http://www.coldwarcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/WarsawPact1.mp3   We’ve come close to discussing the Warsaw Pact several times in past episodes and today it finally gets a stand-alone show! It’s easy to look at the Warsaw Pact as solely a counterbalance to NATO, but we’re going to discuss a few other nuances that are important to understanding it from the Eastern perspective.  Enjoy!  As always, if you want to support the show check out www.reddragonherbs.net and get yourself (or someone else) some tea.  We’re always available to help if you need any suggestions ..read more

http://www.coldwarcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/GulfWar.mp3   I don’t have a real historical topic today, but I’ve been thinking about why I’ve always been fascinated with the Cold War and I think it has something to do with my historical perspective catching the tail end of it as a young child and then growing up in an era (the 90’s) where things weren’t as black and white and the dragons to slay weren’t quite the same as they used to be. I know this one is a little different, I hope you enjoy it.  I also talk about the show’s prospects for the future, please hit me up if you ..read more

http://www.coldwarcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/LeapingLena.mp3   Today we’re discussing a true Cold War curiosity and perhaps the most famous pigeon of the Cold War, Leaping Lena. As the story goes, the pigeon got lost behind the Iron Curtain during a race and came back with a message for the west to continue the fight against communism and that Radio Free Europe has been effective.  The pigeon was brought back to the US and used to promote the fundraising efforts for the radio station.  Sounds too good to be true?  Maybe.  We’ll discuss that in this short, off ..read more

http://www.coldwarcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/CivilDefenseX.mp3A few months ago I was able to sit down and go through the local library’s archives of articles they collected about the city’s civil defense planning for the nuclear war.  In this episode we’ll look at how Des Moines, Iowa, a good “Anytown, USA” looked at the threat of atomic attack and most importantly, how the city planned to react to an attack.  With the coronavirus outbreak going on right now, some of the information discussed might be timely.   This was a fun episode to do, I hope you all enjoy this one….and I hope ev ..read more

http://www.coldwarcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/dmzx.mp3 We’ve been discussing Cold War geography and today we’re talking about the most enduring interface of the Cold War – the DMZ between North Korea and South Korea.   The DMZ is the most tense border area on the planet.  In this episode we talk about the DMZ as a physical entity and the men who guard it. Enjoy ..read more

We’ve been discussing Cold War geography and today we’re talking about the most enduring interface of the Cold War – the DMZ between North Korea and South Korea.   The DMZ is the most tense border area on the planet.  In this episode we talk about the DMZ as a physical entity and the men who guard it.  Enjoy! http://www.coldwarcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/dmz.mp3 ..read more

Today we’re talking about a stretch of ocean between the UK and Greenland (with Iceland in the middle) that is pretty much the only access point for the Soviets to hit the high seas of the Atlantic and potentially cut off NATO supply lines…as well as potentially get nuclear subs right off the East Coast of the US.   We’ll talk about how this gap affected Cold War planning and how critical it was for both sides in a potential conflict.  I also tell the tale of the most bizarre ass-chewing I ever received in the Marine Corps.  Enjoy!   As always, if you want to support this show financially, che ..read more

Over the next couple of episodes we’re going to look at some key points on the Cold War map.  Appropriately we’re going to start with the Fulda Gap in Germany, an extremely important pass through rugged terrain during the Cold War.   Today it’s just a bit of land in the middle of Germany but had WWIII ever kicked off (on the ground), this area would’ve been the hottest real estate on the planet. http://www.coldwarcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/FuldaGap.mp3In this episode we discuss why the gap was important to both sides and how both sides planned on exploiting the gap.  Enjoy ..read more

The B-52 Stratofortress was the “tip of the spear” for the American arsenal during the Cold War (well, along with the ICBM) and really one of the most remarkable planes in the history of aviation. Today we’re going to look at the history of the B-52, go over some of the plane’s impressive stats and discuss how the plane shaped America’s global positioning during the Cold War. The “BUFF”, as it’s affectionately known, saw service in 1955 and continues to fly today…and will remain in America’s bag of tricks for at least another decade or two.   http://www.coldwarcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2019 ..read more

Today we’re talking about one of the most iconic bits of pop culture from the Cold War, “Duck and Cover”. This 1952 short features an ever-vigilant cartoon turtle named Bert who shows America’s schoolchildren various ways to react to an atomic bomb including most famously…ducking and covering Most people say that Duck and Cover “didn’t age well” from the 1950’s. It’s easy to look back and scoff at it. It’s seen as being dismissive of the actual severity of an atomic bomb. It’s also seen as government propaganda that both fueled the flames of the ongoing “Red Scare” and lulled the populace into ..read more