Cold War Conversations cover art
Podcast · 68 episodes

Cold War Conversations, page 2

by Ian Sanders · English

"Listening to even one episode of "Cold War Conversations" will make this sprawling, potentially intimidating period of history feel vivid and compelling." The New York Times Experience the Cold War like never before with Cold War Conversations — an award-winning podcast. Each week, host Ian Sanders brings you raw, firsthand accounts from the people who lived through one of history’s most tense and transformative eras — soldiers, spies, civilians, and more. These aren’t stories from textbooks. They’re unfiltered voices from the frontlines of history — emotional, gripping, and deeply human. This is Cold War history, told from the inside out.

All episodes, page 2

From East Berlin to West Ireland (452)Julie, born in East Berlin behind the Iron Curtain (1970), recounts life under socialist indoctrination, family separation caused by the Berlin Wall, and her shift toward dissent during the…17 Apr 2026 · 1 h 34 min · 42 chapters
Guarding the Wire at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (451)U.S. Marine guard duty at Guantanamo Bay in the late Cold War, focusing on the fence line facing Cuba, base life, defectors, and isolation-driven alcohol problems.10 Apr 2026 · 1 h 9 min · 31 chapters
Soviet - Afghan War, Mujahideen Resistance: The Brutal Fight for Zhawar (450)Why the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979 and how the Mujahideen’s resistance—especially the battles for Zhawar/Zawar, a cave complex on the Afghan-Pakistan border—frustrated Soviet and Afghan…3 Apr 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 20 chapters
Former MI5 & MI6 Legal Director Looks Back at His Time in Cold War Berlin (449)David Bickford, former MI6 legal director, recounts his 1979–83 posting in Cold War Berlin as a legal advisor to the British military government, focusing on Allied access routes, negotiations with…28 Mar 2026 · 1 h 18 min · 32 chapters
An officer in The Internal Troops of the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs (448)Igor describes serving as a Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs “troops” officer (communications/radio) after officer training in Shaulia, Lithuania, including internal security duties,…21 Mar 2026 · 49 min · 19 chapters
Growing up in Soviet Ukraine in the 1960s and 70s (447)Ihor, born in 1958 in Lviv (western Ukraine), describes growing up in the Soviet Union during the 1960s–70s: censorship, limited media access, family silence, Soviet schooling and youth…14 Mar 2026 · 49 min · 22 chapters
Secret Warriors - British Submarines during the Cold War (446)Royal Navy Cold War submarines and covert “sneakies” in the Barents Sea, including intelligence gathering, underwater “under-looks,” sonar development, and major collision incidents; also UK Polaris…7 Mar 2026 · 1 h 15 min · 30 chapters
American MiG Pilot: Inside the Top Secret USAF "Red Eagles" MiG Squadron Part 2 (445)Part 2 of Cold War Conversations’ interview with Lt. Col. Rob Zeman Zettel about the USAF “Red Eagles” constant peg adversary squadron, focusing on his selection, first MiG-21 flight, and how the…28 Feb 2026 · 48 min · 14 chapters
High School Student to the Top Secret USAF Red Eagles Soviet MIG Squadron Part 1 (444)Lieutenant Colonel Rob Zeman Zettel recounts how he became a U.S. Air Force aggressor pilot and later joined the top-secret Red Eagles MiG unit (part 1 of 2), including training, Soviet tactic…21 Feb 2026 · 50 min · 15 chapters
The Moscow Playbook: How Russia Used, Abused, and Transformed Sports in the Hunt for Power (443)How the USSR (and later Russia) used international sport as state power—winning, manipulating rules, and diverting attention—through centralized control, women’s athletics, amateurism “gaming,”…14 Feb 2026 · 1 h 2 min · 23 chapters
Chasing Rogue Nukes after the Fall of the Soviet Union (442)Susan Miller’s CIA career during the Soviet collapse, focusing on three high-stakes moments: the 1991 US Embassy Moscow fire, walk-in intelligence offers in Poland (including microfiche of overseas…7 Feb 2026 · 52 min · 19 chapters
Dead Drops and Disguises - A Female CIA Officer in 1980s Moscow (441)CIA tradecraft and fieldwork by Susan Miller in 1980s Moscow—surveillance detection, disguises, dead drops, and high-risk missions, set against late-Soviet political change.31 Jan 2026 · 49 min · 17 chapters
Cold War British Army "stay behinds" - Live at the Imperial War Museum London (440)Cold War British Army “stay-behind” Special Observation Post (Special OP) Troop, focused on covert observation, selection/training, and how six-man patrols built and operated Mexi shelters and…24 Jan 2026 · 54 min · 24 chapters
Planning an Escape for 13 Years: How One Family Outsmarted the Iron Curtain (439)Peter Castle describes his family’s 13-year, clandestine plan to escape Czechoslovakia after the 1968 Soviet-led invasion and the ensuing “normalization,” culminating in their 1983 defection route…17 Jan 2026 · 1 h 23 min · 33 chapters
Why did the USA invade Grenada in 1983? (438)Operation Urgent Fury—the 25 Oct 1983 US invasion of Grenada—its causes, execution, failures, aftermath, and international/legal fallout.10 Jan 2026 · 50 min · 13 chapters
When Terrorism Went Global: Plane Hijackings and Violence in the 1970s (437)How 1970s left-wing and Palestinian extremist networks helped make terrorism transnational, focusing on plane hijackings, hostage-taking, and the shift from “attention-seeking” attacks to later…3 Jan 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 22 chapters
When East German Soldiers Dreamed of Flying Over the Wall (436)A British modern languages student’s 1989 “work and holiday” trip to East Germany organized by the Great Britain GDR Society, focusing on life in East Berlin just before the Wall fell, especially…27 Dec 2025 · 1 h 15 min · 26 chapters
Cold War Kid to Space Age Engineer via President Kennedy's last flight alive & RAF Upper Heyford (435)Keith Longstreth’s Cold War life story, from his childhood in Air Force bases (including Carswell during JFK’s last flight alive) to RAF Upper Heyford in the early 1980s, where he worked on radiation…20 Dec 2025 · 1 h 27 min · 28 chapters
Eyes at the Edge of the Iron Curtain - Life in a 1960s British Reconnaissance Regiment (434)Life as a late-1950s British National Service conscript in a light armoured reconnaissance regiment stationed near the East German border (Wolfenbüttel/Welsenberg), including vehicle training, border…13 Dec 2025 · 1 h 3 min · 24 chapters
What was Cold War British Army Conscription really like? (433)British National Service conscription in the late 1950s, focusing on Miles Cavern’s 1959 call-up and six-week basic training at Catterick Camp, plus the transition into Royal Armoured Corps…6 Dec 2025 · 59 min · 18 chapters
The Berlin Airlift - Victories, Myths, and the Berlin Blockade (432)The Berlin Blockade and Berlin Airlift (1948–49), focusing on why the Soviets restricted Western access, whether Berlin was “completely blockaded,” and how the airlift reshaped West–East perceptions.27 Nov 2025 · 1 h 9 min · 29 chapters
Surrounded and outnumbered 8-1 : A forgotten story of the Korean War (431)The Battle of Chosin Reservoir (Korean War) from the perspective of the U.S.22 Nov 2025 · 1 h · 21 chapters
Shaking Hands with China’s Second Most Powerful Man (430)Bill Hodes’ Cold War-era life in revolutionary China and later U.S. civil-rights activism, plus his 1989 return to China during Tiananmen and the political lessons he draws from both eras.15 Nov 2025 · 54 min · 16 chapters
An American Childhood in 1950s Revolutionary China (429)Bill Hodes, a “red diaper baby,” recounts how McCarthy-era repression and civil-rights activism in 1950s New Orleans pushed his family to relocate to revolutionary China (arriving Beijing in 1954),…8 Nov 2025 · 57 min · 26 chapters