The award-winning podcast preserving the stories of the Cold War before they are lost…subscribe for free. Produced by Ian Sanders FRHistS
We speak today with Alistair Coleman who joined BBC Monitoring as a technician in 1989, just in time for the Berlin Wall. He was on a console night shift at Caversham, on the night of the coup against Soviet Leader Gorbachev in 1991 and describes that night as the highlight of his career at the … Read more
Todays episode is different, the interviewer is not me, but one of our listeners who contacted me to help produce content for the podcast. This gave me the idea for a new area of the podcast called “Cold War Contributions” where listeners can send in audio interviews for broadcast on the show. Email me … Read more
In this episode we speak with Professor Alison Lewis is Professor of German in the School of Languages and Linguistics, The University of Melbourne, Australia. She is the a co-author of Cold War Spy Stories from Eastern Europe which is published in August 2019. Now several of our fans are the proud owners of … Read more
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 visit RAF Upper Heyford for a photography tour for Cold War enthusiasts … The episode is in three parts, the first is some audio from the tour, followed by an interview with Ric Batson a former member of the USAF 20th Security Police Squadron and tour guide as well as an … 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
Today we speak to Manuel Alzaga who as a 17 year old joined the US Army in 1981. Manuel signed up to the artillery and tells his story from life of poverty in Los Angeles through to deployment in West Germany for a Reforger exercise. Before we get going you can really help us … Read more
Laurie Hawn is a retired Canadian Member of Parliament and former career fighter pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Laurie tells the story of low level delivery of nuclear weapons via the Starfighter as well as conventional missions. Also we get insight into the escape, evasion and interrogation training given to NATO pilots. … 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