The award-winning podcast preserving the stories of the Cold War before they are lost…subscribe for free. Produced by Ian Sanders FRHistS
Harry served as a soldier in the Intelligence Corps in Germany in the 1960s and 1970s. His role was that of an Intelligence and Security Operator, focused on the identification of foreign and other malign activities which might undermine the effectiveness of the UK’s military presence in the country. Accordingly, he had the experience of … Read more
What was it like to be the first western pilot to fly the most advanced Soviet fighter aircraft? At the 1989 Abbotsford Air Show, during the dying days of the Cold War, Canadian CF-18 pilot Major Bob Wade became the first Western pilot to fly a Soviet MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter aircraft. This episode tells you … Read more
Operation Gold (also known as Operation Stopwatch by the British) was a joint operation conducted by the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the British MI6 Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) in the 1950s to tap into landline communication of the Soviet Army headquarters in Berlin using a tunnel into the Soviet-occupied zone. Steve Vogel is … Read more
Manuel Alzaga returns to the podcast after his debut in episode 57 with his experiences as US Army 18-year-old assistant artillery gunner in West Germany. He tells of his first impressions of West Germany, details of the 1982 Reforger exercise(return of forces to Germany) Exercise, as well as the life expectancy of front line soldier on the East … Read more
Jay Lieberman talks about his early childhood memories of the Cold War as well as his long career in the US Navy. He tells a fascinating story of how he obtained high security clearance in the US Navy and served at a number of classified command facilities including the 2nd Pentagon and the Fleet Ocean … Read more
Today has been a difficult day. My Dad has just died. He was a good father, a good man with many varied interests including art, photography and history. All of which he passed on to me. In particular, it was history, which has ultimately resulted in this podcast. I hope my listeners will indulge … Read more
Alexander ‘Sasha’ Goncharov was born in Leningrad but early in this life moved to Ukraine. After leaving school he was drafted into the Soviet Military and was based in Sevastopol where he worked in Naval Aviation servicing anti-ship weapons systems. At the end of this period, Sasha decided to stay in the military to … Read more
Our interview today is with Iain MacGregor, the author of a new book on Checkpoint Charlie subtitled The Cold War, the Berlin Wall and the most dangerous place on Earth. Weaving together personal testimonies, this book is described as a gripping narrative with vivid interviews with those on all sides whose lives were directly … Read more
Dr Peter Johnston is the Head of Collections Research and Academic Access at the National Army Museum in London and the author of a lavishly illustrated military and social history of the British forces in Germany during the Cold War. < Now if you like the podcast you can help to support us for the ... Read more
Andrej’s father served with the Soviet Army in Germany. He grew up on a military base and shares his childhood memories as East Germany began to disintegrate. So would you like one of those Cold War Conversations coasters you keep hearing me talk about? Well it’s easy, just sign up to https://www.patreon.com/coldwarpod and for … Read more