The award-winning podcast preserving the stories of the Cold War before they are lost…subscribe for free. Produced by Ian Sanders FRHistS
Todd Anton was arrested by the Stasi while on a day trip to East Berlin and gives a raw and powerful account of his arrest, interrogation and eventual release. If you’d like to support us then from the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us cover our increasing costs and … Read more
In this episode we speak with Colin Munro who has had an extensive career with the British Diplomatic Service. Today we speak about his time as Head of Chancery in Bucharest, Romania between 1981 to 1982. He provides a vivid view of a country initiating a policy of total repayment of the foreign debt … Read more
In this episode we speak with Mark Wiegers who travelled on the Trans-Siberian Railway in the late 1980s. His story tells of trouble with officialdom, the unexpected kindness of strangers and the beauty of a Soviet Union on the cusp of major change. Mark has taken a stunning set of photos on his journey … Read more
Today’s episode is a bonus episode celebrating our 50th episode which came out on 23rd Feb 2019. I honestly never thought we’d get this far, but it’s thanks to you the listener. In 1951, a small pilot program was launched in Indiana and Utah as a civilian defense measure to aid in the aftermath … Read more
Audra J Wolfe is writer, editor, and historian based in Philadelphia. With a background in both science and history her work specifically focuses on the role of science during the Cold War, a period when science held a special place in maintaining and projecting state power. Now if you’d like to support us with a … Read more
In this episode we welcome back John Green to talk further about his covert journalism for East Germany. Before we start I’d like to ask you to by leaving a review in Itunes or with your favourite podcast provider. It really helps us get new guests on the show. If you’d like to assist … Read more
László Nagy was one of the early members of the Hungarian Democratic Forum in 1987. The HDF became Hungary’s largest political party following first free elections in 1990. In this episode we hear the story of his parent’s life in 1950’s Hungary and László’s early life including how he ended up at school … Read more
Gillian Cox visited Poland in October 1989. In this episode you will hear her eyewitness of account of a country undergoing fundamental change. The free trade union Solidarity has just won it’s first election, although at this point it has to power share with the communist party. The writing is on the wall for major … Read more
In this episode we speak to John Green. John Green grew up in Coventry. After abandoning a zoology degree course after his second year at Bristol University, he switched to Drama. In 1964 he made the adventurous move to the German Democratic Republic to study film at the National Film School in Babelsberg, near … Read more
Gillian Cox visited the GDR as a student in October 1989 just before the Wall came down. In this episode you will hear her eyewitness of account of what she saw in East Germany on the cusp of it’s destruction. Before we start the episode I wanted to thanks everyone who is supporting the podcast … Read more