unit (311) from 2023-09-29T23:00

Mark joined the US Army on January 6th, 1981, and went to Ft Knox KY for Basic and Armor training. He graduated in April 1981 and was selected as Instructor Tank commander and trained the next cycl...

Uncovering Cold War Soviet secrets with the USAF and NSA (310) from 2023-09-22T23:00

Tim served in the USAF and the NSA from 1975 to 1988 during some of the most tense periods of the Cold War. This included stints at the US Air Force Electronic Warfare Center at Kelly AFB, Texas, a...

REME Keeping the British Army on the road during the Cold War (309) from 2023-09-15T23:00

Aged 16 Chris joined the British Army apprentice school in Arborfield, at Princess Marina College. He was trained as a vehicle mechanic in the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers otherwise known ...

Gunfire in the Woods: A foiled escape and imprisonment in Cold War East Germany (308) from 2023-09-08T23:00

This is part two of Henrik’s story. You can hear the first part in episode 307. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode307It’s the late 1980s and Henrik and his friends plan to escape from East Ge...

Growing up in Cold War East Germany's Valley of the Clueless (307) from 2023-09-01T23:00

Henrik was born in the late 1960s near Dresden in East Germany. The area was sarcastically known as the Tal der Ahnungslosen or Valley of the Clueless, as the area generally was not able to receive...

Flying the Cold War A10 Tankbuster Part 2 (306) from 2023-08-25T23:00

You are listening to part 2 of my chat with Joe who joined the USAF in 1981 and was trained to fly the A10 Warthog a single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft designed to provide close air support to g...

Flying the Cold War A10 Tankbuster Part 1 (305) from 2023-08-18T23:00

Joe’s father served in World War 2 in the USAF. His service inspired Joe to try and join the USAF or the Naval Air Force despite having no flying experience. It’s the aftermath of the Vietnam War s...

A Cold War Polish childhood near Wroclaw (304) from 2023-08-11T23:00

Tom lived in western Poland in an area that had been part of Germany until the end of World War 2. He describes how his grandmother settled in this area and the strangeness of taking over formerly ...

Soviet MIG shoots-down a US RB-47H reconnaissance plane (303) from 2023-08-04T23:00

On 1 July 1960, a United States RB-47H reconnaissance plane was shot down by the Soviet Air Defence Forces while performing signals intelligence in the Barents Sea, near the Kola Peninsula, off the...

The rise and fall of East German leader Erich Honecker (302) from 2023-07-28T23:00

Honecker emerged as an ambitious political player and became the shadowy mastermind behind the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, a crucial moment in twentieth-century history. Author Nathan ...

Assembling and delivering nuclear artillery rounds to the Cold War West German Army (300) from 2023-07-14T23:00

In February 1983 US soldier Manuel Alzager was sent to a mysterious posting to the British Zone in the north of West Germany a long way from the main US forces in southern Germany. After a lengthy ...

Dickey Chapelle - trailblazing female Cold War journalist (299) from 2023-07-07T23:00

Now have you ever heard of Dickey Chapelle? No, I hadn’t either, but I’m delighted to bring you the unknown story of this trailblazing female war correspondent. Dickey’s career started in World War...

The Cold war ice hockey team that fought the Soviets for the soul of its nation (298) from 2023-06-30T23:00

I speak with author Ethan Scheiner whose book “Freedom to Win” describes the gripping story of a group of small-town young men who would lead their underdog hockey team from Czechoslovakia against ...

The last voice you'd hear in a nuclear war (297) from 2023-06-23T23:00

The BBC Wartime Broadcasting Service (WTBS) is a little-known piece of Cold War history that would have been for many the last human voice they heard after a nuclear attack on the UK. Iain started ...

The ultimate guide to Cold War locations in Berlin (296) from 2023-06-20T23:00

Jonny Whitlam has been a Berlin tour guide since 2010, and since then he’s been showing travellers from across the world the fascinating history of Berlin. We met via social media after I noticed h...

The 10 year old girl who tried to stop a nuclear war (293) from 2023-06-02T23:00

In November of 1982, at the height of the Cold War, Samantha Smith, a 10-year-old girl from Manchester, Maine, wrote to the Soviet leader Yuri Andropov and asked him if he was going to wage a nucle...

Cold War Polish People Army Radio Operator (292) from 2023-05-26T23:00

Communist Poland had universal conscription and the armed forces were huge by contemporary standards. The Polish People’s Army, Navy, and Airforce had just over 400,000 troops for most of the 1980s...

Cold War Canadian airborne anti-submarine missions (290) from 2023-05-12T23:00

Colonel Terry Chester’s flying career spanned some 42 years, and 10,000 flying hours. He joined the RCAF in Sept 1964 and in 1968 was awarded Navigator Wings. Terry flew for 3,000 hrs on the Argus ...

Discovering your husband is a KGB spy (289) from 2023-05-05T23:00

The second part of Svetlana’s story starts shortly after her arrival in West Germany with her husband Oleg who is the Chief Editor of the Russian Service of Radio Liberty a CIA-financed station bea...

Transferring from the East German Army (NVA) to the unified German Army (Bundeswehr) (287) from 2023-04-21T23:00

We continue Steffen’s story where he tells of serving in three armies – firstly, the NVA, secondly the East German Army between the first free elections and unification, and finally the unified Bun...

Drafted into the East German Army (286) from 2023-04-14T23:00

Steffen was born in Karl Marx Stadt and was conscripted into the NVA (East German Army) in 1988. When he left school he started an apprenticeship in electronics learning how to build radio receiver...

How Cold War Britain prepared for Nuclear War (285) from 2023-04-07T23:00

During the Cold War, the awesome power of nuclear weapons and its deadly fallout meant that every town, village and home in Britain fell under the nuclear shadow, and the threat of annihilation col...

Beyond the Wall: East Germany, 1949-1990 (284) from 2023-03-31T23:00

In 1990, a country disappeared. When the Iron Curtain fell, East Germany simply ceased to be. For over forty years, from the ruin of the Second World War to the cusp of a new millennium, the GDR pr...

Cold War US Army tank driver at the Iron Curtain (282) from 2023-03-18T00:00

Brian Regal entered the US Army in 1977 and served on the M60A1 tank initially as a driver. The M60A1 was America's primary main battle tank during the Cold War, with initial deployment in 1960 and...

Cold War Dutch conscientious objector (281) from 2023-03-11T00:00

In 1987 Martin received a letter informing him of his conscription into the Dutch Army. A number of European NATO countries had conscription during the Cold War. Holland’s applied to men over the a...

A Cold War escape from Czechoslovakia (279) from 2023-02-25T00:00

We return to Dirk’s story from episode 278 with a move to East Berlin following his mother’s divorce from his father. Dirk finds school life more relaxed where pupils are allowed to wear Western c...

Growing up in the Stasi town (278) from 2023-02-18T00:00

Dirk lived in the town of Bernau about 15 miles from East Berlin. Just outside Bernau was Wandlitz the residential estate of the East German leadership. As a result, Bernau had one of the highest d...

The most damaging female spy in US history (277) from 2023-02-11T00:00

Ana Montes was the most damaging female spy in US history. For nearly 17 years, Montes was one of the government's top Cuba experts, with easy access to classified documents. By night, she was work...

Missile away, missile away! - A Cold War US Peacekeeper nuclear missile launch officer (275) from 2023-02-04T00:00

Tim Lyon was an officer assigned to the 400th Strategic Missile Squadron located in Cheyenne Wyoming. The Squadron was maintained 50 Peacekeeper ICBM missiles based in underground silos in farmers’...

Red Elvis on tour, aka Dean Reed the US Cold War music star (274) from 2023-01-28T00:00

Warning: This episode does cover the subject of suicide. If you need help please use these links: UK https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/Rest of the World https://findahe...

The Bridge of Spies spy (273) from 2023-01-21T00:00

On 10 February 1962, Gary Powers, the American pilot whose U2 spy plane was shot down in Soviet airspace, was released on “The Bridge in Spies” in Berlin by his captors in exchange for one Colonel ...

Two weddings and a teaching post in Cold War Berlin (272) from 2023-01-14T00:00

Marie-Claude Hawkes continues her story with her return to Berlin in 1985 as a French teaching assistant at the Havel School RAF Gatow, teaching French and taking part in school activities in West ...

The girl in a Cold War East German coal mine (271) from 2023-01-07T00:00

In 1981 Marie-Claude Hawkes was an 18-year-old living in Amiens, France when she embarked on a trip to East Germany looking for adventure…  Among her experiences was working in a lignite coal mine....

In conversation with 7 BRIXMIS veterans - Part 2 (270) from 2023-01-04T00:00

Part 2, of a two part recording. Part 1 is here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode268In October of 2022, I was asked by the West Pennines Military Vehicle Trust to moderate a Q&A session wit...

Able Archer - The military exercise that almost started World War 3 - a look in the archives (269) from 2022-12-31T00:00

In 1986 Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev said “Never perhaps, in the post-war decades has the situation in the world been explosive and hence more difficult and unfavourable as in the first half of ...

In conversation with 7 BRIXMIS veterans - Part 1 (268) from 2022-12-28T00:00

In October of 2022, I was asked by the West Pennines Military Vehicle Trust to moderate a Q&A session with a number of BRIXMIS veterans. Part 2 is here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode270A...

Home Bases: Memories&Stories of US Military Bases in the UK (267) from 2022-12-24T00:00

Sean Kelly is the author of Home Bases: Memories&Stories of US Military Bases Around London which for the first time, puts the spotlight on the history of many of the US Military’s lesser-known com...

The building of the Berlin Wall (263) from 2022-11-26T00:00

From the moment East Germany was formed in 1949, many of its citizens chose to leave to start a new life in the West. By the mid-1950s, the trickle had turned into a flood as large numbers rejected...

Nuclear missile launch control and Mission Control for the NASA Apollo Moon Missions (260) from 2022-11-05T00:00

Richard Stachurski joined the US Air Force in 1962, on the cusp of the Cuban Missile Crisis as a security police officer guarding nuclear-armed B-58 Hustler bombers. Within two years he volunteere...

Britain's 1980s Cold War Dads Army/Home Guard - The Home Service Force from 2022-10-28T23:00

The Home Service Force or HSF was UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's Cold War version of the World War 2 Home Guard.  An almost forgotten unit, the HSF was established in 1982 and recruited fro...

An aircraft hijack to escape from the Soviet Union (258) from 2022-10-21T23:00

Back in the 1970s, migrating from the Soviet Union was an unattainable dream for many, particularly Jews wanting to leave for Israel. To leave the Soviet Union for another country, it was necessary...

Defending RAF Gatow - Britain's airbase in Cold War Berlin (257) from 2022-10-14T23:00

Trevor Howie’s role at RAF Gatow was advising the Station Commander on Station defence during times of war, tension or terrorist threat as well as the defence of 26 Signals Unit at the Teufelsberg ...

Guarding Britain's nuclear weapons and RAF Akrotiri during the Cold War (256) from 2022-10-07T23:00

Following his RAF Regiment officer training Trevor Howie was posted to 34 Sqn at Raf Akrotiri in Cyprus, commanding C Flight. The RAF regiment was effectively the Royal Air Force’s infantry, provid...

The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis with Sir Max Hastings (255) from 2022-09-30T23:00

The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis is reckoned to be one of the most perilous events in history, when the World faced a looming nuclear collision between the United States and Soviet Union. During those...

“Houston, we’ve had a problem” interview with Fred Haise, Apollo 13 astronaut (254) from 2022-09-23T23:00

Fred Haise was one of the three astronauts on the ill-fated Moon mission when a design fault caused an oxygen tank to explode mid-mission putting the Apollo 13 crew in mortal danger on April 13th, ...

An 18 year old US Military Policeman in Cold War West Berlin (253) from 2022-09-16T23:00

Richard Blevins enlisted aged 18 in the US Army in March of 1987. He completed Basic Training &Military Police School training in July of 1987 and was posted to West Berlin as a United States Milit...

A trip across Central Europe on a East German MZ motorbike (252) from 2022-09-09T23:00

MZ was an East German motorcycle manufacturer located in Zschopau, Saxony. The acronym MZ stands for Motorenwerke Zschopau GmbH (German for Zschopau engine factory).  In the 1980s MZ was regarded ...

Imprisoned in a Soviet Military gaol - a BRIXMIS officer's diary Pt 2 (251) from 2022-09-02T23:00

This is the 2nd part of my interview with Lt Col. Stephen Harrison, MBE who served for two years as a full-time Touring Officer with BRIXMIS. The tours were hazardous three-man, vehicle-borne patro...

Arrested 11 times, plus 3 shooting incidents - a BRIXMIS officer's diary Pt 1 (250) from 2022-08-26T23:00

Lt Col. Stephen Harrison, MBE served for two years as a full-time Touring Officer with BRIXMIS. These Tours were hazardous three man, vehicle-borne patrols collecting intelligence on the Warsaw Pac...

Life in the forbidden zone at the East/West German border (249) from 2022-08-19T23:00

A young Claudia Bierschenk lived at the edge of a world called the GDR, in a village surrounded by hills, valleys and thick forests.  Her great uncle lives in the Forbidden Zone, the area where the...

The girl at the edge of the World - an East German childhood at the West German Border (248) from 2022-08-12T23:00

 A young Claudia Bierschenk lived in a village surrounded by hills, valleys and thick forests at the edge of a world called the GDR. It could be beautiful, but the Iron Curtain runs through it, lik...

A daughter's 18 year search for her Cold War CIA pilot father at the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba (247) from 2022-08-05T23:00

In 1961, members of the Alabama Air National Guard secretly took part in the failed invasion of Cuba by U.S.-backed Cuban exiles known as the Bay of Pigs. This was a covert attempt by the United St...

British Army Air Corps helicopter co-pilot in Cold War Germany (246) from 2022-07-29T22:00

Paul continues his story with his recruitment into the Army Air Corps. It’s initially delayed with a tour providing airfield repair in West Germany and then the Falklands, but finally, he’s at trai...

A boy soldier in the Cold War Royal Engineers (245) from 2022-07-22T23:00

Paul joined the Royal Engineers in 1977, aged 16 as an apprentice. We hear of his experience of joining the army at such a young age and being away from home for the first time.  After initial trai...

A Mormon missionary in Cold War East Germany (244) from 2022-07-14T18:00

In the early 1980s East Germany had just 5000 members of the Church of Latter-day Saints, many of which had been members since before World War 2.  In 1982 East German leader Erich Honecker histori...

My life laid bare through secret police files (242) from 2022-07-01T23:00

What is it like to be under secret police surveillance? On 10 March 1983, 12-year-old Carmen Bugan returned from school to find Romanian secret police in her living room. Her father’s protest again...

The man who built his own nuclear bunker (240) from 2022-06-17T23:00

Graham Bate was 30-year-old Civil Servant when he built his own nuclear bunker in the garden of his rural home 20 miles outside Hull in the UK. It was here that the Bate family expected to survive ...

Cold War number stations (239) from 2022-06-10T23:00

You might remember listening to short wave radio during the Cold War and coming across weird transmissions of metallic voices reciting random groups of numbers through the ether. These are number s...

Air warfare in the Cold War (238) from 2022-06-03T23:00

The Cold War years were a period of unprecedented peace in Europe, yet they also saw a number of localised but nonetheless very intense wars throughout the wider world in which air power played a v...

Arrested by the KGB and taken to the Lubyanka prison (237) from 2022-05-27T23:00

Marti Peterson was the first female CIA operative to be assigned to Moscow, probably the most challenging posting during the Cold War. Don't miss the previous episode here https://coldwarconversat...

The first female CIA officer in Cold War Moscow (236) from 2022-05-20T23:00

Marti Peterson was the first female CIA operative to be assigned to Moscow, probably the most challenging posting during the Cold War. Her story begins in Laos during the Vietnam War where she acco...

The 1989 World Festival of Youth and Students in Pyongyang, North Korea (235) from 2022-05-13T23:00

The 13th World Festival of Youth and Students was held from 1–8 July 1989 in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. It was the largest international event staged in North Korea up until then. The e...

Britain’s Cold War Human Chemical Warfare Experiments (234) from 2022-05-06T23:00

Ian Foulkes was exposed to the deadly nerve agent Sarin in 1983 at the Porton Down Chemical&Biological Defence Establishment., one of the UK's most secretive and controversial military research fac...

Flying for the CIA's Air America in South East Asia (233) from 2022-04-29T23:00

In 1964, pilot Captain Hansen found himself unemployed. He began to send out feelers to several companies including one that had placed an ad in the Washington Post called Air America. When he was ...

A photojournalist in Cold War Eastern Europe (232) from 2022-04-22T23:00

During the 1970s and 1980s, Arthur Grace travelled extensively behind the Iron Curtain, working primarily for news magazines. One of only a small corps of Western photographers with ongoing access,...

Escaping from Cold War Romania (231) from 2022-04-15T23:00

Zsolt Akos Pall was 17 when he decided to flee Cold War Romania for a better life in the West.  It’s a heart-warming story of the generosity of strangers. Young Zsolt finds compassionate border gua...

A Hungarian childhood in Cold War Romania (230) from 2022-04-08T23:00

Zsolt Akos Pall was born in a small town in the Hungarian speaking part of Romania.  For ordinary people, life in Romania in the 1980s was very hard and it could be even worse if you were a part of...

The shooting down of KAL007, the Able Archer exercise and the nuclear war scare of 1983 (229) from 2022-04-01T23:00

The year 1983 was one of the most dangerous in human history. While the Cuban crisis was exceptionally dangerous and both the United States and the Soviet Union had significant nuclear arsenals in ...

The first woman to graduate from French Commando school (227) from 2022-03-19T00:00

Maura McCormick was posted to Berlin as a Signals Intelligence voice interceptor (Russian). Her workplace was the Teufelsberg U.S. listening station, aka Field Station Berlin. Maura shares her earl...

Betrayed by comrades (226) from 2022-03-12T00:00

Liz Kohn has been researching Alice Glasnerová, who was imprisoned as part of the early Cold War Czechoslovak show trials known as the Slansky trials.  These were among the most notorious show tria...

My father, the KGB spy (225) from 2022-03-05T00:00

In 1978, Ieva Lesinska was a university student in Soviet Latvia with dreams of becoming a writer. She had just spent a heady month in New York visiting her father, Imants Lesinskis, a Soviet trans...

"Three, Two, one, detonation..." a Royal Navy nuclear test veteran remembers (224) from 2022-02-26T00:00

The British Nuclear Test Veterans Association (BNTVA) is the Charity for UK Nuclear Veterans and last year they very kindly invited me to the annual conference. I met many veterans including Peter ...

The Stasi Poetry Circle (223) from 2022-02-19T00:00

In 1982 the East German Ministry for State Security is hunting for creative new weapons in the war against the class enemy – and their solution is stranger than fiction. Rather than guns, tanks, or...

The start of the Cuban revolution&the launch of Apollo 8 (222) from 2022-02-16T00:00

The phrase “history is human” was coined by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian David McCullough. He says “History is about life. It isn't just about dates and quotations from obsc...

Cold War British Army fighting tactics in West Germany (221) from 2022-02-12T00:00

Frank Baldwin was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1979 and served for ten years, rising to the rank of Major. The first battlefield study he planned was in 1989 for HQ 4th Armoured Divisio...

The West Berlin village surrounded by the Berlin Wall (220) from 2022-02-05T00:00

When the Cold War split Berlin in half, between East and West, one neighbourhood was trapped in the middle and became a symbol of Cold War tensions.  For more than twenty years, the hamlet of Stein...

Tales of a West German football fan in the Soviet bloc (219) from 2022-01-29T00:00

You will remember Karl-Heinz from our episode 218 where he talked about being a signaller on the West German destroyer "Hamburg" in the late 70s.  Today we follow his post navy life as a travelling...

Serving on the West German destroyer "Hamburg" (218) from 2022-01-22T00:00

Karl-Heinz served in the Bundesmarine as a Signalman on the West German destroyer "Hamburg" in the late 70s.  He talks of his training, his role and shares details of manoeuvres in the North Sea an...

The CIA director responsible for creating spy devices (217) from 2022-01-15T00:00

After service in the US Army during the Vietnam War Bob Wallace was recruited into the CIA.  In the CIA his initial assignments were as a field case officer. He rose through the ranks at the agency...

Vietnam War draftee to US Army Rangers (216) from 2022-01-08T00:00

Bob Wallace joined the US Army in 1968 as a reluctant conscript. He describes the draft process, and his attempts to avoid conscription.  After basic training, Bob is assigned to a long range recon...

Helping the Refuseniks (215) from 2022-01-01T00:00

Refusenik was an unofficial term for individuals—typically, but not exclusively, Soviet Jews—who were denied permission to emigrate, primarily to Israel, by the authorities of the Soviet Union and ...

Working in the nuclear missile compartment of a Cold War Royal Navy Polaris submarine (213) from 2021-12-18T00:00

John Andrews joined the Royal Navy in 1981 and went on to serve aboard the HMS Repulse, one of the UK’s Polaris nuclear missile submarines from 1982. His role was Missile Compartment Control Patrol...

British Army "stay behinds" the Special OP Troop (212) from 2021-12-11T00:00

I speak with Colin Ferguson a veteran from the British Army‘s covert Special Observation Post Troop which was founded in 1982. The "stay behind" Special OP Troop consisted of selected soldiers in 6...

A Cold War childhood in Albania (211) from 2021-12-03T21:00

Lea Ypi grew up in one of the most isolated countries on earth, a place where communist ideals had officially replaced religion. Albania, the last Stalinist outpost in Europe, was almost impossi...

A Cold War childhood in Albania (211) from 2021-12-03T21:00

Lea Ypi grew up in one of the most isolated countries on earth, a place where communist ideals had officially replaced religion. Albania, the last Stalinist outpost in Europe, was almost impossible...

The Cold War handshake in the heavens - the Apollo-Soyuz mission (210) from 2021-11-27T00:00

On 17 July 1975 the first manned international space mission, carried out jointly by the United States and the Soviet Union. Millions of people around the world watched on television as a United St...

Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev - aspiring actor and poetry fan (209) from 2021-11-14T15:00

Now, what do you think of when you hear the name Leonid Brezhnev who ruled the Soviet Union for 18 years from the 1960s to the 1980s?  An old guy waving weakly from the Lenin mausoleum?Well, think...

Born into a family of Canadian Communists (208) from 2021-11-13T00:00

Fred Weir was a third-generation red diaper baby from Toronto and a long-time member of the Communist Party. His uncle, trained at the Lenin School in Moscow in the 1920s as an agent of the Communi...

Berlin: Capital of Spies (207) from 2021-11-06T00:00

For almost half a century, the hottest front in the Cold War was right across Berlin. From summer 1945 until 1990, spying was part of everyday life in both East and West Berlin. I speak with histor...

How a Soviet conscript became a NATO General (206) from 2021-10-29T23:00

In 1985, an eighteen-year-old named Riho Terras arrived at the Soviet armed forces’ large conscript assessment facility in Tallinn obeying his conscription orders. Little did he know that 26 years ...

Terrorism in the Cold War (205) from 2021-10-22T23:00

I talk with the writers and editors of Terrorism in the Cold War a new two volume book that uses a wide range of case studies including Polish Military Intelligence and Its Secret Relationship with...

Emanuela - a Cold War Romanian Childhood (204) from 2021-10-15T23:00

Emanuela Grama was born in the mid-1970s’ in a small provincial town in Eastern Romania. She provides us with a great insight into life in the Romanian provinces during the 1980s.  Emanuela lived ...

Pete - a BRIXMIS driver behind enemy lines in East Germany (203) from 2021-10-08T23:00

Pete Curran served with BRIXMIS, the British Military Liaison Mission in East Germany. Their operation was established by a post-WWII Allied occupation forces' agreement, where British, US and Fren...

MKUltra - the CIA’s mind control project&the mysterious death of Frank Olson (202) from 2021-10-02T00:00

Frank Olson was an American bacteriologist, biological warfare scientist, and employee of the United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories. In 1953 at a meeting in rural Maryland, he was c...

Flying into nuclear mushroom clouds (201) from 2021-09-24T23:00

Squadron Leader John Robinson AFC (ret’d) was an RAF pilot who was tasked to fly into the mushroom clouds of nuclear bomb tests to capture samples at Operation Buffalo at Maralinga in 1956, and Ope...

Life in the underground Soviet music scene Part 3 (200) from 2021-09-17T23:00

We hear of Joanna's heartbreak when her visa is refused, preventing her from marrying Yuri. However, using an ingenious method she manages an emotional reunion and eventual marriage as the Soviet U...

Life in the underground Soviet music scene Part 2 (199) from 2021-09-14T23:00

Joanna is questioned by the KGB and the FBI, falls in love with Yuri and starts to smuggle the bands' music out of the Soviet Union to produce the album.Details of the book giveaway are here https:...

Life in the underground Soviet music scene Part 1 (198) from 2021-09-10T23:00

Joanna Stingray was only 23 years old when she first set foot in the USSR and started meeting now-legendary musicians and artists of the Soviet underground. By 1985, she was writing and recording w...

Popular Cold War culture of the 1980s (197) from 2021-09-07T23:00

Over the past, nearly two decades, the Stuck in the 80s podcast has emerged as the go-to for all aspects of 1980s nostalgia from a North American point of view. And, much like Cold War Conversation...

Soviet and U.S. Military Liaison Missions&US Counterintelligence SOXMIS&USMLM (196) from 2021-09-03T23:00

I speak with Aden Magee who operated as the commander of a highly specialized Counterintelligence (CI) unit in West Germany during the last decade of the Cold War. We talk about his book The Cold W...

Ron - a veteran of the Korean War&the Malayan Emergency (195) from 2021-08-27T23:00

Ron Knight served in the Royal Marines on HMS Belfast during the Korean War of 1950-53. He was a gunner and describes the shore bombardments and how his gun was used in anti-aircraft defence. We al...

The Gouzenko Affair - the start of the Cold War (194) from 2021-08-20T23:00

Igor Gouzenko exposed Soviet intelligence's efforts to steal nuclear secrets as well as the technique of planting sleeper agents. The "Gouzenko Affair" is often credited as a triggering event of th...

Flying the F-111 nuclear bomber (193) from 2021-08-13T23:00

Rick Shreve was a USAF F111 pilot based at RAF Lakenheath in the UK. We hear about his early USAF career as a fighter pilot, then we move onto his transfer to the F111 and how he was trained to car...

The forgotten cosmonaut (192) from 2021-08-10T23:00

This week it's the 60th anniversary of the flight of Gherman Titov on Vostok 2. The forgotten 2nd cosmonaut overshadowed by the exploits of his friend Yuri Gagarin. Titov’s 25.3 hours and 17 orbits...

A workers view of Poland from Łódź in 1986 (191) from 2021-08-06T23:00

Evan McGilvray has written a number of books on Poland as well as biographies. He is well versed in Poland and Polish society and away from the usual locations of Krakow and Warsaw. Evan first visi...

Unforgotten in the Gulf of Tonkin (190) from 2021-07-30T23:00

On November 18, 1965, U.S. Navy pilot Willie Sharp ejected from his F-8 fighter after being hit while positioned over a target in North Vietnam. With a cloud layer beneath him, he did not know if h...

Philippe - A French soldier in Cold War Berlin (189) from 2021-07-23T23:00

The French Forces in Berlin were the units of the French Armed Forces stationed from 1945 until the end of the Cold War-era in West Berlin according to the agreements of the Yalta Conference and Po...

A Czechoslovak family's escape to Austria (188) from 2021-07-16T23:00

We continue Drea Hahn’s story with her family’s escape to Austria and the realities of being a refugee.  In 1986, under the pretext of a “ski trip” to Yugoslavia Drea’s family escaped to Austria. W...

Drea - A Cold War Czechoslovak childhood (187) from 2021-07-09T23:00

Drea Hahn was born in Czechoslovakia in 1980 in Teplice. Her mother was a secretary and her father was an engineer but refused to join the communist party and this was a source of tension in Drea’s...

An evening with Kim Philby (186) from 2021-07-06T23:00

Ben Brown is the writer of A Splinter of Ice, a play that portrays the meeting in Moscow in 1987 of one of the greatest novelists of the 20th century, Graham Greene and his old MI6 boss, Kim Philby...

Behind enemy lines in East Germany with a US Military Liaison Mission driver Part 2 (185) from 2021-07-02T23:00

We return to the 2nd part of Tom Favia’s story with the US Military Liaison Mission which the Soviet Union permitted to operate in East Germany, ostensibly for monitoring and furthering better rela...

Ethel Rosenberg (184) from 2021-06-25T23:00

Ethel Rosenberg is a controversial figure and generates polarising views varying from an innocent mother caught up in Cold War hysteria to a willing and ruthless accomplice to her husband’s Cold Wa...

Behind enemy lines in East Germany with a US Military Liaison Mission driver Part 1 (183) from 2021-06-18T23:00

Tom Favia served with the USMLM, The US Military Liaison Mission which the Soviet Union permitted to operate in East Germany at the end of World War 2 for monitoring and furthering better relations...

Ralph - A prisoner in an East German jail (182) from 2021-06-11T23:00

This is the third and final part of Ralph Hänel’s story of his life in East Germany. In this episode, we hear his time in the Stasi prison in Cottbus which with its dark red brick façade was often ...

Ralph - Arrested and interrogated by the Stasi (181) from 2021-06-04T23:00

In this second part of Ralph Hänel’s story of his life in East Germany. We hear of Ralph’s arrest by the Stasi and subsequent interrogation for 10 months. Ralph describes in some detail the arrest ...

Checkmate in Berlin: The Cold War Showdown that Shaped the Modern World (180) from 2021-05-28T23:00

We speak with author Giles Milton about his new book Checkmate in Berlin: The Cold War Showdown that Shaped the Modern World. In 1945 at the end of World War 2 the Soviet Red Army captured Berlin. ...

Bonus - The state funeral of Josef Stalin (179) from 2021-05-25T23:00

This episode is sponsored by MUBI, a curated streaming service with an ever-changing collection of hand-picked cinema. From new directors to award-winners. From everywhere on earth. Beautiful, inte...

Spy who was left out in the Cold: The Secret History of Agent Goleniewski (178) from 2021-05-21T23:00

We speak with author Tim Tate about his new book the Spy who was left out in the Cold: The Secret History of Agent Goleniewski Michal Goleniewski remains one of the most important, yet least known ...

Ralph - DJing and Kung Fu in East Germany (177) from 2021-05-14T23:00

Ralph Hänel tells some unique, strange and funny short stories about childhood and youth in East Germany.  We talk about the experiences of his parents in the closing stages of World War 2, his sch...

Irish Army peacekeeping in the Lebanon (176) from 2021-05-07T23:00

Adrian Jones was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Irish Army in 1983. As a 23 year old officer he served in the United Nations Peacekeeping Force UNIFIL in Southern Lebanon from 1987 to 1988. Th...

Codename Hero - Soviet double agent Oleg Penkovsky (175) from 2021-04-30T23:00

In August 1960, a Soviet colonel called Oleg Penkovsky contacted the West to offer to work as a 'soldier warrior for the free world. MI6 and the CIA ran Penkovsky jointly, in an operation that ran ...

Korean war veteran&prisoner of war (174) from 2021-04-23T23:00

70 years ago today would have been the middle of a desperate battle by outnumbered British forces at the battle of the Imjin River in Korea. The Korean War was among the most destructive conflicts ...

A journalist in apartheid South Africa (173) from 2021-04-16T23:00

John Matisonn is a South African journalist who grew up in the suburbs in Johannesburg. In 1979 he was sentenced to jail for refusing to reveal his news sources. Matisonn describes life as a journa...

Yuri Gagarin - The first human in space (172) from 2021-04-09T23:00

9.07 a.m., April 12, 1961. A top-secret rocket site in the USSR. A young Russian sits inside a tiny capsule on top of the Soviet Union’s most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile and blasts ...

Confrontation at the Stößensee (171) from 2021-04-02T23:00

In April 1966, a state-of-the-art Soviet aircraft, the Yak-28P crashed into the British Sector of West Berlin. This intelligence gift to the Allied forces resulted in a tense confrontation with the...

A 22 year old Briton working in East Germany (170) from 2021-03-27T00:00

We speak with Chris Summers who as a 22 year old was sent by his employers to East Germany in a Ford Escort to install British factory machinery. He provides us with interesting insights into life ...

Bonus - Soviet Tours (169) from 2021-03-24T00:00

Soviet Tours is a Berlin-based tour operator focussed on off-the-beaten-path destinations across the globe.  Their core area, as the name suggests, lies mainly in and around the former USSR. From t...

Commanding a Cold War Royal Navy Polaris Nuclear Missile Submarine (168) from 2021-03-20T00:00

Our conversation with Rob Forsyth continues when he became Executive Officer - and in command on occasions - of HMS Repulse, a Polaris nuclear missile submarine. We hear in detail the challenges of...

Cold War Royal Navy Diesel Submarine officer during the 1960s and 70s (167) from 2021-03-13T00:00

Commander Rob Forsyth joined submarines in1961. By March 1962 as a young officer, he joined HMS Auriga a 1945 vintage diesel submarine. Within 7 months the 22-year-old was loading live torpedoes an...

Jan - Greenham Common Peace Protester (166) from 2021-03-06T00:00

Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp was a protest camp established in 1981 to protest against the deployment of USAF controlled Ground Launched nuclear armed Cruise Missiles at RAF Greenham Common i...

The China civil war and the independence of Taiwan (165) from 2021-02-27T00:00

The events of 1949 in China reverberated across the world and throughout the rest of the century. That tumultuous year saw the dramatic collapse of Chiang Kai-shek's 'pro-Western' Nationalist gover...

The Happy Traitor - The Life of Soviet Spy George Blake (164) from 2021-02-20T00:00

Acclaimed author and journalist Simon Kuper, has written The Happy Traitor, the story of British spy and Soviet Union double agent George Blake, the last major British traitor of the Cold War. In 1...

From Foe to Friend - the British Army in Cold War Germany (163) from 2021-02-13T00:00

Germany has been at the heart of the British Army's story since 1945. After the Second World War, the Army helped rebuild a devastated and divided nation. It provided protection during the Cold War...

On Her Majesty's Cold War Nuclear Submarine Service (162) from 2021-02-06T00:00

Commodore Eric Thompson MBE is the author of the book “On Her Majesty’s Nuclear Service. He is a career nuclear submarine officer who served from the first days of the Polaris missile boats until a...

Advanced English studies in Moscow during the 1970s and 80s (161) from 2021-01-30T00:00

Vadim was at school in Moscow during the 1970s and 80s. He attended an Advanced English Studies School where all subjects were taught, however the focus was on English. He provides us with insights...

US Army Intelligence gathering in the unified Germany (160) from 2021-01-23T00:00

We continue the story of Bill, a US Army Intelligence Analyst with Combined Analysis Detachment-Berlin (CAD-B) from episode 127. Germany has now been re-unified and Russian troops have withdrawn fr...

A freedom fighter in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution (159) from 2021-01-16T00:00

Charlie was 19 in 1956. A trip home from work by tram ended up with him being thrust into the heart of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, a nationwide revolution against the Hungarian People's Repub...

Witness to the Eastern Bloc revolutions of the 1980s with Professor Timothy Garton Ash (158) from 2021-01-09T00:00

Professor Timothy Garton Ash is a British historian, author, commentator and Professor of European Studies at Oxford University. Professor Garton Ash witnessed some of the most critical moments ...

Ian Black - Flying the English Electric Lightning (157) from 2021-01-02T00:00

Ian Black is a former RAF Fighter Pilot with a passion for photography and motorcycles. He began his flying career with the legendary McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom in RAF Germany at the height of t...

Sovietisation of Estonia (156) from 2020-12-30T00:00

Michael Zdanowski was born and raised in the UK, but his interest with the Cold War goes back generations. His grandfather having emigrated from Poland to the United Kingdom during the second world...

Deputy Head of UK Mission in East Berlin - Part 2 (155) from 2020-12-26T00:00

This is Part 2 of our conversation with Colin Munro who was the British Deputy Head of Mission in East Berlin from 1987 to 1990.  In this episode we move to the monumental events of 1989 as the GDR...

Deputy Head of UK Mission in East Berlin - Part 1 (154) from 2020-12-19T00:00

Colin Munro was the British Deputy Head of Mission in East Berlin from 1987 to 1990. Although the UK did not recognise East Berlin as part of the GDR in 1973 it established an Embassy “to” the GDR ...

Just another day in Vietnam (153) from 2020-12-12T00:00

In this episode we talk with Col. Keith Nightingale who served in the US military from 1965 to 1993.  He completed two tours of Vietnam; the first as a Senior Advisor to a Vietnamese Ranger unit...

With Solidarity in Gdansk in 1980 (152) from 2020-12-05T00:00

During her first visit to Poland in 1980, Dr Jacqueline Hayden met the leading members of the free trade union ‘Solidarność’, including the future president Lech Wałęsa. As a freelance journalist a...

Sue Boyd - Deputy Head of Mission at the Australian Embassy in East Berlin (151) from 2020-11-28T00:00

Sue Boyd has been the head of Australian diplomatic missions in Fiji, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Bangladesh. She also had postings at the United Nations in New York and in the former East Germany. Sue ...

Cold War Royal Navy submarine missions (150) from 2020-11-21T00:00

Today we speak with Ian Ballantyne, the author of “Hunter Killers”, also known as “Undersea Warriors” in the United States.

Hunter Killers’ tells the incredible, true inside story of the R...

Détente – the chance to end the Cold War (149) from 2020-11-14T00:00

Today we speak with Richard Crowder, the author of “Détente – the chance to end the Cold War”. Help support the podcast buy the book here UK listeners https://amzn.to/34yNeB2 US listeners https://a...

Guy Burgess and the Cambridge Spy Ring (148) from 2020-11-07T00:00

Guy Burgess was the most important, complex, and fascinating of The Cambridge Spies, brilliant young men recruited in the 1930s to betray their country to the Soviet Union. An engaging and charming...

A Childhood under the eye of the Secret Police (147) from 2020-10-31T00:00

At 2 a.m. on 10 March 1983, 12-year-old Carmen Bugan was home alone after her father had left for Bucharest. That afternoon, Carmen returned from school to find secret police in her living room....

Don - Cold War 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fulda (146) from 2020-10-23T23:00

In this second episode with Don Snedeker we talk to him about his time after his tour of Vietnam when he served in West Germany.  From 1974 to 1986 Don served in a number of roles but most noticeab...

Navigator aboard the Vulcan nuclear bomber (145) from 2020-10-17T00:00

Today we’re speaking with Barry Mullen who was a Navigator on the legendary Royal Air Force bomber, the Vulcan. 

Barry served during the 1970s and candidly shares his experiences.  He tell...

1962 Berlin fiction - author interview (144) from 2020-10-13T23:00

In this bonus episode, we talk again with Paul Grant, author of "Coercion" the fourth book about the Schultz family who live in Berlin. His books are set at the end of the Second World War and the ...

Don - Vietnam war Armoured Cavalry Platoon Leader (143) from 2020-10-09T23:00

This is the first of two episodes we have following Don Snedeker’s experiences through the Cold War. In this episode, we hear about his time in Vietnam and the book he has written entitled "The Bla...

In Cold War Skies – NATO and Soviet airpower 1949-89 (142) from 2020-10-03T00:00

Today’s episode is brought to you by Osprey publishing and we’re speaking with Michael Napier, the author of “In Cold War Skies – NATO and Soviet airpower 1949-89”. 

Michael also flew the ...

I was a deep cover KGB spy Part 2 (141) from 2020-09-25T23:00

This is part 2 of our chat with Jack Barsky who spent ten years as an undercover KGB agent in the United States. He is the longest surviving known member of the KGB illegals programme that operated...

I was a deep cover KGB spy Part 1 (140) from 2020-09-18T23:00

If you’ve seen the TV drama series, “The Americans” you’ll be fascinated by this episode. Albrecht Dittrich was an East German graduate student and a true believer in the Communist cause when he wa...

Portland Spy Ring Part 2 (139) from 2020-09-11T23:00

This is the 2nd episode with Trevor Barnes, the author of “Dead Doubles, a new book on the Portland Spy Ring, one of the most infamous espionage cases of the Cold War. The story continues with the ...

Portland Spy Ring Part 1 (138) from 2020-09-04T23:00

In this episode we talk with Trevor Barnes, the author of “Dead Doubles, a new book on the Portland Spy Ring, one of the most infamous espionage cases of the Cold War. In 1960 it was discovered tha...

The Last British Commandant in Cold War West Berlin Part 2 (137) from 2020-08-28T23:00

This is the 2nd part of our conversation with Major General Sir Robert Corbett, KCVO, CB who was the last Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin. We join as I ask what were the British Army’s p...

The Last British Commandant in Cold War West Berlin Part 1 (136) from 2020-08-21T23:00

Major General Sir Robert Corbett, KCVO, CB was the last Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin. We start his story with the description of his first experience of Berlin as a young Army officer...

Eva - A Cold War Czechoslovak Childhood (135) from 2020-08-14T23:00

Born in Communist Czechoslovakia, Eva Caletkova has written an honest and unflinching account of her childhood in Bratislava. Eva’s parents were Catholics, and the communist regime began to persecu...

My father was Cold War Stasi spy Werner Stiller (134) from 2020-08-07T23:00

Werner Stiller’s spectacular defection to the West in 1979 inflicted one of the Cold War’s most serious blows to the Stasi. At the time he was working as a case officer for the Main Directorate for...

Retracing the Iron Curtain: A 3,000-Mile Journey Through the End and Afterlife of the Cold War (133) from 2020-07-31T23:00

Tim Phillips travelled the route of the former Iron Curtain from deep inside the arctic circle to the meeting point in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey. On his journey, he explored both the surviving...

Cold War Czechoslovak hockey star defects to Canada (132) from 2020-07-24T23:00

Vashi Nedomanský is the son of Czechoslovak former legendary ice hockey forward Václav Nedomanský aka “Big Ned” who is best known as the first ice hockey player to defect to North America to play. ...

Robert - The anti Cold War activist (131) from 2020-07-17T23:00

Robert Perschmann describes himself as an anti-Cold War activist. His political views started to form while serving in the US Air Force during the Vietnam War period where he saw first hand the tol...

Susan - An American teaching English in East Germany (130) from 2020-07-11T08:00

Susan Morrison is Professor of English at Texas State University. In the late 1980’s she taught in Rostock in the former GDR and then lived in West Berlin but frequently crossed back into the East ...

The KGB tried to recruit me (129) from 2020-07-03T23:00

Hans de Vreij is a Dutch journalist who has worked in Berlin , Brussels, Geneva and Prague. Whilst working at the United Nations in Geneva Hans was the subject of attempted recruitment by the KGB t...

Experiencing the Cold War via virtual reality (128) from 2020-06-26T23:00

How can we go beyond the films, books, and photos to learn more about the Cold War? Films are certainly evocative and certainly inform but how can we go beyond that and immerse ourselves to see wha...

Cold War US Army Intelligence Analyst (127) from 2020-06-19T23:00

Bill was a US Army Intelligence Analyst. In 1986 he was assigned to Order of Battle Branch, Soviet Section where for three years he studied the Warsaw Pact armies working closely with the US Milita...

Reporting the 1989 Romanian Revolution (126) from 2020-06-12T23:00

We talk again to Mark Brayne who worked as a Reuters&BBC journalist during the Cold War. This time we are in Romania in December 1989 where riots, street violence and murder in several cities over ...

A British Journalist under Stasi Surveillance (125) from 2020-06-05T23:00

We talk to Mark Brayne again in a wide ranging chat about his career as a Reuters&BBC journalist including details of his Stasi file, his time in the Soviet Union, Hungary&Poland as well as the per...

Cold War Britain&The Bomb (124) from 2020-05-29T23:00

In Britain and the Bomb Bill Nuttall considers Britain's national journey from Empire to Europe and the transition of British nuclear weapons from the Royal Air Force to the Royal Navy. If you are ...

A UK Journalist in the Soviet Union&GDR (123) from 2020-05-22T23:00

Mark Brayne studied in Moscow 71-72, travelling the country with fellow UK students and spending silly amounts of time in the bathhouses with salted fish and very poor quality beer. He returned in ...

A 23 year old Cold War nuclear missile commander (122) from 2020-05-15T23:00

Scott was a Pershing 2 nuclear missile Fire Control Officer which meant he was responsible for the launch of the missile. Aged 23 he was made platoon commander and responsible for 3 of these deadly...

The Last Days of Cold War East Germany (121) from 2020-05-08T23:00

Michael Paterson first visited East Germany just after the fall of the Berlin Wall and provides a vivid account of its subsequent decline and fall during the move to reunification with West Germany...

Special Forces Berlin - Clandestine Cold War Operations of the US Army's Elite, 1956-1990 (120) from 2020-05-01T23:00

James Stejskal served for 23 years with US Special Forces, including two tours in Berlin. Special Forces Berlin was a small detachment of 100 highly trained soldiers who, should hostilities break o...

Alan - Working in the GDR and the Soviet Union (119) from 2020-04-25T00:00

Alan Baker worked and studied in the GDR and the USSR from the 1970s through to the end of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the Russian Federation as we know it today.

In Moscow, Alan...

Cold War Warsaw Bureau Chief for Time Magazine 1981-83 (118) from 2020-04-17T23:00

Richard Hornik was the Warsaw Bureau Chief for Time Magazine from 1981-1983. He carried out numerous interviews with Solidarity Free Trade Union leader Lech Wałęsa including his last interview befo...

The Human Factor: Gorbachev, Reagan, and Thatcher, and the End of the Cold War (117) from 2020-04-10T23:00

The Cold War got colder in the early 1980s and the relationship between the two military superpowers, the USA and the Soviet Union, each of whom had the capacity to annihilate the other, was tense....

Boarding Soviet Ships with the Cold War Danish Navy (116) from 2020-04-03T23:00

Lieutenant Commander Jørgen Brandsborg joined the Danish Navy in the 1980s. He met the Soviets up close and personal while serving in the North Atlantic where the Danish Navy acted as a coast guard...

Taking A Holiday in Cold War Albania (115) from 2020-03-28T00:00

In early 1989 attention being paid to Albania in England by the English media because the England football team had recently travelled to Tirana for a World Cup qualifying game. Looking for somewhe...

Life as a British Soldier in Cold War West Berlin (114) from 2020-03-21T00:00

Anthony enlisted in the British Army in 1987 and after 9 months he was posted to West Berlin.He tells the story of life as a Private in Berlin from the drinking (and the fighting) to the urban warf...

Railway Encounters in Eastern Europe (113) from 2020-03-14T00:00

Charlie Flowers was 18 in 1988. He travelled by train across a divided Eastern Europe that was starting to show signs of the changes that manifested themselves in 1989.

He shares stories o...

Nuclear War in the UK (112) from 2020-03-07T00:00

For almost five decades, the United Kingdom made plans for a nuclear attack that never came. To help their citizens, civil servants and armed forces prepared those in power a variety of booklets...

Serving in the Cold War British Army Intelligence Corps during the 1960s&70s (111) from 2020-02-29T00:00

Harry served as a soldier in the Intelligence Corps in Germany in the 1960s and 1970s. His role was that of an Intelligence and Security Operator, focused on the identification of foreign and other...

Bonus - Dr Strangelove Film Screening in a Nuclear Bunker (110) from 2020-02-26T07:00

Today is a short bonus episode I recorded at the weekend while at a film showing of Dr Strangelove in a former UK Regional Seat of Government Bunker in Cheshire... The Hack Green Bunker is my local...

Stasi Infiltration of the Cold War East German Church (109) from 2020-02-22T00:00

When the Berlin Wall came down, the files of the East German secret police, the much-dreaded Stasi, were opened and read. And among the shocking stories revealed was that of the Stasi's infiltratio...

The Regimes Museum (108) from 2020-02-15T00:00

Our guest today is Marc Voss the Founder and Executive Director of The Regimes Museum which is the culmination of an effort to collect, preserve, and archive material and artifacts from some of the...

Assigned to a Government Nuclear Bunker (107) from 2020-02-08T11:00

Regional seats of government or RSGs were a UK solution to disperse the machinery of government into the provinces, where there would be a greater chance of survival after a nuclear attack.

The First Western Pilot to Fly the Soviet MIG 29 Fighter (106) from 2020-02-01T00:00

What was it like to be the first western pilot to fly the most advanced Soviet fighter aircraft? At the 1989 Abbotsford Air Show, during the dying days of the Cold War, Canadian CF-18 pilot Majo...

Children of the Silent Revolution (105) from 2020-01-25T00:00

What are your dreams at 18 and what happens in the next 20 years? Children of the Silent Revolution is a documentary film following a tight-knit group of classmates from Bulgaria who reveal thei...

Betrayal in Berlin (103) from 2020-01-11T01:00

Steve Vogel is a veteran journalist who reported for the Washington Post for more than two decades. He is also the author of Betrayal in Berlin a new book that tells the story of one of the West...

A British Communist Working in East Germany (104) from 2020-01-11T00:00

John Tarver was born into a middle-class family. He joined the British Communist Party on his 18th birthday in 1948 because he felt the Soviet Union had made the most effective resistance to fas...

Working with high security clearance in the US Navy (102) from 2020-01-04T00:00

Jay Lieberman talks about his early childhood memories of the Cold War as well as his long career in the US Navy.

He tells a fascinating story of how he obtained high security clearance in...

Cold War Conversations on Cold War Conversations (101) from 2020-01-01T00:00

And now for something completely different... today I’m chatting with listener Peter Ryan who will be turning the tables and questioning me about my Cold War story!

Now, listeners, I can s...

Manuel - Experiences of the Reforger 82 NATO Exercise (100) from 2019-12-28T00:00

Manuel Alzaga returns to the podcast after his debut in episode 57 with his experiences as US Army 18-year-old assistant artillery gunner in West Germany. He tells of his first impressions of We...

A Cold War Mystery - Death in Ice Valley (99) from 2019-12-21T00:00

There’s an area near Bergen, Norway known as Isdalen (“Ice Valley”), but also nicknamed "Death Valley", due to the area's history of suicides in the Middle Ages, and more recent h...

Red Elvis, Dean Reed Cold War cowboy and Eastern Bloc Music Star Episode 2 (98) from 2019-12-14T00:00

We return to Ramona Reed’s account of her father, Dean Reed who was an American actor, singer, songwriter, director, and Socialist who became a huge star in Latin America and the Eastern Bloc. Now ...

Dean Reed Eastern Bloc Music Star Episode 2 (98) from 2019-12-14T00:00

We return to Ramona Reed’s  account of her father, Dean Reed who was an American actor, singer, songwriter, director, and Socialist who became a huge star in Latin America and the Eastern Bloc.<...

Red Elvis, Dean Reed the US music star behind the Iron Curtain - Episode 1 (97) from 2019-12-07T00:00

Ramona Reed’s father was Dean Reed an American actor, singer, songwriter, director, and Socialist who became a huge star in Latin America and the Eastern Bloc. Now if you like the podcast you can h...

Dean Reed Eastern Bloc Music Star Episode 1 (97) from 2019-12-07T00:00

Ramona Reed’s father was Dean Reed an American actor, singer, songwriter, director, and Socialist who became a huge star in Latin America and the Eastern Bloc.

Now if you like the podcast ...

Tales of my Father (96) from 2019-12-03T12:00

Today has been a difficult day. My Dad has just died. It was expected, but these things hit you nonetheless.

He was a good father, a good man with many varied interests including art, p...

Alexander - A Conscript in the Soviet Navy (95) from 2019-11-30T00:00

Alexander ‘Sasha’ Goncharov was born in Leningrad but early in this life moved to Ukraine.  After leaving school he was drafted into the Soviet Military and was based in Sevastopol where he work...

The Strange World of Cold War Romanian Football (94) from 2019-11-23T00:00

In this episode, we hear from Craig McCracken who spoke to us in episode 3. This time he tells us about the strange world of football in Cold War Romania and even if you are not interested in fo...

The Berlin Wall - Frederick Taylor (93) from 2019-11-16T00:00

Our interview today is with Frederick Taylor, the author of one of my favourite books on the Berlin Wall. Using official history, archive research and personal stories he has produced one of the...

Gillian - A US Student at the opening of the Berlin Wall (92) from 2019-11-11T00:00

We speak again with Gillian, who was our guest in episodes 42 & 48. Gillian was in Berlin the night of 9th November 1989 and describes what she saw.

Now if you like the podcast you can...

Alastair - Witnessing the Wende (91) from 2019-11-10T00:00

Alastair took up a teaching post in Halle, East Germany in August 1989 and continued to work in Halle for the next 9 years, seeing the unraveling of the GDR first hand. 

Now if you like th...

Voices of the Berlin Wall 30th Anniversary (90) from 2019-11-09T00:00

Our interview today is in a different format. Cold war Conversations is working with the Imperial War Museum on a project called Voices of the Wall. We will be capturing personal testimonies of ...

Checkpoint Charlie: The Berlin Wall and the most dangerous place on Earth (89) from 2019-11-07T00:00

Our interview today is with Iain MacGregor, the author of a new book on Checkpoint Charlie. Weaving together personal testimonies, this book is described as a gripping narrative with vivid inter...

Life as a Soviet Child Refugee in West Germany (88) from 2019-11-02T00:00

In this episode, we continue Andrej’s story with his sometimes, harrowing memories of how he became a child refugee in West Germany. 

Now if you like what your hearing then for the price o...

British Forces in Germany: The Lived Experience 1945-2019 (87) from 2019-10-30T00:00

Dr Peter Johnston is the Head of Collections Research and Academic Access at the National Army Museum in London and the author of a lavishly illustrated military and social history of the Britis...

Growing up on a Soviet base in East Germany (86) from 2019-10-26T00:00

Andrej's father served with the Soviet Army in Germany.  He grew up on a military base and shares his childhood memories as East Germany began to disintegrate.

So would you like one o...

Childhood at the Hungarian Border with Austria (85) from 2019-10-19T00:00

Balint grew up in Hungary right next to the border with Austria. Part of his family escaped in 1956 and went to Australia. Balint’s  grandfather survived 4 years in a Gulag camp.

Would you...

Life on a Polaris Nuclear Missile Submarine (84) from 2019-10-12T00:00

As a restless and adventurous 18-year-old, Richard Humphreys joined the submarine service in 1985 and went on to serve aboard the nuclear deterrent for five years at the end of the Cold War.
Listen

Mark - Eyewitness to the events of 1989 (83) from 2019-10-05T00:00

Mark Baker was a journalist in Vienna who covered Czechoslovakia during the 1980s. In a wide ranging conversations we discuss the events of 1989 with Mark providing some vivid accounts of his ex...

A Cold War Romance (82) from 2019-09-27T23:00

In 1986 GDR student Antje met a British guy who was installing sewing machines in the hosiery companies in East Germany. Unusually he was given quite a bit of freedom to socialise locally and he ev...

Eyewitness to the 1991 Soviet Coup (81) from 2019-09-21T00:00

As a 24-year-old Kieran Williams was in Moscow staying with Soviet friends when the 1991 Moscow Coup occurred.

He is a Professor at Drake University in the United States and previously he ...

Cuban Missile Crisis U2 Squadron Commander (80) from 2019-09-14T00:00

Col. William "Greg" Gregory served in the U.S. Army Air Corps and saw extensive combat over North Africa and Europe during World War 2.

When the Air Force was created he continue...

Bridget Kendall - BBC Moscow Correspondent 1989 - 1995 (79) from 2019-09-07T00:00

Today we have James taking the helm again with a fascinating chat with Bridget Kendall, the BBC's Moscow correspondent from 1989 to 1995 when she was witness to the power struggles in the S...

Watching Socialism: The Television Revolution in Eastern Europe (78) from 2019-08-31T00:00

Today we’re at the Wende Museum in Los Angeles at their Watching Socialism exhibition. Organized in collaboration with British-Slovenian media historian Sabina Mihelj and British cultural histor...

Defending the Pershing 2 nuclear missile (77) from 2019-08-24T00:00

Phil Logan served in the US Army from 1986-1991.  He went through infantry school at Fort Benning, Georgia was sent to Germany and assigned to the ground defence force for the Pershing II tactic...

The early days of the US Space program and origins of GPS (76) from 2019-08-17T00:00

Richard Easton is the co-author of GPS Declassified which examines the development of GPS or Sat Nav as some of us call it now, from its secret, Cold War mi...

75 - Cold War Spy Stories from Eastern Europe from 2019-08-10T00:00

Today we’re talking to Alison Lewis, a professor in German at the University of Melbourne.

She is the author of several books, including one in German about love and gender in literature d...

74 – A visit to RAF Burtonwood from 2019-08-03T00:00

I’m here today at the RAF Burtonwood Heritage Centre, near Warrington in the UK. Based on what was once the largest and longest-running military airbase in Britain. The Heritage Centre was estab...

73 - Breaking the news of the 1991 Soviet Coup from 2019-07-27T00:00

We speak today with Alistair Coleman who joined BBC Monitoring as a technician in 1989, just in time for the Berlin Wall.  

He was on a console night shift at Caversham, on the night of th...

72 - Chasing the Moon - The Apollo 11 Moon Landing from 2019-07-20T00:00

In a world divided by the ideological struggles of the Cold War, the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement, more than one-fifth of the people on the planet paused to watch the live transmiss...

71 - Stasi Infiltration of the Prenzlauer Berg Underground Literary Scene from 2019-07-13T00:00

In this episode we speak with Dr Alison Lewis is Professor of German in the School of Languages and Linguistics, The University of Melbourne, Australia. She is the a co-author of Cold War Spy St...

70 - In deepest secrecy: Cold War Dutch submarine espionage from 2019-07-06T00:00

During the Cold War, six Dutch submarines secretly gathered intelligence about the Soviet Navy. Only a handful of people outside the Royal Netherlands Navy were aware of these operations, as the...

69 - A US Soldier defects to East Germany – Part 2 from 2019-06-29T00:00

We continue the story of Victor Grossman the US Army soldier who defected to East Germany. He tells us of his life in the GDR, his close friendship with Dean Reed “The Red Elvis”, of shortages, ...

68 - Nuking the Moon&Other Intelligence Schemes&Military Plots left on the Drawing Board from 2019-06-22T00:00

We talk with Vince Houghton – Curator of the International Spy Museum who has just written a new book called “Nuking the Moon & Other Intelligence Schemes & Military Plots left on the Dr...

67- Janina - Life in an East German village near the Polish border from 2019-06-15T00:00

Todays episode is different, the interviewer is not me, but one of our listeners who contacted me to help produce content for the podcast. This gave me the idea for a new area of the podcast cal...

66 - Liberation Square from 2019-06-08T00:00

Gareth Rubin is an author and journalist and today we’re talking to him about his latest novel, Liberation Square set in a Soviet occupied UK in the 1950s.

Thanks to  our select band of su...

65 - A tour of F-111 base RAF Upper Heyford from 2019-06-01T00:00

In this episode we visit RAF Upper Heyford for a photography tour for Cold War enthusiasts …

The episode is in three parts, the first is some audio from the tour, followed by an interview ...

64 - Arrested by the Stasi on an East Berlin day trip from 2019-05-25T00:00

Todd Anton was arrested by the Stasi while on a day trip to East Berlin and gives a raw and powerful account of his arrest, interrogation and eventual release.

If you’d like to support us ...

63 - Flying the CF-104 Starfighter over Germany from 2019-05-18T00:00

Laurie Hawn is a retired Canadian Member of Parliament and former career fighter pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force.   

Laurie tells the story of low level delivery of nuclear weapons v...

62 – Disarming Doomsday from 2019-05-11T00:00

In this episode we speak with Dr Becky-Alexis Martin who is a lecturer in Cultural and Political Geography at Manchester Metropolitan University and author of Disarming Doomsday – The Human Impa...

61 – A US Soldier defects to East Germany from 2019-05-04T00:00

What could make a privileged 24-year-old American serving in the US Army in Germany in 1952 to swim across the Danube River to what was then referred to as the Soviet Zone?

Victor Grossman...

60 - Working at the British Embassy in Bucharest from 2019-04-27T00:00

In this episode we speak with Colin Munro who has had an extensive career with the British Diplomatic Service.  

Today we speak about his time as Head of Chancery in Bucharest, Romania ...

59 - The Trans Siberian Railway from 2019-04-20T00:00

In this episode we speak with Mark Wiegers who travelled on the Trans-Siberian Railway in the late 1980s. His story tells of trouble with officialdom, the unexpected kindness of strangers and th...

58 - Red Reporter - Covert Correspondent for East Germany - Part 2 from 2019-04-13T00:00

In this episode we welcome back John Green to talk further about his covert journalism for East Germany. 

His story continues with his account of the Portuguese Carnation Revolution and a ...

57 - A 17 year old in the US Army from 2019-04-06T00:00

Today we speak to Manuel Alzaga who as a 17 year old joined the US Army in 1981.

Manuel signed up to the artillery and tells his story from life of poverty in Los Angeles through to dep...

56 - The Candy Bomber from 2019-03-30T00:00

We speak to 98 year old Gail Halvorsen aka "The Candy Bomber" who flew in the Berlin Airlift in 1948.

The Soviets had started a 11-month land blockade against West Berlin. The bl...

55 - Why Preserve Communist Architecture? from 2019-03-23T07:00

We welcome back Mark Baker from episode 9 where we spoke about his time in 1980s Czechoslovakia.

Mark is a freelance journalist & travel writer living in his adopted hometown of Pr...

54 - Canucks Hunt For Red October from 2019-03-16T00:00

Colonel Terry Chester spent a good portion of his RCAF career hunting for Soviet Submarines in both the Pacific and Atlantic area's of operation.  

He was instrumental in the design c...

53 - East German Army Officer at the Fall of the Wall from 2019-03-09T00:00

In this episode we hear the third and final part of Torsten Belger’s story as he tells us about his first visit to West Berlin, leaving the East German Army and life after the GDR.

Before ...

52- László Nagy - A Hungarian Life from 2019-03-02T00:00

László Nagy was one of the early members of the Hungarian Democratic Forum in 1987. The HDF became Hungary’s largest political party following first free elections in 1990.

In this episode...

51 - The Blood Tattoo from 2019-02-27T00:00

No one in 1951 had a business that specialized in or allowed the tattooing of, American children, except for the school systems in Lake County, Indiana and Cache and Rich Counties in Utah...

50 - Freedom's Laboratory - The Cold War Struggle for the Soul of Science from 2019-02-23T00:00

Audra J Wolfe is writer, editor, and historian based in Philadelphia. With a background in  both science and history her work specifically focuses on the role of science during the Cold War, a p...

49 - An RAF pilot remembers the end of the Cold War from 2019-02-16T00:00

In this episode we welcome back Nick Anderson who told us about his RAF service intercepting TU-95 Soviet Bear bombers over the North Sea. 

The story continues with his accounts of how ...

48 - Gillian - A US Student visits Poland in 1989 from 2019-02-09T00:00

In this episode we welcome back Gillian Cox who told us about her student trip to East Germany in 1989. In this episode the story continues with her trip further East into Poland.

At this ...

47 - Red Reporter - Covert Correspondent for East Germany - Part 1 from 2019-02-02T00:00

Today we speak to John Green.

John Green grew up in Coventry in a communist family. After abandoning a zoology degree course after his second year at Bristol University, he switched to Dra...

46- The Berlin Trilogy - Author Interview from 2019-01-26T00:00

Today we welcome author Paul Grant whose excellent Berlin trilogy is set in Berlin during World War 2 and the Cold War.

Paul and I talk about the books as well as his inspiration and ho...

45 - East German Army Officer at the 40th Anniversary Parade of the GDR from 2019-01-19T00:00

In this episode, we welcome back Torsten Belger a former East German Officer.

You can listen to other episodes with Torsten here ht...

44 - Intercepting Soviet Aircraft with the RAF. from 2019-01-12T00:00

Nick Anderson is a former RAF Phantom jet fighter pilot. 

We discuss flying in the Cold War and in detail how the RAF would have responded to a nuclear attack. 

We also talk ab...

43 - Highlights of 2018 - a whistle stop tour from 2019-01-05T00:00

Welcome to the Cold War Conversations History Podcast 2018 roundup and thank you to all our listeners and guests who’ve stuck with us and made the...

42 - Gillian - A US Student visiting East Germany from 2018-12-29T00:00

Gillian Cox visited the GDR as a student in October 1989 just before the Wall came down.

In this episode you will hear her eyewitness of account of what she saw in East Germany on the cusp...

41 - Defending the Fulda Gap from 2018-12-22T00:00

Today we talk again with Neil Gussman who was an M60A1 tank commander in West Germany tasked with defending the Fulda Gap which was a key likely Warsaw Pact attack route.

We talk about ...

40 - A British Journalist in East Berlin from 2018-12-15T00:00

Myself and Shane Whaley from the GDR Radio Podcast and Spybrary podcast speak with Peter Millar. Peter is an award winning journalist who was named Foreign Correspondent of the Year for his repo...

39 - East German Army Officer Training from 2018-12-08T00:00

We speak with Torsten Belger who trained as an Artillery Officer in the East German Army.

Torsten also runs Germandotmilitari...

38 - Training to be a US Army Tank Commander from 2018-12-01T00:00

Today we’re talking to Neil Gussman who trained on the M60A1 tank in the 1970s. This was the standard main battle tank of the US Army from the 1960s through to the 1980s.

If you are enj...

37 - Antje - The Girl Behind The Wall from 2018-11-24T00:00

Today we're talking to Antje Arnold, author of “The Girl Behind The Wall” which tells the story of a girl growing up in East Germany in the 1980s.

Patreon is an easy way for you to su...

36 - Life in East Germany Photography Exhibition from 2018-11-18T00:00

Today we visit the Totally East: Life in East Germany Photography Exhibition.

Run-down façades, punks and ordinary workers: This exhibition shows the works of Harald Hauswald, who docum...

35 - The man who owns a Soviet submarine from 2018-11-10T00:00

We talk with John Sutton who owns a Foxtrot class Soviet Submarine moored in the middle of the River Medway in Kent.

This may seem an unlikely location for a Soviet submarine but John tell...

34 - Samy - Life as a West Berliner from 2018-11-03T00:00

Today we talk with Samy who as a native West Berliner describes growing up in the city during the 1970s and 80s.

He describes in detail the difference between West Berlin and West Germa...

33 - Eileen - A British teacher living&working in East Berlin from 2018-10-27T00:00

Eileen shares some great information with us of working & living in East Berlin, with some surprising details. 

She also generously reveals details about the contents of her Stasi f...

Eileen - A British student living in Cold War East Germany (32) from 2018-10-20T04:00

Today we speak with Eileen Ford-Price who was British student in the GDR in the 1980s in Rostock. Before we start I’d like to thank all our Patreon who donate monthly to support the podcast further...

31 - The Korean War in Britain from 2018-10-13T00:00

We speak with Doctor Grace Huxford, author of the Korean War in Britain – Citizenship, Selfhood and Forgetting. Grace’s book  ...

Leaving your family to go off to a nuclear war (30) from 2018-10-06T04:00

Dave Arnold was the Chief Observer at a Royal Observer Corps nuclear monitoring post. I made a fascinating visit with Dave to the Rushton Spencer Royal Observer Corps nuclear monitoring post in St...

29- Living History Event - The Soviet Threat from 2018-09-29T05:00

This episode takes place at a Living History event in and around the Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker museum in deepest Cheshire in the UK. I can heartily recommend visiting the Hack Green Bunke...

28 – USAF pilot Buz Carpenter talks Vietnam recon, Skunkworks and more from 2018-09-21T05:00

USAF pilot Buz Carpenter talks about about flying reconnaissance over Vietnam, the Skunkworks where secret USAF projects were developed, his time commanding Ramstein airbase at the end of the Cold ...

27 - Flying the SR71 Spyplane from 2018-09-15T05:00

Today we are talking about the SR71 Blackbird spy plane.Only 32 Blackbirds were ever made, and they were in service from 1964-1998. The great defensive ability of the plane was its high speed and a...

My father was the leader of the Soviet Union - Part 2 (26) from 2018-09-07T05:00

This is part 2 of my conversation with Professor Sergei Khrushchev the son of Nikita Khrushchev who led the Soviet Union 1953 to 1964.

Before we start I would again like to thank all those...

My father was the leader of the Soviet Union - Part 1 (25) from 2018-09-02T05:00

In part 1 of this interview we talk about Professor Khrushchev’s early years, his relationship with his father, his father’s rise to power, the 1956 Hungarian Uprising as well the first internat...

24 - West German Nuclear Monitoring System from 2018-08-25T05:00

West Germany had a number of Nuclear Warning Bunkers dotted around the country similar to the Royal Observer Corps in the UK.

Mirko Krumm describes the organisation West German Civil Defen...

23 - Gary Powers&the 1960 U2 Incident from 2018-08-18T05:00

Powers' U-2 was shot down on May 1, 1960, as he flew over Soviet airspace, and after parachuting out of the plane he was captured and convicted of espionage.

He was sentenced to 10 y...

The Trabant car - East German icon (22) from 2018-08-11T05:00

We’re  talking about East German cars with Alex Goffe and Mark Mullarkey of the UK-based Wartburg Trabant IFA Club.

Now I don’t think Top Gear or Jeremy Clarkson, etc. have anything to wor...

21- BRIXMIS, British Defence of Berlin&Rudolf Hess from 2018-08-06T05:00

Welcome to Episode 21 of Cold War Conversations.

Now I am very excited by today’s guest and we have a packed episode for you. Nigel Dunkley MBE is a former Royal Scots Dragoon Guard who se...

20 - Anke - Life as an East German teenager from 2018-07-29T05:00

Today we're talking to Anke Holst was born in the GDR during the 1970s in Rostock.

Anke has returned to Rostock after many years abroad and now provides tours of GDR sites in Rostock....

19 - Able Archer and the nuclear war scare of 1983 from 2018-07-21T05:00

Today we're talking to Francesca Akhtar who holds a  BA Hons in American Studies with 1st class honours  from Canterbury Christ Christ Church University in Kent, and a Masters degree in US ...

18 - RAF Greenham Common - A history of the iconic British nuclear base. from 2018-07-14T05:00

The airfield is probably best known, certainly in the UK,  for the controversial deployment of Ground Launched Cruise Missiles in the 1980s and the resulting Greenham Common Women's Peace C...

17- Eyewitness to the Prague Spring from 2018-07-07T05:00

In 1968 today’s guest was 15 year old at the same school in Prague as Czech communist leader Alexander Dub?ek’s son.

Jan ?ulík provides a valuable eyewitness account of the heady days of t...

Mark - A US Combat Engineer in West Germany (18) from 2018-06-30T05:00

Today we’re talking to Mark Valley, host of the Livedrop espionage podcast. 

 Mark served with the US army as a combat engineer in West Germ...

15 - Sabine - An East German Childhood from 2018-06-23T05:00

Today we speak to Sabine who was 13 when the Wall opened. 

 We hear about her childhood in East Germany and gain great insight into life at the time, the pressures on her family and her fi...

14 - The Prague Spring from 2018-06-16T05:00

In today’s episode we return to Czechoslovakia and one of the most iconic moments of the Cold War – The Prague Spring of 1968.

We have with us Lani Seelinger of Socialism Realised which an...

13 - The Final Days of Checkpoint Charlie from 2018-06-09T05:00

 Now most of you will know my good friend Shane Whaley over at the highly recommended Spybrary podcast who we interviewed in episode 4. 

 Shane and I have always been intrigued by a video ...

A US soldier at Checkpoint Charlie when the Berlin Wall opened (13) from 2018-06-09T04:00

 Michael Rafferty was posted to Berlin in 1988. He served in the 287th Military Police Company at Checkpoint Charlie and was there through to the historic opening of the Berlin Wall qne the removal...

12 - My Stasi file is as thick as a phone book from 2018-06-02T05:00

We’re chatting with Mark Reeder a musician and music producer who has been involved in the Berlin and international music scene since 1978, starting as Factory Records German representative from...

11 - Observing Armageddon from 2018-05-26T05:00

Today we’re covering a British Cold War civil defence unit called the Royal Observer Corps.

We’re talking to Alistair McCann who has preserved a Royal Observer Corps monitoring post as a m...

10 - 1960s Road Trip Across the Soviet Union from 2018-05-18T05:00

Jeremy Poynton was a 16 year old school boy in 1968 when he embarked on a memorable trip by road from Leningrad to Odessa.

He vividly describes a Soviet Union still struggling with poverty...

9- Cloak&Dagger in Prague from 2018-05-12T05:00

Mark Baker is an independent journalist and travel writer who’s lived in Central Europe for more than two decades. 

 I heartily recommend his travel website www.markbakerprague.com which i...

8 - Warsaw Pact Armoured Fighting Vehicles from 2018-05-07T05:00

Welcome to Episode 8 of Cold War Conversations where we talk about the armoured fighting vehicles of the Warsaw Pact. 

 Russell Phillips has written several books on Warsaw Pact military e...

7 - Interview with Stasi Child author - David Young from 2018-05-05T05:00

We speak with David Young who has written the Stasi Child - Karin Müller series of crime thrillers set in East Germany in the mid 1970s.

6 - The 1953 East German Uprising with Dr Richard Millington from 2018-04-28T05:00

We talk about the relatively little known Uprising of 1953 in East Germany.

A lot of focus justifiably is on the fall of the Berlin Wall, but it can be argued that the Uprising of 1953 so...

5 - Espionage, East Germany and Berlin with Spybrary host Shane Whaley - Part 2 from 2018-04-20T05:00

Welcome to episode 5 which is part 2 of our Cold War Conversation with Shane Whaley of Spybrary . 

Show notes at coldwarconversations.com/episode5/ 

We talked for some time ,so I hav...

4 - Espionage, East Germany and Berlin with Spybrary host Shane Whaley - Part 1 from 2018-04-18T05:00

Welcome to episode 4 (part 1) of Cold War Conversations. Today we’re talking about Cold War espionage, East Germany and Berlin with Spybrary host, Shane Whaley.

 Shane runs the Spybrary po...

3- The Strange World of East German Football from 2018-04-07T05:00

Welcome to Episode 3 of Cold War Conversations where we hear about the strange world of football in East Germany and even if you are not interested in football it’s a fascinating chat. 

Cr...

2 - Berlin during the Cold War and Signals Intelligence from 2018-04-01T05:00

Welcome to Episode 2 of Cold War Conversations where we start with a fascinating eyewitness account of Berlin during the Cold War. 

Michael K Ferris lived in Berlin as a child of US Airfor...

1- Cold War Conversations Trailer from 2018-03-24T04:00

Thank you for downloading this introduction to Cold War Conversations.

The podcast is about recording the personal stories and lesser known aspects of the Cold War. 

Many of our s...

Cold War Conversations trailer from 2018-03-24T04:00

Experience the Cold War through the voices of the people who were there.  From soldiers to spies and civilians there are hundreds of unique stories told with humour, sadness, and all the emotions ...