"Listening to even one episode of "Cold War Conversations" will make this sprawling, potentially intimidating period of history feel vivid and compelling." The New York Times Experience the Cold War like never before with Cold War Conversations — an award-winning podcast. Each week, host Ian Sanders brings you raw, firsthand accounts from the people who lived through one of history’s most tense and transformative eras — soldiers, spies, civilians, and more. These aren’t stories from textbooks. They’re unfiltered voices from the frontlines of history — emotional, gripping, and deeply human. This is Cold War history, told from the inside out.
Listen in the Podli app 🎧
Follow your favourite podcasts, listen offline and in the car with CarPlay and Android Auto, and always pick up where you left off. Free to try.
Nov 14, 2026 · 59:13
In the summer of 1983, an American student stepped behind the Iron Curtain—and found a Soviet Union nothing like the enemy portrayed at home. Loring Hinds recalls travelling to…
Nov 7, 2026 · 54:35
In 1956, Britain and France launched a secret war to bring down Egypt’s President Nasser. Instead, they exposed the limits of their own power. When Gamal Abdel Nasser…
Nov 6, 2026 · 1:23
Join me & fellow Cold War Conversations fans for our first London listener meetup in Islington on Thursday 12th November 2026. We’ll be meeting at The Bull Pub, 100 Upper Street,…
Oct 31, 2026 · 1:03:57
At twenty-one, Rich was trusted with a nuclear-capable rocket—but forbidden to tell even his family what he did. Then one failed to launch, and he was ordered to approach it…
Oct 23, 2026 · 1:00:18
At 5:20 on the morning of 4 November 1956, Hungarian Prime Minister Imre Nagy went on the radio with a desperate announcement: Soviet forces were attacking Budapest. Within…
Oct 16, 2026 · 50:31
What did Jacqueline Kennedy privately believe happened in Dallas on 22 November 1963? In the second part of Peter Lamas’s extraordinary story, he recalls the trust he developed…
Oct 9, 2026 · 59:32
What happens when a Cuban teenager who has lost his homeland finds himself sitting across the lunch table from Fidel Castro? Peter Lamas recalls an extraordinary childhood in…
Oct 2, 2026 · 57:28
At twelve years old, Bing became a Red Guard—and for a few intoxicating months, he felt invincible. Growing up in Mao’s Beijing, Bing was taught to worship Chairman Mao, recite…
Sep 25, 2026 · 1:06:27
One morning in August 1980, the noise of 10,000 shipyard workers suddenly stopped. Something extraordinary was happening. As a young shipbuilding student, Bogdan finds himself…
Sep 18, 2026 · 1:08:13
Bogdan 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,…
Sep 11, 2026 · 47:01
For decades, ordinary Swedes secretly prepared for the day Soviet forces might occupy their country. Farmers, factory workers, gamekeepers and travelling salesmen were recruited…
Sep 4, 2026 · 1:07:59
During the Cold War, British soldiers fought a Provisional IRA insurgency in Northern Ireland. Probably the toughest location was South Armagh, where they had to travel by…
Aug 29, 2026 · 1:23:34
What happens when the man guarding the Iron Curtain decides to escape through it himself? In 1975, Jiří Barteček was a Czechoslovak border guard, trained to track fugitives with…
Aug 21, 2026 · 54:33
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…
Aug 19, 2026 · 0:51
I’m delighted to tell you about Cold War Conversations History Tours I'm exploring the idea of hosting a Cold War history tour via a specialist tour company, and I'd like your…
Aug 14, 2026 · 50:03
After German reunification, former East German Air Force officer Roland faced an extraordinary transformation: joining the military alliance he had once been trained to fight.…
Aug 7, 2026 · 44:38
What did it mean to train as an officer in the East German Air Force, where technical skill, military discipline and socialist ideology were inseparable? Roland recalls his…
Jul 31, 2026 · 42:03
Romania in the 1980s was a country of empty shops, power cuts, rationing and fear—but for one little girl it was also home. In this episode, author Oana Aristide shares the…
Jul 24, 2026 · 41:35
In 1986, Oggy Boytchev made a split-second decision that would change his life forever. Sent to Egypt by a Bulgarian shipping company, he seized an unexpected opportunity to…
Jul 17, 2026 · 59:01
Oggy Boytchev is a former BBC journalist with more than three decades of experience reporting from conflict zones across the Middle East, the Balkans and the former Soviet Union.…
Jul 10, 2026 · 1:12:42
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…
Jul 3, 2026 · 1:09:57
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…
Jun 26, 2026 · 1:05:31
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.…
Jun 19, 2026 · 1:05:40
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…
Jun 12, 2026 · 52:51
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…
Jun 5, 2026 · 1:06:53
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…
May 29, 2026 · 1:18:06
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…
May 22, 2026 · 1:13:24
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…
May 15, 2026 · 53:33
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…
May 8, 2026 · 47:00
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…
May 1, 2026 · 1:24:31
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…
Apr 24, 2026 · 1:13:32
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.…
Apr 17, 2026 · 1:34:09
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…
Apr 10, 2026 · 1:08:57
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…
Apr 3, 2026 · 1:00:36
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…
Mar 28, 2026 · 1:17:47
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…
Mar 21, 2026 · 48:51
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…
Mar 14, 2026 · 49:16
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…
Mar 7, 2026 · 1:15:25
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…
Feb 28, 2026 · 48:20
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…
Feb 21, 2026 · 50:11
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…
Feb 14, 2026 · 1:01:34
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…
Feb 7, 2026 · 52:09
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…
Jan 31, 2026 · 49:20
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…
Jan 24, 2026 · 54:23
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…
Jan 17, 2026 · 1:23:11
What would you risk to escape a totalitarian state—and how long would you be willing to wait? In this gripping episode, Peter Kasl, author of Escaping the Grip of Eastern…
Jan 10, 2026 · 50:22
The US invasion of Grenada in 1983 remains a pivotal event in both Caribbean and Cold War history. President Reagan, fearing the spread of communism in the Caribbean and the…
Jan 3, 2026 · 1:00:51
In the 1970s, a network of radical extremists terrorised the West with intricately planned plane hijackings and hostage-takings. Among them was the young Leila Khaled with her…
Dec 27, 2025 · 1:14:59
Andrew was a British modern languages student in 1989. He recounts the serendipitous moment when he stumbled upon an advert for a work and holiday trip to the GDR. The trip was…
Dec 20, 2025 · 1:27:11
Keith Longstreth takes us through an extraordinary life shaped by the rhythms and risks of the Cold War. Born into an Air Force family, Keith grew up on bases across the…
Dec 13, 2025 · 1:03:01
This is the 2nd part of the story of Miles, a British National Service conscript during his military service in the late 1950s. I’d like to give special thanks for the Norfolk…
Dec 6, 2025 · 59:22
We hear the fascinating story of Miles, a British National Service conscript during his military service in the late 1950s. I’d like to give special thanks for the Norfolk Tank…
Nov 27, 2025 · 1:08:35
The Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War when the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the…
Nov 22, 2025 · 59:43
This is the largely untold story of Task Force Faith, the U.S. Army soldiers who although outnumbered 8-1 by Chinese troops fought valiantly during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir…
Nov 15, 2025 · 54:25
Bill Hodes was an American school child in 1950s Revolutionary China and this is the second part of his story. Among many stories we hear how he had the unique opportunity to…
Nov 8, 2025 · 57:21
Bill Hodes was a red diaper baby, a baby born to Communist parents. Bill shares stories about his parents, Bob and Jane Hodes, both convinced communists who were active in civil…
Nov 1, 2025 · 1:11:47
Ned Richardson- Little has written a new book titled The German Democratic Republic: The Rise and Fall of a Cold War State. It offers a differentiated picture of the communist…
Oct 24, 2025 · 1:03:12
I continue chatting with Dennis Greene about his incredible journey from a challenging childhood in segregated Savannah, Georgia to a distinguished military career. Dennis is…
Oct 22, 2025 · 1:01
I am trying to win an award for Cold War Conversations in the Discover Pods Awards for best history podcast 2025 and I need your nomination to get me into the finals. All I need…
Oct 17, 2025 · 56:53
Dennis Greene, is a former Air Force officer, who shares his incredible journey from a challenging childhood in segregated Savannah, Georgia to a distinguished military career.…
Oct 10, 2025 · 1:03:15
Oleg Lyalin, was a KGB officer whose actions would provide British intelligence with pivotal information during the Cold War. I speak with Richard Kerbaj, the author of a new…
Oct 3, 2025 · 1:07:13
Author Tom Hapgood is a US military BRAT aka the child of a parent or parents serving full-time in the United States Armed Forces. He talks about his 5 years in West Germany…
Sep 26, 2025 · 1:06:53
The incredible story of the five most damaging spies in British history, from their recruitment at Cambridge University to their infiltration of the government and the security…
Sep 19, 2025 · 59:57
Fraser McCallum is the author of a new book Cold War Britain: Fifty years in the shadow of the bomb which gives a fascinating insight into a period that shaped the fabric of…
Sep 12, 2025 · 1:02:24
On November 24, 1971, a man using the alias Dan Cooper hijacked a Northwest Airlines flight, demanding a ransom of $200,000 and four parachutes. What followed was a daring escape…
Sep 5, 2025 · 1:12:20
I delve into the remarkable life of Peter Stewart, a former Royal Scots Dragoon Guard Chieftain tank driver whose experiences during the Cold War offer a unique perspective on…
Aug 29, 2025 · 56:05
Irina Nistor worked as a translator of TV programs in Romania under the Communist regime, and is known for secretly voicing over thousands of banned movie titles on VHS tapes…
Aug 22, 2025 · 54:49
He was a KGB colonel. A double agent. And the most valuable spy Britain ever had. Born into a world of secrets & silence in Moscow Oleg Gordievsky’s journey takes us from the…
Aug 15, 2025 · 49:13
The Berlin Airlift stands as one of the most significant events in Cold War history, a testament to the resilience and determination of the Allies in the face of Soviet…
Aug 8, 2025 · 1:05:57
Today is 80 years since the atomic bombing of the Japanese city of Nagasaki. I talk with Stephen Walker who is the author of Shockwave: Countdown to Hiroshima. He has spent years…
Aug 1, 2025 · 58:05
In the heart of Europe, Berlin stood as a city divided not only by walls but by ideologies. I dive into the world of espionage that thrived in this divided city with Special…
Jul 25, 2025 · 1:16:53
Doug and Mike served in CS Company, 1st Battalion, 37th Armor in the US 1st Armored Division in West Germany. They provide vivid accounts of their basic training experiences,…
Jul 22, 2025 · 16:20
Welcome to a new type of episode I'm calling Cold War Short Stories — a collection of stories from our listeners and social media followers. These are fascinating Cold War tales…
Jul 18, 2025 · 1:11:44
The Korean War is often called "the forgotten war"—a brutal, complex conflict that claimed millions of lives but has largely faded from public memory, particularly in the West.…
Jul 11, 2025 · 1:16:59
In this gripping episode, we hear the harrowing account of Greg Devlin, a former US Air Force technician who barely survived a catastrophic explosion at a Titan II nuclear…
Jul 4, 2025 · 55:51
The legacy of the Cold War in Europe continues to impact present day events, most notably in Ukraine. In this episode I speak with author Stephan Kieninger about his new book…
Jun 27, 2025 · 1:04:41
This is the story of a Communist family in East Germany whose world was turned upside down by the implosion of the GDR. The story is told by Katja Hesse, whose father was a Vice…
Jun 20, 2025 · 57:44
The story of how one man—a librarian for the KGB—became a traitor to the intelligence agency, stealing the most prized Soviet-era archives and smuggling them to the West.…
Jun 13, 2025 · 1:13:32
Katja Hesse, daughter of Vice Admiral Gustav Hesse of the East German Navy, shares her deeply personal story of growing up behind the Iron Curtain. In this fascinating…
Jun 6, 2025 · 1:08:28
In the annals of history, few leaders have faced the monumental challenges that Mikhail Gorbachev encountered when he rose to power in the Soviet Union in 1985. His ascent came…
May 30, 2025 · 1:22:06
Simon Wood served in the British Army’s Royal Military Police in Berlin during the1980s. He describes the unique challenges he faced patrolling the Berlin Wall and policing…
May 23, 2025 · 1:26:05
Colonel Robert J. Graham, USAF (Ret.), was more than a fighter pilot—he was a leader, a warrior, and a witness to one of the most complex conflicts in modern history. From the…
May 16, 2025 · 1:01:24
Traian grew up in Romania during the tumultuous 1980s under the shadow of the communist regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu. We learn about the harsh realities of life under communism,…
May 9, 2025 · 1:33:53
In this gripping episode, we hear a detailed account from an eyewitness right at the heart of the tense NATO and Russian confrontation in Kosovo in 1999 at Pristina Airport. NATO…
May 2, 2025 · 1:30:08
This is a repeat of an episode published in September 2022. 55 years ago last month Fred Haise was one of the three astronauts on the ill-fated Moon mission when a design fault…
Apr 25, 2025 · 1:14:04
This episode covers themes of physical and emotional abuse as well as suicide. If you need support please follow the links below. UK…
Apr 22, 2025 · 48:42
Chris Gueffroy, was the last person to be shot dead at the Berlin Wall and a new short film called “Whispers of Freedom” portrays his story. I speak with the film’s director…
Apr 18, 2025 · 1:03:16
Former US Navy Commander Henry Rausch is the author of Submerged: Life on a Fast Attack Submarine in the Last Days of the Cold War. Henry shares his experiences from training to…
Apr 11, 2025 · 1:09:26
In 2010, two decades after the Cold War had ended, ten Russian spies were arrested in America, having hidden their true identities from their friends, neighbours and even their…
Apr 4, 2025 · 1:23:46
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…
Mar 29, 2025 · 1:00:41
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 Mulley…
Mar 26, 2025 · 30:38
I speak with Jon Benjamin who recounts his meetings with Margot Honecker, the unrepentant architect of East Germany’s education system and widow of GDR leader Erich Honecker then…
Mar 22, 2025 · 55:48
Richard F Kaufman is the author of A One-Way Trip to Death A Survivor’s View of Cruise Missiles in the Cuban Missile Crisis In the 1950s he served in the Korean War, where he was…
Mar 15, 2025 · 53:01
Susan Polgar is the author of Rebel Queen: The Cold War, Misogyny, and the Making of a Grandmaster. Born to a poor Jewish family in Cold War Budapest, Susan Polgar had the odds…
Mar 8, 2025 · 1:06:13
Jim is a former Minuteman nuclear missile officer who served in the US Air Force. Throughout the episode, Jim shares first-hand accounts of life in the launch control centre.…
Mar 1, 2025 · 1:08:54
The race to build a British nuclear bomb sucked thousands into its vortex, who are still dealing with the effects of radiation today: veterans, widows, children, scientists and…
Feb 22, 2025 · 40:09
David recounts his experiences sailing with former British Prime Minister Edward Heath, offering a unique glimpse into the life of a man who once led a nation. From the…
Feb 15, 2025 · 1:14:55
David Arnold joined the merchant navy at just 14. His tales offer a glimpse into the rigorous and sometimes harsh realities of naval training in the 1950s. His story takes us…
Feb 8, 2025 · 50:49
Last year I was given the unique opportunity to visit the Nottingham War Rooms. The site is about to be re-developed so it was a rare chance to see a British Regional Seat of…
Feb 1, 2025 · 1:31:50
During the Cold War Sweden outwardly maintained its neutrality, however from the 1960s the U.S. secretly promised to provide military force in aid of Sweden in case of Soviet…
Listen in the Podli app 🎧
Follow your favourite podcasts, listen offline and in the car with CarPlay and Android Auto, and always pick up where you left off. Free to try.
Your podcast? Get the Podli badge for your site
