Cold War Conversations - "vivid & compelling" The NY Times

Richard Lyntton’s life has taken him from Cold War Moscow to the deserts of the Gulf War and the shattered streets of Sarajevo. In this powerful episode, he recalls studying in the Soviet Union during the hopeful Gorbachev years, travelling across Russia by train, and later serving as a tank commander during the First Gulf War. At the heart of this conversation is Bosnia, where Richard witnessed t...

Step behind the wire of one of NATO’s most elite tactical fighter squadrons—the 10th Tactical Fighter Squadron—during the tense final years of the Cold War and into Operation Desert Storm. Former US Air Force officer Michael Makatura’s new book, The Fightin’ Tenth, takes you inside the hardened aircraft shelters of Hahn Air Base and witness life on the front lines of the Cold War. From the heart o...

Antonia Senior’s new book, "Stalin’s Apostles", challenges what you may have believed about the Cambridge Five, a group of British citizens who spied for the Soviet Union. Antonia argues that their actions during the Cold War have long been romanticised in popular culture., however, the reality is far more complex and tragic. Kim Philby, Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, Anthony Blunt, and John Cairncr...

Mark Thompson shares his captivating journey as the child of Royal Air Force personnel during the Cold War. From the moment his parents met in Singapore to their adventures across various military bases, Mark's stories are filled with nostalgia and insight. Mark's father, a skilled electrician, joined the Royal Air Force and was posted to different locations, including Malta and Germany. His child...

The Cold War was a huge battle for hearts and minds — a true “people’s war.” But where did the “people’s game” fit into it? In their new book, Cold War Football: A History in Ten Matches, Tony Shaw and Alan McDougall explore the surprising and fascinating links between football and the global struggle between capitalism and communism. From East Germany’s famous victory over West Germany at the 197...

In June 1949, the US and British governments secretly agreed to mount a joint covert action operation to overthrow the communist government in Albania. The top-secret plan would use exiled dissidents to conduct subversive intelligence, paramilitary and propaganda operations to foment an uprising against Albania's authoritarian ruler Enver Hoxha. I speak with Stephen Long, the author of A Rich Harv...

I had the honour of speaking with Tony Dobbie, a former RAF V- Force bomber pilot who joined the RAF in 1960. Tony shares amazing anecdotes from his training, including his experiences flying jets like the Meteor and the Vampire, and the transition to the mighty Victor bomber. He candidly discusses the realities of nuclear missions during the Cold War, revealing the tension and responsibility that...

Kris is a former conscript in the West German Bundeswehr during the Cold War. He shares his experiences from the moment he received his conscription notice at 17, ultimately joining the Luftwaffe, where he served with the Pershing nuclear missile system. Basic training was a rite of passage filled with challenges. Kris recounts the camaraderie formed with fellow recruits and the harsh realities of...

I delve into the fascinating world of Cold War propaganda with historian Rory Cormac, author of a new book “Fakers - 'A Top Secret Tale of Phantoms and Forgeries on the Disinformation Front Line'. The episode uncovers the clandestine operations carried out by the Information Research Department (IRD), a little-known unit of the British Foreign Office that specialised in covert propaganda during th...

Flynn describes life as a US military child just 30 miles from the North Korean Border during the 1970s. The political landscape of the time was tumultuous, marked by significant events such as the assassination of President Park and a number of serious border incursions and incidents. Flynn reflects on how these events affected his understanding of the world around him, even as a child. He recall...

Dallas, 22 November 1963. The main event is supposed to be on the appropriately named Main Street. News footage shows office workers leaning out of windows, peering at the motorcade through a blizzard of ticker tape. On the sidewalks, the crowds are fifty deep, a wall of noise and celebration. Everyone thinks this is the place to be. Well, nearly everyone.... A few blocks away, in Dealey Plaza, th...

40 years ago at 1:23 a.m. on April 26, 1986, a routine safety test inside Reactor Four at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant spiralled into the worst nuclear disaster in history. This episode traces the catastrophe from the control room, where exhausted operators struggled with an unstable reactor they did not fully understand, to the streets of Pripyat, where thousands of residents woke the next m...

Juli begins by recounting her early years in East Berlin, a time marked by the tragic loss of her father. Drafted into the army just days before her birth, her father continually deserted to see his family, ultimately leading to his untimely death. This early loss left Juli and her mother to navigate a harsh landscape in East Germany alone. Life in East Berlin was a world of contrasts. Juli descri...

Chris was a US Marine assigned to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a sprawling US base on the Communist island of Cuba. Chris describes the guard duty along the fence line, where the proximity to the Cuban border created an unusual tension. Chris also shares anecdotes of encounters with defectors and the fascinating dynamics of life on the base. From observing Cuban life across the fence to the camaraderie a...

In this episode, historian and writer Michael G. Stroud explores how decades of political instability drew the Soviet Union into Afghanistan in 1979—and why the intervention quickly spiralled into a protracted and unwinnable war. From the struggle to control vast, rugged terrain to the challenge of winning support from a fiercely independent population, we examine the realities faced by Soviet and...

Former Legal Director MI5 & MI6, David Bickford, takes us behind the scenes of one of the most unusual and precarious postings of the Cold War. Arriving in Berlin in 1979, the city is still technically under Allied occupation—surrounded by East Germany and governed through a complex web of agreements dating back to the Second World War. He recounts the day-to-day realities of maintaining access ro...

Ihor reflects on his time serving as an officer in the Soviet Union’s Ministry of Interior troops. After volunteering for military service, he found himself travelling from Lviv to Lithuania to begin officer training in communications and field operations. The training program brought together recruits from across the Soviet Union and beyond communications; these troops had a wide range of respons...

Born in Lviv in Ukraine, in 1958, Ihor grew up in a city where borders shifted, but memories endured. In this episode, he recalls a childhood shaped by silence, censorship, and family stories that could only be told in private. While official history came from Moscow, a very different past survived in the countryside—passed down by grandparents who had lived through empire, war, and occupation. Th...

During the Cold War, some of the most dangerous encounters between East and West took place far beneath the ocean’s surface. I speak with historian Dr. Paul Brown, author of Secret Warriors: British Submarines during the Cold War. Brown reveals the extraordinary covert missions carried out by Royal Navy submarines as they monitored Soviet naval bases near Murmansk and the Barents Sea. British boat...

Lt Col Rob “Z-Man” Zettel is the author of American MiG Pilot - Inside the Top Secret USAF “Red Eagles. He tells the Red Eagles story for the first time through the experiences of a pilot who flew Soviet MiGs to their maximum performance in simulated combat engagements, often several times a day, against some of the very best fighter pilots hand-picked from the ranks of the USAF, US Navy and US Ma...

Rob “Z-Man” Zettel is the author of American MiG Pilot - Inside the Top Secret USAF “Red Eagles. In part one of a two-part episode, he reveals how he made it into this top-secret US operation that wouldn't feel out of place in 'Top Gun'. From a high school student with no aviation background, Rob discovered he had a natural aptitude for flying via the USAF Reserve Officer Training Corps. He then j...

I speak with Bruce Berglund, the author of The Moscow Playbook: How Russia Used, Abused, and Transformed Sports in the Hunt for Power, which is a fascinating journey through the world of Soviet sports and its intricate ties to politics as a means of soft power and national pride. We learn how the Soviets achieved strategic advantage through women's sports, the abuse of amateur status, the controve...

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. Episode one is here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode441/ In Poland, a KGB walk-in claims to have microfiche containing the names of every spy the KGB was running overseas....

I explore the remarkable journey of a CIA operations officer who transitioned from a quiet childhood in California to the thrilling world of espionage. What began as a joke application to the CIA turned into a life-changing opportunity. The episode delves into her rigorous training, including paramilitary courses that prepared her for the realities of fieldwork and thrilling stories from her time...

This special episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the Imperial War Museum London, in October 2025. I speak with Colin Ferguson, a veteran from the British Army‘s covert Special Observation Post Troop. This "stay behind" Special OP Troop consisted of selected soldiers in 6-man patrols whose task was to dig in large underground hides known as "mexe" shelters along the inner German bor...