Episodi
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Animal Farm by George Orwell was just remade into an animated film by Angel Studios. In this episode I give a little background info about Orwell, his life and the world around him to help understand Animal Farm.
This is one of the earliest and most important -and most enduring- works of the Cold War. I know most of us have either read it or seen the 1951 (CIA sponsored) cartoon, so I’m mostly reaching out to people encountering it for the first time now…but maybe it’s been a while for you! Enjoy. This one is short and more off the cuff than usual.
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Today we’re talking about one of the key films of the Cold War, The Day The Earth Stood still.
In the film a humanoid alien, Klaatu, delivers a message to Earth - live peacefully or else. Through Klaatu’s interactions with humans we look at our society through a mile high (or 200 million “earth miles”?) lens. It’s a good snapshot of Cold War America and fears for the future - utopia or destruction…and it’s up to us (which isn’t promising, as we’ll see).
On some levels it seems like beauty pageant tier politics, but digging a little deeper it brings up questions of the use of force in order to shape the world as you want it.
This is one of the best sci-fi films ever made. Enjoy.
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Chuck Norris was a hero of American cinema forged in the Cold War. Today we’re going to honor his life from a Cold War perspective.
His character begins with real life service in the Air Force in Korea. He would go on to work in the military industrial complex, lose a brother in Vietnam and take on America’s enemies, both foreign and domestic on the silver screen.
We’ll discuss Missing in Action, Invasion USA, Delta Force, Good Guys Wear Black and more.
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Today we’re talking about the last Tomcats (you might remember them from “Top Gun”) on Earth - In Iran. This is a story of Iran and the United States aligned by the Cold War, then after the Islamic Revolution in 1979 the circumstances changed.
Iran was left without American support for spare parts and maintenance. They kept the Tomcats flying by hook or crook through the war with Iraq and into the present day (well, maybe).
This is a story of aviation history, Cold War politics, middle eastern conflict and one isolated nation defying the world. Enjoy!
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Today we’re talking about the last Tomcats on Earth - Iran’s F-14s. Iran acquired them during a period of the Cold War when the US and Iran were aligned against the Soviet Union.
After the Islamic Revolution American support was withdrawn and Iran was on her own to keep the planes flying without spare parts and tech support.
This is a story of aviation history, espionage, Iran’s military and middle eastern conflict all in one.
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The USS Iowa was built in anticipation of clashes with Japanese battleships in the Pacific. Although World War 2 ended without a mega showdown between battleships, the Iowa went on to write her story during the Cold War, coming in clutch during Anerica’s time of need.
We’ll discuss the history of the ship, her impressive stats, her Cold War service and the future of battleships
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What’s scarier, aliens or commies? Today we’re talking about a period during the tense, paranoid and uncertain early Cold War where Americans saw a rash of UFO sightings, setting off a panic. It wasn’t the prospect of little green men that put the country on edge, it was the idea that these objects could be Russians with secret technology…and we would be defenseless.
I use the 1950 B-film “The Flying Saucer” as a good illustration of where America’s mind was at around 1947-50.
I’ll also discuss the origin of the “flying saucer” term and the famous Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting that kicked it all off.
As always, go to Red Dragon Herbs to get yourself some tea to support this podcast
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Today we are talking about Kim Jong Un, the current (dear) leader of North Korea. We’ve been discussing current heads of state and how the Cold War has shaped them. Kim Jong Un really is a relic from the Cold War and in many ways still continues that history. We talk about his murky beginnings and his role in the current state, which is a throwback to the days of Mao and Stalin, with some homespun touches
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For Xi Jinping the Cold War never really ended. What we saw as a victory of democracy was a failure of weak men and a cautionary tale for Xi and the Chinese Communist Party.
In this episode we talk about the chaos and suffering Xi endured in his young life to make him into the man he is today. The Cold War was a visceral experience for him that made him wary of chaos and disorder.
I think looking at his Cold War experience helps explain this leader who is elusive to the outside world.
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Nicolas Maduro is in the news right now. When we look at his history and ideology, we find that he’s pretty much a guy that showed up late to the Cold War. We discuss his humble origins, training in Cuba and the current state of affairs.
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Part 2 of our series on current world leaders and the Cold War
Today we’re looking at how the Cold War shaped Donald Trump and his experiences growing up during a period of peak American prosperity and moral authority, watching it decline then rising back up again. Although he had no military or political experience during this period, he reflected a mood in the country and became the poster child of free market capitalism during the 80’s. We talk about his history and how Cold War thinking shaped his present style of diplomacy. Yes, we talk about the draft deferments too.
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Netflix just released House of Dynamite, a nuclear thriller that brings the looming horror of the Cold War and nuclear war to the present day. Today I’m giving you my off the cuff review of the show and a few things of interest for those of us into this kind of thing
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Today we’re talking about one of the creepiest relics of the Cold War, Buzludzha Monument in Bulgaria - an abandoned testament to communism’s unfulfilled ambitions. It resembles a giant concrete UFO on top of a mountain. Not only is it an artifact of a horrific period of history, many claim it’s haunted. We’ll discuss some of the strange things afoot in Buzludzha.
In order to turn this into a true Halloween extravaganza, I’ll read Percy Shelley’s “ozymandias” , which this abandoned monument reminded me of. I’ll also bring my Soviet Union-obsessed eight year old on to tell a good Cold War joke he told me the other day. Like, subscribe, share and leave good reviews. Hit me up on instagram or X.
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Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky both had their formative and life altering moments during the Cold War. In this episode, we discussed their history and how the fall of the Soviet Union, a nation they were both citizens of, affected them. It’s interesting that both leaders had a front row seat to the same series of events and came to such divergent conclusions. Leave a review to help the show grow and visit www.reddragonherbs.com to support financially.
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The film for the Stephen King book The Long Walk just hit the theaters over the weekend. While we have a lot of accounts of the horrors of war, this story is the product of the dread over the prospect of being forced to fight a war from the perspective of a young horror writer. The boomers get a lot of grief for having had it easy, but King captured the horror of having the draft and Vietnam looming over your head as a young man in the 60’s.
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In a recent episode about nuclear first strike plans, I got carried away and forgot to mention the strategic rocket forces of Russia/the Soviet Union. In this episode, I talk about one of the world’s most unique military branches including their history and their purpose over the years. The rocket forces are the guardians of Russia’s superpower status, with their finger on the button as their motherland’s ultimate trump card.
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Today we are addressing a listener question on how nuclear strike plans have changed over the course of the Cold War for both the United States and her adversaries. This is a fun question to answer because a lot changed during the Cold War and into the present day in both countries as far as military, economic, and demographic concerns go.
In this episode I cover who makes these plans and how they do it for both sides and what potential for strikes would look like in the United States as far as the top targets. Enjoy! I always like talking about nuclear war.
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Breaking news of Cold War interest! Poland invokes article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty in response to Russian drones violating Polish airspace. In this off the cuff episode i discuss what the article means and its history.
To support the show, check out our sponsor Red Dragon Herbs
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In this episode we talk about how a Cold War rival became one of the United States’ greatest allies - Poland. This episode is for my wife (and kids), as my stepson recently deployed with the Army to Poland. I’ll explain what they’re doing there and how the relationship between our two nations started.
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Today we are talking about Finland’s Cold War experience - one of coerced neutrality and military preparedness. We’ll also spend some time talking about Finland’s recent NATO membership and geopolitical considerations with her neighbor Russia.
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