Cuba

Mafia Spies and the Plot to Kill Fidel Castro

  Thomas Maier an investigative journalist is our guide to the shadowy world of organized crime and espionage where shares insights from his extensive research and writing, including his latest book and drama documentary “Mafia Spies,” which explores the unlikely alliance between the CIA and the mafia in their attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro. Listen … Read more

How To Catch A Cold War Spy

Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google PodcastsBecome a Patron! Since 1985, Ana Montes has been an asset of the Cuban intelligence service. In that time, she’s risen through the ranks to become one of the Pentagon’s most respected voices on Cuban affairs with easy access to classified documents. By night, she was working … Read more

Dickey Chapelle – trailblazing female Cold War journalist

  Now have you ever heard of Dickey Chapelle? No, I hadn’t either, but I’m delighted to bring you the unknown story of this trailblazing female war correspondent. Dickey’s career started in World War 2 where she reported from some of the Pacific wars’ toughest battlefields of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. During the Cold War, … Read more

The most damaging female spy in US history

  Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google PodcastsBecome a Patron! Ana Montes was the most damaging female spy in US history. For nearly 17 years, Montes was one of the government’s top Cuba experts, with easy access to classified documents. By night, she was working for Fidel Castro’s Cuba, listening to coded messages … Read more

The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis with Sir Max Hastings

The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis is reckoned to be one of the most perilous events in history, when the World  faced a looming nuclear collision between the United States and Soviet Union. During those weeks, the world gazed into the abyss of potential annihilation. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google PodcastsBecome a Patron! … Read more

A daughter’s 18 year search for her Cold War CIA pilot father

In 1961, members of the Alabama Air National Guard secretly took part in the failed invasion of Cuba by U.S.-backed Cuban exiles known as the Bay of Pigs. This was a covert attempt by the United States to overthrow the Soviet-allied Cuban government of Fidel Castro. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google PodcastsBecome … Read more

Cold War number stations

You might remember listening to short wave radio during the Cold War and coming across weird transmissions of metallic voices reciting random groups of numbers through the ether.  These are number stations, shortwave radio stations characterised by broadcasts of formatted numbers, which were being sent to spies operating in foreign countries. Number stations were used … Read more

The start of the Cuban revolution & the launch of Apollo 8

The phrase “history is human” was coined by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian David McCullough. He says “History is about life. It isn’t just about dates and quotations from obscure treaties and the like; it’s about people”, which is exactly what Cold War Conversations is about. I discovered this phrase listening to the History … Read more

Cuban Missile Crisis U2 Squadron Commander

Col. William “Greg” Gregory served in the U.S. Army Air Corps and saw extensive combat over North Africa and Europe during World War 2. When the Air Force was created he continued his role as a pilot and eventually became part of the clandestine U-2 spy plane program, rising to the position of squadron commander. … Read more

My father was the leader of the Soviet Union – Part 2

Welcome to episode 26 of Cold War Conversations in partnership with The Cold War Museum This is part 2 of my conversation with Professor Sergei Khrushchev the son of Nikita Khrushchev who led the Soviet Union 1953 to 1964. If you missed part 1 you can find it here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode25/ Before we start I would … Read more