The Cold War Vault

EP26: The Missiles of October, Part Three

In this episode, we focus on the days leading up to the climax of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the second Tuesday through Friday. These days include the showdown at the U.N. with Adlai Stevenson and Khrushchev's first, emotional letter to Kennedy on Friday night. These truly are, the Days of Danger.

The Cold War Vault: A Quick Update

A quick update on the podcast an appeal for normalcy in the comments section.

EP25: The Missiles of October, Part Two

A day-by-day account of the first week of the crisis and what key actors really thought. This is a set-up for the real thought experiments of the next episode. But on its own, it really does illuminate the gloom and doom running through the heads of the most powerful people on Earth. I hope this has some interesting new personal information in the tale....

EP24: The Missiles of October, Part One

57 years ago this month, humanity was faced with what was potentially the most dangerous crisis in history. Cooler heads prevailed, but it might not have gone that way. In fact, given what we know, it's hard to imagine that it did. This episode and a couple more will explore what happened and what might have happened, hopefully in a slightly new way.

EP23: Operation Gladio and the European Stay-Behind Networks

What seemed like a necessary and prudent precaution in the face of a Warsaw Pact invasion of Western Europe, became deeply controversial after the fall of the Soviet Union and the revelation of the European stay-behind networks and their ties to NATO and the CIA.

EP22: Left Behind, the Alaskan StayBehind Agents

In the 1950s, an unsuspecting group of Alaska residents were recruited by the FBI to stand against the Soviet invaders. This is their story.

EP21: Listener Question, Skyfall and Scramjets

A listener question leads to a discussion on what Russia was up to a couple of weeks ago when a new cruise missile exploded...with radioactive implications.

EP20: Submarine Disasters of 1968

What does the wreck of the titanic have to do with the loss of two U.S. nuclear submarines? This episode tells the story of the four submarine disasters of 1968.

EP19: Fearmonger Fridays and Grumble in the Gulf

In this timely news-based episode we will look at some of the trouble in the Persian Gulf, and a history of tanker trouble in the Strait of Hormuz. Also up, 17 CIA spies surprisingly not executed by Iran, and long lost French submarine found as I was writing that it had never been found. 

EP18: Cold War on Ice, Part Three: The IGY and the Icecap

The third installment of this journey into the Arctic with the U.S. Army in the 1950s. This time, we take a trip onto the icecap with fully equipped convoys, trying to prove that the Army was a force to be reckoned with!