The award-winning & New York Times recommended podcast preserving the stories of the Cold War before they are lost…subscribe for free. Produced by Ian Sanders FRHistS
Listen on Apple PodcassListen on SpotifyListen on YouTubeListen on Amazon MusicListen on OvercastListen on Pocket CastsListen on Podcast AddictBecome a Patron! One morning in August 1980, the noise of 10,000 shipyard workers suddenly stopped. Something extraordinary was happening. As a young shipbuilding student, Bogdan Marzewski finds himself inside Gdańsk’s Lenin Shipyard as workers … Read more
Listen on Apple PodcassListen on SpotifyListen on YouTubeListen on Amazon MusicListen on OvercastListen on Pocket CastsListen on Podcast AddictBecome a Patron! Bogdan Marzewski was born just a month before the Berlin Wall went up—and left communist Poland a month before it came down. In between lay a childhood shaped by shortages, censorship, compulsory conformity … Read more
Listen on Apple PodcassListen on SpotifyListen on YouTubeListen on Amazon MusicListen on OvercastListen on Pocket CastsListen on Podcast AddictBecome a Patron! For twenty-six years, war, exile and the Iron Curtain kept one Polish family apart. Torn from his homeland and sent into Stalin’s labour camp system, Aleksander Jablonski survived hunger, forced labour and a … Read more
Susan Miller continues the story of her CIA career, recalling a harrowing experience of the 1991 US embassy fire in Moscow, and the unexpected humanity displayed by a KGB officer who helped save lives during the crisis.Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on YouTubeListen on Amazon MusicListen on Podcast AddictBecome a Patron! Susan Miller continues … Read more
The Communist Polish press called it “Kentomania!”—the excitement surrounding a 23-year-old, called Kent Washington who made history as the first American—and the first Black American—to sign a professional sports contract behind the Iron Curtain. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on YouTubeListen on Amazon MusicListen on Podcast AddictBecome a Patron! Stepping off the plane … Read more
Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on YouTubeListen on Amazon MusicListen on Podcast AddictBecome a Patron! In a world where history often overlooks the contributions of women, the story of Agent Zo stands out as a beacon of bravery and resilience. I spoke with Claire Mully about her book Agent Zo: the Untold Story of a fearless World War II resistance fighter. From the first day of the … Read more
In this deeply personal episode, Norbert, vividly recounts his traumatic childhood journey from Cold War Poland to the United States. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google PodcastsBecome a Patron! He describes the struggles of his parents amid food shortages and the poignant decision of the family to leave everything behind for an … Read more
In 1966 most of Bridget’s friends, in their early twenties, were settling down with jobs and/or husbands… Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google PodcastsBecome a Patron! She, on the other hand, set off alone to travel across Poland relying on the kindness of strangers. Fascinated by what she experienced she continued to … Read more
Andrew McNeile decided to travel through Eastern Europe in a yellow MG Midget Sports car, a car that’s going to stand out no matter where you are! He recalls his adventures travelling through East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Yugoslavia He talks about the warmth and friendliness of people, challenges with petrol quality, and … Read more
Tom lived in the town of Jawor in western Poland in an area that had been part of Germany until the end of World War 2. He describes how his grandmother settled in this area and the strangeness of taking over formerly German houses and apartments. Tom’s grandfather on his mother’s side was a Communist … Read more