Podcasts by Coming in From the Cold: Untold Stories from the Cold War
Coming in from the Cold explores forgotten—or never-remembered—national security policy initiatives, incidents and events during the Cold War. In each episode Cold War Historian Bill Rosenau, sits down with experts on a wide range of topics to discuss these events and how they are relevant to today’s challenges.
The views expressed here are those of the commentators and do not necessarily reflect the views of CNA or any of its sponsors.
Further podcasts by CNA
Podcast on the topic Geschichte
All episodes
J. Edgar Hoover from 2023-02-28T16:56
Today, J. Edgar Hoover is remembered as a power-hungry, corrupt and prejudiced man, obsessed with an imagined threat of domestic communists. But during his life, he was widely ...
Listen
Weaponizing the Weather from 2022-12-31T14:00
Jim Fleming is the Charles A. Dana Professor of Science, Technology, and Society at Colby College and a research associate at the Smithsonian Institution. He has earned degrees in astronomy (B.S...
Listen
The Moscow Signal and Havana Syndrome from 2022-10-31T18:25
In 2017, reports of the mysterious “Havana Syndrome” dominated the news. American diplomats around the world reported experiencing a variety of symptoms including hearing a sudden loud noise, pa...
Listen
Napalm: The Original Weapon of Mass Destruction from 2022-09-30T13:00
The dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki is seen by most as the ultimate display of man’s capacity to destroy. While the destructive power of nuclear weapons cannot be denied, ...
Listen
Able Archer: The Invisible Cuban Missile Crisis from 2022-08-31T18:59:09
The Cuban Missile Crisis is widely considered to be the closest the world has come to nuclear war. But while that crisis played out in public view, there was anoth...
Listen
The Rise of the Right from 2022-06-30T18:27:23
From the beginning of the Cold War, a network of U.S. conservatives dreamed of an international anti-communist revolution. Rather than overthrowing communist regimes directly, they instead pinne...
Listen
Nixon and Watergate 50 Years Later from 2022-05-31T18:43:25
50 years ago, the Watergate scandal rocked American politics. The break-in and subsequent cover-up by the Nixon administration led to the only presidential resignation in American history and de...
Listen
Urgent Fury: The 1983 Invasion of Grenada from 2022-04-30T13:00:42
In 1983, the United States along with Caribbean partner nations invaded the island nation of Grenada. The goals of the operation outlined by the Reagan administration were to protect American c...
Listen
The Chernobyl Meltdown: Past and Present from 2022-03-31T16:51:01
On April 26, 1986, reactor No.4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded, triggering one of the worst man-made disasters in human history. Today, Chernobyl is back in the news as the site o...
Listen
Numbers Stations: Unacknowledged Transmission from 2022-02-28T17:54:51
When most of us think of radio stations we think of pop music and drive-time DJs. But those with shortwaves radios can access a whole other world of broadcasts, including police scanners, satell...
Listen
A Visit to a Washington, DC Bomb Shelter from 2022-01-31T19:05:33
Episode 27 of Coming in from the Cold covered the history of fallout shelters and civil defense in Cold War America, now our team had a chance to experience one firsthand. Producer John Stimpson...
Listen
Rebroadcast: The Brain as a Secret Weapon from 2021-12-31T22:23:45
In this episode, Ralph Espach and Ken Gause join bill to discuss the weird world of Soviet and American experiments with parapsychology, during the Cold War.
Listen
The Wall of Honor's First Star from 2021-11-30T21:23:23
At the CIA Headquarters in Langley Virginia, stands the Wall of Honor. Here CIA operatives who have died in the line of duty are memorialized. The first star on that wall belongs to Douglas Mack...
Listen
Blowtorch Bob Komer from 2021-10-31T13:00
Very few people know the name Robert Komer, but he played a key role in shaping America’s national security policy during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.
In this episode Coming i...
Listen
Terrorism in New York: The Long 1960s from 2021-09-30T20:13:05
When most American’s think of terrorism in New York City, they think of September 11, 2001. However, there is an entire untold history of terrorism in the city dating back decades. On today’s ep...
Listen
The Lavender Scare in Cold War America from 2021-09-17T19:57:18
The story of Sen. Joseph McCarthy targeting alleged Communists working for the federal government is part of every American history textbook, but his persecution of LGBTQ people is not as widely...
Listen
Rebroadcast: The Bear Came Over the Mountain from 2021-08-31T18:03:28
Paul Saunders and Alex Powell join Bill to discuss the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, and how world powers continue to make the same mistakes.
Click Listen
The Collapse of Cold War Naval Strategic Planning from 2021-07-31T13:00
On this episode of Coming in From the Cold, CNA analysts Josh Tallis and Steve Wills join Bill. They discuss Steve’s new book, “Strategy Shelved: The Collapse of Cold War Naval Strategic Plannin...
Listen
The UFO Phenomenon: Reckoning with the Inconceivable from 2021-06-30T17:01:26
This month on Coming in From the Cold, returning guest Ken Gause and Kevin Pollpeter join Bill to discuss the Pentagon’s report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.
Click Listen
From UFO to UAP from 2021-06-25T14:24:55
On this bonus episode of Coming in From the Cold, we are gearing up for the Pentagon’s report on “unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP)” anticipated today, June 25.
Sam Bendett, an expert on...
Gender and Violent Extremist Organizations from 2021-05-31T14:27:39
This time on Coming in From the Cold, Pamela Faber and Meg McBride join Bill to discuss their recent report, "Understanding Gender and Violent Extremism." Including examples from the Cold War. Listen
Duck and Cover from 2021-04-30T19:41:04
On this episode of Coming in From the Cold, returning guests Steve Wills and Anya Fink join Bill to discuss the Cold War history of nuclear fallout shelters, civilian evacuations plans, and othe...
Listen
The John Birch Society from 2021-03-31T18:21:17
Bill and his guests discuss the rise and fall of the John Birch Society, a far-right organization which trafficked in conspiracy theories.
CNA’s Meg McBride returns, accompanied by Darren...
Listen
The Brain as a Secret Weapon from 2021-02-28T13:00
On this episode, Ralph Espach and Ken Gause join bill to discuss the weird world of Soviet and American experiments with parapsychology, during the Cold War.
Listen
The Last Shah of Iran from 2021-02-02T00:17:53
Dr. Afshon Ostovar Associate Professor at the Naval Postgraduate School and CNA’s Mike Connell join Bill to discuss the rise and fall of the Shah of Iran.
Rebroadcast: Dyna-soars and Brilliant Pebbles- The Cold War in Space from 2020-12-31T17:18:38
On this episode, from Sputnik to Apollo to Star Wars, we cover the Cold War in space. Steve Wills returns, joined by special guest Don Brown, who leads the government group at Telesat, a major s...
Listen
The Congo Crisis: The Assassination of Patrice Lumumba from 2020-11-30T19:57:37
Pamela Faber returns along with Judd Devermont the director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). They discuss the Assassination of Patrice Lumumba,...
Listen
The Mujahideen: From Allies To Menace from 2020-10-31T17:08:58
This month on Coming in From the Cold, a discussion of the history of Afghanistan leading up to the Soviet Invasion, and the war's legacy in the nation today.
Regular guest Steve Wi...
Apartheid in South Africa: Project Coast from 2020-09-30T20:23:03
This month on Coming in From the Cold, CNA analyst Pamela Faber and Steve Wills join Bill to discuss Project Coast. This was the covert effort of the Apartheid government to develop chemical and...
Listen
Setting the Night on Fire: Right Wing Terrorism in the U.S. from 2020-08-31T19:57:03
On this episode of Coming in from the Cold, Bill is joined by CNA analysts Dawn Thomas and Meg McBride as well as Arie Perliger of U-Mass Lowell. They discuss the history of right-wing terrorism...
Listen
American Counter-Insurgency and Policing from 2020-07-31T16:00:06
On this episode, Professor Stuart Schrader of John Hopkins University and CNA’s Stephen Rickman join Bill. They discuss how counter-insurgency tactics used by the U.S. military...
Listen
The Bear Came Over the Mountain from 2020-06-30T17:53:41
Paul Saunders and Alex Powell join Bill to discuss the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, and how world powers continue to make the same mistakes.
Click Listen
Disinformation Cont. from 2020-05-31T13:00
This month on Coming in from the Cold, Kasey Stricklin returns for another discussion of disinformation, this time with Thomas Rid Professor of Strategic Studies at John Hopkins University.
Listen
From AIDS to Covid-19: Disease and Disinformation from 2020-04-30T16:25:44
Special Guest Doug Selvage of the Humboldt University in Berlin and returning guest Kasey Stricklin, join Bill to discuss the how the Soviet Union and Russian Federation craft disinformation cam...
Listen
The Fateful Triangle from 2020-03-31T17:40:11
Special Guest Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution and Nilanthi Samaranayake join Bill to discuss, the shifting relationship between India, China and the United States during the Cold War.
Listen
The Cold War at the Top of the World from 2020-02-29T14:00
On this episode of Coming in from the Cold, Bill and his guests put the cold in Cold War. Steve Wills returns along with Josh Tallis to discuss the history of the Cold War in the Arctic, and its...
Listen
Dyna-soars and Brilliant Pebbles: The Cold War in Space from 2020-01-31T18:45:32
On this episode, from Sputnik to Apollo to Star Wars, we cover the Cold War in space. Steve Wills returns, joined by special guest Don Brown, who leads the government group at Telesat, a major ...
Listen
PBSUCCESS: The 1954 Coup in Guatemala from 2019-12-31T14:00
On this episode, Operation, PBSUCCESS a covert operation carried out by CIA that deposed Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz. Georgetown University Professor Sean McFate, and CNA’s Eleanore Dougl...
Listen
The Hermit Kingdom: The Rise of the Kim Dynasty from 2019-11-30T17:00
Chung Min Lee of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and returning guest Ken Gause join Bill to discuss the history of the Kim Dynasty in North Korea.
Listen
Living Under the Cloud from 2019-10-31T19:49:36
Returning guest Steve Wills and new comers Vince Manzo and Anya Fink sit down to discuss the history of nuclear weapons, and the events that shaped modern nuclear policy.
Listen
Atonement: The 1973 Yom Kippur War from 2019-09-30T20:42:49
David Wallsh and returning guest Steve Wills join Bill to discuss the Yom Kippur War and how it shaped the modern Middle East.
Listen
The UFO Phenomenon: Rejecting the Inconceivable from 2019-08-31T16:00
Ken Gause and Ralph Espach return, to continue the story of how the U.S. government responded to UFO sightings in the mid-1900s.
Listen
Political Warfare and Subversion in West Germany from 2019-07-31T19:03:22
On this month’s Coming in From the Cold, Cornell Overfield and Jeffrey Edmonds join Bill to discuss political warfare in Germany during the 1940s and 1950s.
Listen
The Iran-Iraq War from 2019-06-30T13:00
Michael Connell, the head of CNA’s Iran Studies Program, joins Bill and returning guest Kasey Stricklin to discuss the Iran-Iraq war.
Listen
Covert Action and the Solidarity Movement from 2019-05-31T18:37:34
In this episode, the little-known story of QRHELPFUL, a CIA operation in Poland which supported Solidarity during the dark days of Martial Law.
Listen
Bonus Episode: America’s First Female Terrorist Group from 2019-05-23T19:30:31
On October 20, 1981, an infamous crime shook the New York suburb of Nanuet. The botched robbery of an armored Brink’s trunk resulted in the death of two police officers and a Brink’s security gu...
Listen
The UFO Phenomenon: Dealing with the Inconceivable from 2019-04-30T18:11:09
In 1947 a wave of UFO sightings was covered by newspapers across the U.S. and Canada. This alarmed the U.S. national security establishment. Guests Ken Gause and Ralph Espach join Bill to discus...
Listen
The Cold War at Sea from 2019-03-29T21:17:39
In this episode of Coming in from the Cold, Bill welcomes Rear Admiral Mike McDevitt (Ret.) and Commander Steven Wills (Ret.) to discuss the Maritime Strategy of the 1980s. McDevitt and Wills re...
Listen
Active Measures from 2019-02-28T19:26:57
In 1983, The Patriot, an Indian newspaper with longstanding Soviet connections, printed an anonymous letter from New York, claiming that AIDS had actually been developed by the U.S. gov...
Listen