Cold War Conversations

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 out, were to wreak havoc behind Warsaw Pact lines.  The US government only acknowledged its existence in 2014 and John has written an incredible story of how these unsung heroes would have fought and died on what was effectively a one way mission.  If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written reviews in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help the podcast grow. If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Thanks to latest Patreons Ian Crangle, Steve

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 had the opportunity to live and study in the well-known Moscow State University as well as the opportunity to attend the 54th anniversary of the Russian Revolution Parade in 1971 in Moscow. In addition, Alan was awarded a Peace Scholarship to study in Leipzig at the Karl-Marx-Universität and worked for the Novosti News Agency in London which meant travelling extensively in the USSR visiting Star City and the construction of Trans-Siberian pipeline Our reviews help the podcast grow, so if you are enjoying our content please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after Cold War Conversations coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the p

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 before martial law was declared in December 1981. He shares the stories of 1980s Poland as well as the interviews he carried out with the Solidarity leadership and the leaders of Communist Poland.  If you are enjoying the show please leave a written reviews in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help the podcast grow. Now for $3 USD per month (larger amounts are welcome too) you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Thank you so much to our 89 generous supporters who help keep the podcast available for you all to listen to. In today’s episode, Richard and I talk about his interview with General Jaruselski and his meeting with Father Jerzy Popieluszko as well as his challenges w

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. By the end of the decade, East-West relations had been utterly transformed, with most of the dividing lines -including the division of Europe- removed.  We are here with Archie Brown, Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of Oxford, a Fellow of the British Academy, and an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.  He is the author of numerous books including his latest work , The Human Factor, Gorbachev, Reagan, and Thatcher, and the End of the Cold War arguing the engagement between Gorbachev and Reagan was a crucial part of that process of change. More surprising was Margaret Thatcher's role.  Our reviews help the podcast grow, so if you are enjoying our content please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media.  If you can spare it I’m asking

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 when on patrol around the Faroe Islands, which meant boarding Soviet vessels for inspection. He also tells of Danish Navy training, Denmark’s position within NATO, as well as their defence plans, should the Cold War have turned hot. If you’re new here, you’ve come the right place to listen to first hand Cold War history accounts. Do make you subscribe in your podcast app so you don’t miss out on future episodes. Our reviews help the podcast grow, so if you are enjoying our content please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after Cold War Conversations coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the

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 somewhere unusual to holiday Mike Innes went on 10 day tour to Albania. Arriving by air he travelled by coach, staying in the hotels which catered to foreigners and favoured party members.  If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written reviews in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help the podcast grow. It costs money and time to produce this podcast so I’m asking listeners to contribute $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Mike provides us with a view of a little known country which although outside the Wa

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 warfare training in Ruhleben & Dough Boy City. We also hear of the reality of knowing that should the Cold War have turned hot his life expectancy would have been in hours.   It’s also a tale of tragedy and the forgotten casualties of the Cold War where injury and death could come even in peacetime. Two of Anthony’s fellow soldiers died during his two-year tour of Berlin and we’d like to dedicate this episode to remembering Lance-Corporal Ian Fleming and Lance-Corporal Mick Quayle. We thank them for their service. If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help the podcast grow. If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus yo

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 of the interesting encounters he had along the way.  Now I’d like to thank some of our recent 5 star reviewers in Apple podcasts. Qwertykevboy, Fizzlepop202, simmovic, Dais28, Tim of Townsville and especially Marrdave who said “This is easily the best historical podcast out there…” I’m not sure I agree, but I’m very flattered.  If you are enjoying the show please leave a written reviews in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help the podcast grow. Now for $3 USD per month (larger amounts are welcome too) you will get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Thank you so much to our 89 generous supporters who help keep the podcast available for you all to listen to. In today’s episode, I have a

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, posters, and how-to guides.  Taras Young is a researcher & writer who has produced a book Nuclear War in the UK detailing much of this Cold War ephemera such as the infamous Protect and Survive guide, as well as fascinating lesser-known materials prepared for the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation and the Royal Observer Corps.  If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help the podcast grow. It costs money and time to produce this podcast so I’m asking listeners to contribute $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ In

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 malign activities which might undermine the effectiveness of the UK's military presence in the country. Accordingly, he had the experience of a range of security investigations and close liaison with the West German civil and military security authorities. Now I’m sure you are enjoying your weekly dose of Cold War history, and you’d like to continue to do so.  So I’m asking if you wouldn’t mind supporting us by paying at least $3 USD a month – higher amounts are welcome too. It’s very straightforward and you can stop whenever you want. Plus monthly supporters get the sought after CWC coaster too! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ You can also help the podcast by leaving written reviews in Apple podcasts as well as sharing us on social media. Back to today’s episode, Harry and I talk in detail abou

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 Cold War museum and a kind financial supporter of the podcast too so if you are ever in the Cheshire area of the UK I highly recommend a visit.  If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help the podcast grow. In today’s episode, I interview Lucy Siebert the Museum Director and well as some of the audience for the film showing. We welcome the Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker to our Cold War conversation… There’s further information on this episode in our show notes, which can also be found as a link in your podcast app. If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media. If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where gues

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 infiltration of the Church.  The Lutheran Church was the only semi-free space in East Germany, where those who rebelled against the regime could find a way of living at least a little out of the government's grip.  Do you know how much $3 USD is in Pounds? It’s 76 pence which equals about 20p per episode if you sign up as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast.  Higher amounts are welcome too. It’s very straightforward and you can stop whenever you want. Plus monthly supporters get the sought after CWC coaster too! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Recent supporters include David Banvery, Daisy Birkenhead, Steve Kerins, Tim Marks and Holly Meade. If that’s not your cup of tea then leave a written reviews in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help the podca

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 most notorious regimes of the 20th century. It is both a museum and an educational institution that offers resources to scholars and students while applying lessons of the past to the present. Now I’m sure you are enjoying your weekly dose of Cold War history, and you’d like to continue to do so.  So I’m asking if you wouldn’t mind supporting us by paying at least $3 USD a month – higher amounts are welcome too. It’s very straightforward and you can stop whenever you want. Plus monthly supporters get the sought after CWC coaster too! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ You can also help the podcast by leaving written reviews in Apple podcasts as well as sharing us on social media. Back to today’s episode, Marc & I have a varied chat about the nature of regimes, East German recycling, Romanian tech,

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. Today we speak to Andrew who was assigned a role in an RSG and details his experiences on a week long training course at the Civil Defence college at Easingwold in Yorkshire during the 1980s. There’s some chilling details of the scenarios they had to prepare for… Now if you are enjoying your weekly dose of Cold War Conversations I’m asking if you could support us for $3 USD a month to help keep us on the air. That’s about 60 pence or 75 US cents per episode or perhaps a coffee or two a month – now that’s what I call good value. Plus, you become the envy of your friends with that sought after CWC coaster too. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ If you can’t donate financially then you can also help us by leaving a written review on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen to this podcast as well as sharing us o

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 Major Bob Wade became the first Western pilot to fly a Soviet MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter aircraft. This episode tells you how he did it. Now I’m sure you are enjoying your weekly dose of Cold War history, and you’d like to continue to do so.  So I’m asking if you wouldn’t mind supporting us by paying at least $3 USD a month – higher amounts are welcome too. It’s very straightforward and you can stop whenever you want. Plus monthly supporters get the sought after CWC coaster too! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ You can also help the podcast by leaving written reviews in Apple podcasts as well as sharing us on social media. Back to today’s episode, Bob and I talk in detail on the circumstances of the flight as well as what it was actually like to fly an aircraft you’ve never flown before with instruments in a

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 their stories over a period of 20 years, spanning the transition from communism to democracy in their country.  It’s a powerful memoir and love letter to the filmmaker’s classmates, as well as a compelling historical document about Bulgaria’s recent history. Now I’m sure you are enjoying your weekly dose of Cold War history, and you’d like to continue to do so.  So I’m asking if you wouldn’t mind supporting us by paying at least $3 USD a month – higher amounts are welcome too. It’s very straightforward and you can stop whenever you want. Plus monthly supporters get the sought after CWC coaster too! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ You can also help the podcast by leaving written reviews in Apple podcasts as well as sharing us on social media. Back to today’s episode, we speak with Viktoria Ershova who wa

Operation Gold (also known as Operation Stopwatch by the British) was a joint operation conducted by the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the British MI6 Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) in the 1950s to tap into landline communication of the Soviet Army headquarters in Berlin using a tunnel into the Soviet-occupied zone.  Steve Vogel is a veteran journalist who reported for the Washington Post and the author of Betrayal in Berlin a new book that tells the story of one of the West’s greatest espionage operations of the Cold War. Now I’m sure you are enjoying your weekly dose of Cold War history, and you’d like to continue to do so.  So I’m asking if you wouldn’t mind supporting us by paying at least $3 USD a month – higher amounts are welcome too. It’s very straightforward and you can stop whenever you want. Plus monthly supporters get the sought after CWC coaster too! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Back to today’s episode, Steve’s dogged research unearthed recently declassi

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 fascism. He worked as a party activist in Britain and made several trips to the GDR where he would get a job at Potsdam as head of the final year of studies in the English language. His 18 years’ work as a Communist party organizer set him apart from other Britons in the GDR and he became an informer for the Stasi. Now if this podcast was a magazine you wouldn’t mind paying a few quid or dollars a week so I’m asking you to support us for the bargain price of $3 a month. In the last few weeks John Newlove and Mike Hart have joined in helping to cover the show’s increasing costs and keep us on the air, plus they’ve got the sought after CWC coaster too. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Special thanks to Ian Hawkins who allowed me to use these audio files from his excellent documentary “My DDR T-Shirt” whic

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 the US Navy and served at a number of classified command facilities including the 2nd Pentagon and the Fleet Ocean Surveillance Information Facility, at Rota, Spain. Now if this podcast was a magazine you wouldn’t mind paying a few quid or dollars a week so I’m asking you to support us for the bargain price of $3 a month. In the last few weeks John Newlove and Mike Hart have joined in helping to cover the show’s increasing costs and keep us on the air, plus they’ve got the sought after CWC coaster too. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ This conversation was recorded as part of the Imperial War Museum North, Voices of the Wall event commemorating 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Make sure you stay subscribed for future conversations. Jay talks about his various postings, his security clearance an

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 see you are enjoying the podcast by the increasing listener numbers so if you’d like the podcast to continue all I’m asking for a few quid or dollars a month to help keep us on the air plus you become the envy of your friends with that sought after CWC coaster too. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ If you can’t donate financially then you can also help us by leaving a written review on Apple podcasts or wherever you consume this podcast. By the way, we’ve opened a Cold War Conversations merchandise store to help support us, just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/ This conversation was recorded at the Barbican Centre in London, so excuse some random noises in the background.  Peter asks me about how the podcast started, what motivates me alongside my recommended Cold War movies. We welcome Peter Ry