Cold War Conversations
An award-winning podcast featuring firsthand accounts from people who lived through the Cold War era, including soldiers, spies, and civilians. Unfiltered voices from the frontlines of history.
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Sep 11, 2026 · 47 minIf the Soviets Invaded: Sweden's Secret Underground Resistance Plan (473)Historian Johan Wennström explains Sweden's clandestine Stay Behind organisation, a network of ordinary citizens trained to resist a Soviet occupation. He describes how oSep 4, 2026 · 1h 8mBandit Country - The IRA and South Armagh (472)Journalist Toby Harnden looks at the IRA's South Armagh Brigade and its long campaign against British forces in Northern Ireland. The conversation covers sniper operationAug 29, 2026 · 1h 24mA Czech Border Guard's Daring Escape to the West (471)Jiří Barteček recounts his 1975 escape from Czechoslovakia, where he served as a border guard, disabled the alarms and crossed into Austria. He also describes the assassiAug 21, 2026 · 55 minTwenty-Six Years Apart: A Family Reunited Behind the Iron Curtain (470)The daughters of Aleksander Jablonski share their father's journey through Stalin's labor camps and his eventual reunion with family in communist Poland after decades apaAug 19, 2026 · 1 minAnnouncing Cold War Conversations History ToursI’m delighted to tell you about Cold War Conversations History Tours I'm exploring the idea of hosting a Cold War history tour via a specialist tour company, and I'd likeAug 14, 2026 · 50 minBetween Two Air Forces: From East German Officer to German Captain (469)Former East German Air Force officer Roland describes his transition into the Bundeswehr after reunification, including reduced rank, lower pay, and suspicion from his neAug 7, 2026 · 45 minMiGs, Helicopters and Ideology: Life as an East German Air Force Officer (468)Roland gives a rare inside view of East German Air Force training, where technical skill, military discipline and socialist ideology were inseparable parts of preparing oJul 31, 2026 · 42 minGrowing Up Grey: Childhood in Cold War Romania (467)Romania in the 1980s was a country of empty shops, power cuts, rationing and fear—but for one little girl it was also home. In this episode, author Oana Aristide shares tJul 24, 2026 · 42 minDefection, Spies and the Shadow of Georgi Markov (466)In 1986, Oggy Boytchev made a split-second decision that would change his life forever. Sent to Egypt by a Bulgarian shipping company, he seized an unexpected opportunityJul 17, 2026 · 59 minMy Father - The Enemy of the People: A Bulgarian Family’s Cold War Story (465)Oggy Boytchev is a former BBC journalist with more than three decades of experience reporting from conflict zones across the Middle East, the Balkans and the former SovieJul 10, 2026 · 1h 13mFace to Face with the Srebrenica War Criminals (464)Richard Lyntton’s life has taken him from Cold War Moscow to the deserts of the Gulf War and the shattered streets of Sarajevo. In this powerful episode, he recalls studyJul 3, 2026 · 1h 10mInside a Cold War USAF Fighter Squadron (463)Step behind the wire of one of NATO’s most elite tactical fighter squadrons—the 10th Tactical Fighter Squadron—during the tense final years of the Cold War and into OperaJun 26, 2026 · 1h 6mThe Cambridge Five - new files reveal untold stories (462)Antonia Senior’s new book, "Stalin’s Apostles", challenges what you may have believed about the Cambridge Five, a group of British citizens who spied for the Soviet UnionJun 19, 2026 · 1h 6mMalta & West Germany - Memories of an RAF Childhood Abroad (461)Mark Thompson shares his captivating journey as the child of Royal Air Force personnel during the Cold War. From the moment his parents met in Singapore to their adventurJun 12, 2026 · 53 minCold War Football: A History in Ten Matches (460)The Cold War was a huge battle for hearts and minds — a true “people’s war.” But where did the “people’s game” fit into it? In their new book, Cold War Football: A HistorJun 5, 2026 · 1h 7mCIA and MI6 Covert Action in Communist Albania at the Dawn of the Cold War (459)In June 1949, the US and British governments secretly agreed to mount a joint covert action operation to overthrow the communist government in Albania. The top-secret plaMay 29, 2026 · 1h 18mOn the edge of war: A V-Force pilot during the Cuban Missile Crisis (458)I had the honour of speaking with Tony Dobbie, a former RAF V- Force bomber pilot who joined the RAF in 1960. Tony shares amazing anecdotes from his training, including hMay 22, 2026 · 1h 13mConscripted to a West German Nuclear Missile Unit (457)Kris is a former conscript in the West German Bundeswehr during the Cold War. He shares his experiences from the moment he received his conscription notice at 17, ultimatMay 15, 2026 · 54 minFakers: A Top-Secret Tale of Phantoms and Forgeries on the Cold War Disinformation Front Line (456)I delve into the fascinating world of Cold War propaganda with historian Rory Cormac, author of a new book “Fakers - 'A Top Secret Tale of Phantoms and Forgeries on the DMay 8, 2026 · 47 min30 Miles from the North Korean Border - A US Military Childhood (455)Flynn describes life as a US military child just 30 miles from the North Korean Border during the 1970s. The political landscape of the time was tumultuous, marked by sigMay 1, 2026 · 1h 25mThe JFK Assassination: The human narratives behind one of history's most scrutinised events (454)Dallas, 22 November 1963. The main event is supposed to be on the appropriately named Main Street. News footage shows office workers leaning out of windows, peering at thApr 24, 2026 · 1h 14mChornobyl: Anatomy of a Catastrophe (453)40 years ago at 1:23 a.m. on April 26, 1986, a routine safety test inside Reactor Four at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant spiralled into the worst nuclear disaster in hApr 17, 2026 · 1h 34mFrom East Berlin to West Ireland (452)Juli begins by recounting her early years in East Berlin, a time marked by the tragic loss of her father. Drafted into the army just days before her birth, her father conApr 10, 2026 · 1h 9mGuarding the Wire at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (451)Chris was a US Marine assigned to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a sprawling US base on the Communist island of Cuba. Chris describes the guard duty along the fence line, where thApr 3, 2026 · 1h 1mSoviet - Afghan War, Mujahideen Resistance: The Brutal Fight for Zhawar (450)In this episode, historian and writer Michael G. Stroud explores how decades of political instability drew the Soviet Union into Afghanistan in 1979—and why the intervent
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