Chornobyl: Anatomy of a Catastrophe

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 history. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on YouTubeListen on Amazon MusicListen on OvercastListen on Pocket CastsListen on Podcast AddictBecome a Patron! This episode traces … Read more

From East Berlin to West Ireland

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 continually deserted to see his family, ultimately leading to his untimely death. This early loss left Juli and her mother to navigate a harsh … Read more

An MI6 Director Looks Back at His Time in Cold War Berlin

  Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on YouTubeListen on Amazon MusicListen on OvercastListen on Pocket CastsListen on Podcast AddictBecome a Patron! Former MI6 Director David Bickford takes us behind the scenes of one of the most unusual and precarious postings of the Cold War.  Arriving in Berlin in 1979, the city is still technically … Read more

An officer in The Internal Troops of the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs

  Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on YouTubeListen on Amazon MusicListen on OvercastListen on Pocket CastsListen on Podcast AddictBecome a Patron! Ihor describes his time serving as a Ukrainian officer in the Soviet Union’s Ministry of Interior troops. After volunteering to serve in the military, he quickly found himself travelling from Lviv to Lithuania … Read more

Growing up in Soviet Ukraine in the 1960s and 70s

  Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on YouTubeListen on Amazon MusicListen on OvercastListen on Pocket CastsListen on Podcast AddictBecome a Patron!  Ihor grew up in Ukraine during the Soviet era. His story begins in November 1958, amid the complex historical backdrop of a city that has witnessed the ebb and flow of empires. With … Read more

Planning an Escape for 13 Years: How One Family Outsmarted the Iron Curtain

 Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on YouTubeListen on Amazon MusicListen on Podcast AddictBecome a Patron! What would you risk to escape a totalitarian state—and how long would you be willing to wait? In this gripping episode, Peter Kasl, author of⁠ Escaping the Grip of Eastern European Communism⁠, tells the extraordinary true story of … Read more