Cam & Ray's Cold War Podcast

We all know that Tibet and China have a history, and that the U.S.A. is always in the middle of it. But you may not know that The United States recognizes Tibet to be part of the People’s Republic of China or that the UK and the U.S.A. have spent over a century trying to wrest control over Tibet away from China. This is part one of that story.

The CIA’s second attempt at a coup succeeds. Mossadegh is driven into hiding and General Zahedi declares himself the new leader of the country. The CIA celebrates wth champagne.

In early 1953, Churchill initiated a plan with the CIA to overthrow Iranian Prime Minister Mossadegh, involving key figures like General Sahedi and the Rashidian brothers. Aided by disinformation campaigns, the Shah fled Iran, stirring public outcry. Despite initial resistance from Eisenhower, pressure from the Dulles brothers and ongoing chaos in Iran convinced him to approve the coup. The CIA al...

Ever wondered why the heads of MI6 are called “M”? Well they aren’t. They are called “C”. It all started with Sir Mansfield Smith-Cumming, who signed his docs with a green “C.” This guy was a true legend—a retired Navy man who became the spymaster extraordinaire, famous for his love of gadgets and high-speed Rolls-Royce drives. His dramatic life included cutting off his own foot...

As Mossadegh wins the hearts and minds of Americans and the world, the British re-elect Churchill who considered Mossadegh “an elderly lunatic bent on wrecking his country and handing it over to the communists.” HOW TO LISTEN If you are seeing this message, it means you aren’t a subscriber (or aren’t logged in). If you haven’t heard any of the series and want to know...

The British PM sends a fascist Catholic member of the British elite, Sir Richard Stokes, to talk to Moss the Boss. Mossadegh says he wants a divorce. As he’s leaving Iran, Harriman meets with the Shah and “suggests” it might be time for Mossadegh to go. HOW TO LISTEN If you are seeing this message, it means you aren’t a subscriber (or aren’t logged in). If you haven’t heard any o...

After the assassination of Razmara, Mossadegh’s oil committee voted unanimously to nationalise the AIOC. Iran went crazy for Mossadegh. It was Mossa-Mania. The British were furious and tried to appoint a new Prime Minister, the latest in the line of “guys they were sure could get the job done”. It backfired. Massively. HOW TO LISTEN If you are seeing this message, it means you aren’t a subsc...

Mossadegh had two non-negotiables that drove his political game. First, he was a die-hard believer in the rule of law, which put him on a collision course with autocrats like Reza Shah. Second, he was all about Iranian self-rule, making him Public Enemy No. 1 for the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. He wasn’t just against them; he was their kryptonite. And don’t forget to join in the fun on...

In this episode, we delve into the history of Iran, focusing on the US’s role in ending democratic rule in 1953 and installing Mohammad Reza Shah’s dictatorship, a fact well-known in Iran but only admitted by the US in the 90s. This event led to the Islamic Revolution of 1979, headed by Ayatollah Khomeini, and fueled anti-Western sentiments across the Middle East. We discuss the signif...

European recipients of the Marshall Plan funds were quite clear to the USA that they needed help keeping the socialists down and out of their countries. And the USA recognized that its own economic welfare rested on the revival of Europe. Funding a pro-capitalist European recovery was a matter of national self-interest. HOW TO LISTEN If you are seeing this message, it means you aren’t a subs...

We want to take a break from Korea to talk about the creation of NATO. Obviously relevant with the whole Ukraine situation. And it took on a new kind of mission during the Korean War. But let’s go back and look at where it came from. HOW TO LISTEN If you are seeing this message, it means you aren’t a subscriber (or aren’t logged in).If you haven’t heard any of the series and want...

Today we’re talking to Katharine Gregorio, author of “The Double Life of Katharine Clark, The Untold Story of the American Journalist Who Brought the Truth about Communism to the West”. Clark was her great-aunt, a foreign correspondent who, while posted in Belgrade in the mid-1950s, befriended Milovan Djilas, the former heir apparent to Tito in Yugoslavia and author of the classi...

This is part four of our recent chat about the history of China and Taiwan with James Shone, a teacher who has lived and worked in Taiwan for over a decade. Don’t forget to check out his new podcast about the history of Taiwan . HOW TO LISTEN If you are seeing this message, it means you aren’t a subscriber (or aren’t logged in).If you haven’t heard any of the series and wan...

Dr. Danny Orbach is an Associate professor in general history and East Asian studies, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His new book, Fugitives, is a history of Nazi mercenaries during the Cold War. HOW TO LISTEN If you are seeing this message, it means you aren’t a subscriber (or aren’t logged in).If you haven’t heard any of the series and want to know if you’ll like it...

This is part three of our recent chat about the history of China and Taiwan with James Shone, a teacher who has lived and worked in Taiwan for over a decade.  Don’t forget to check out his new podcast about the history of Taiwan . HOW TO LISTEN If you are seeing this message, it means you aren’t a subscriber (or aren’t logged in).If you haven’t heard any of the series...

Part two of our recent chat with James Shone about Taiwan. Don’t forget to check out his new podcast about the history of Taiwan . HOW TO LISTEN If you are seeing this message, it means you aren’t a subscriber (or aren’t logged in).If you haven’t heard any of the series and want to know if you’ll like it before you sign up, you can listen to the first few years of epi...

We were recently invited by Paul Giordano, a listener of this show, to give a lecture to the kids studying the Cold War at EF Academy in NY where Paul is the Humanities Department Chair. We spoke for about 40 minutes then did some Q&A with the very bright kids in his class. This is a recording of our Zoom call. We’re available for more school lectures, kids’ parties, wedding and ba...

In 1949, the Kuomintang retreated from mainland China to the island of Formosa, now known as Taiwan. Ownership of Taiwan would become a major issue during the Cold War, and continues to be a cause of regional tensions, as well as China-US tensions, today. Joining us to talk about it today is James Shone, a teacher who has lived and worked in Taiwan for over a decade. He’s recently started a podcas...

We have made the first few years of episodes free, but if you want to listen to the rest of the episodes, mostly those made in the last year, you’ll need to sign up to become a member of our site. It’s cheap and easy, so sign up today and don’t miss out on our episodes about the creation of the CIA and the Korean War.

Part 4 of our series on the creation of the CIA. Even the CIA’s original legal counsel warned them that covert missions were illegal – but they did them anyway. On December 14, 1947, they were ordered to execute “covert psychological operations designed to counter Soviet and Soviet-inspired activities.” Their first mission was to spend tens of millions of dollars of secret cash to infl...

While the Jews were trying to get close to Mussolini, the Arabs modelled themselves after Hitler. The Husseinis, led by Amin al-Husseini, aka Hajj Amin, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, in 1935 set up the Palestinian Arab Party which had its own youth corp, al-Futuwwa, similar to the Hitler Youth and was even officially called the “Nazi Scouts”. Another Arab terrorist group in 1935 was run by Syrian-...

On 15 August 1929, a rowdy group of Jewish Revisionist activists marched to the Western Wall proclaiming “The Wall is ours”. They insulted the Prophet, Islam, and the Muslim community at large. It lead to large scale riots and violence. The British were powerless to stop it.  This lead a band of Haganah officers set up their own group, called “Haganah Bet” or “Haganah B.” It would late...

From 1921 – 29, there was mostly peace in Palestine. But the Zionist immigration continued unabated. And the larger they got, the more politically aggressive they became. In 1925, a new Jewish right-wing political party, Betar, was created, aligning itself with Mussolini – making them fascist Jews. They urged the Palestine Jews to demand full control of the Temple Mount, the site of th...

In the early 1920s, violence between Muslims and the Jews continued to escalate. Because they didn’t trust the British to defend their interests, the newly formed (and illegal) Jewish self-defense organization, the Haganah, was formed.  Churchill came to visit Palestine – and made things worse.  Without a doubt, the British military continued to favor the Arabs. General Sir Walter Cong...

  When the British finally captured the Middle East from the Ottomans in October 1918, under the command of General Edmund Allenby, with the support of TE Lawrence and his Sharifians, Hussein and Faisal, the British immediately tried to walk back on the Sykes-Picot agreement.  They figured they did all the hard work, so fuck the French. Most British officials believed that the Arabs could be persu...