We’re straying far off our Cold War timeline in order to discuss Threads, a 1984 British “docudrama” about nuclear war. I have to say that this one way over exceeded my expectations. This is easily one of the most memorable films I’ve ever seen.

Today we’re talking about the role of shortwave radio during the Cold War and even the state of that platform today. Shortwave radio was one of the most effective weapons of the Cold War in the sense of it allowed both sides of the conflict to directly...

I’ll admit I’ve always had a soft spot for conspiracy theories. As a kid I used to visit the John Birch Society booth at the Iowa State Fair every year and come back with pamphlets on all kinds of subjects.

Today we’re talking about decolonization, one of the most important undercurrents and/or parallel events to the Cold War. Although the decolonization process of each country was unique, there were certainly some common themes in this period that we’ll ...

The nature of warfare didn’t change in the atomic age, but being a prisoner of war had some new complications during the Cold War – prisoners now had political and propaganda value. With the world watching,

Today we’re talking about the original Godzilla film which gives us a unique perspective on the Cold War climate from Japan. Godzilla is a metaphor for the atomic bomb itself as well as the potential harmful side effects of playing with technology that...

Today we’re discussing the brilliant 1959 Korean War film Pork Chop Hill. This film manages to turn a tragic and dire moment in history into something of a dark comedy…and also maybe acts as a microcosm of the Korean War and the Cold War experience up ...

Today we’re talking about the period between about February 1951 through July of 1953 of the Korean War, characterized by a stalemate at the 38th Parallel and negotiations between the two camps.  We’ll cover that period and why talks were held up real ...

This episode is a listener request and I hope I delivered what was asked for – we’re discussing Syngman Rhee, President of South Korea from 1948-60.  I think looking at his legacy is valuable because it adds some complexity to the Cold War by challengi...

Today we’re talking about Korean War from about the first of October 1950 through February 1951.  This brief period of the war saw the most action and the United States & friends facing off against the Red Chinese.