Cold War Cast

Today I’m reviewing the recent book by Annie Jacobsen, Biological War, about a scenario where an errant biological weapon escapes a laboratory in Russia and hits the United States. It’s a grim and disturbing book - and really interesting.

I cover the book from a Cold War perspective- there’s a lot about the Soviet biological weapons program as well as a few other general points.

Vladimir Putin recently visited the Kuril Islands, sparking protest from Japan. Today we’re talking about the dispute between Japan and Russia over these islands that goes all the way back to the absolute earliest days of the Cold War.

We’ll cover this area’s historical past between the Ainu, Russia and Japan up through the modern talks on the islands. We’ll also spend some time on Japan’s early days of the Cold War and turn towards the US amid simmering tensions with the USSR.

We’ll also cover the strategic significance of these islands for the USSR and the modern challenges they present for Japan

Today we’re looking at two books that ask the question of what really happens to civilization in the aftermath of nuclear war. Alas, Babylon deals with the immediate aftermath of a nuclear war up until the first year after in a small Florida town. Canticles of Liebowitz looks out over a thousand years later and the struggle to preserve scraps of knowledge from before the bomb. If civilization is cumulative and relies on building on the past, what happens when those systems of support and institutions of knowledge begin to collapse? Everyone knew nuclear war wouldn’t be pretty, but these books take a look at beyond the first order of effects for a sobering look at what was looming for mankind.

While these books are different in style, they both come from a period of time (1959-60) when Americans felt particularly vulnerable, as it was believed the Soviets jumped ahead of the US in weapons technology - a sneak attack could happen any moment, they believed.

These two books have a place in the canon of Cold War pop culture.

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In the years after World War II, Australia, a bastion of Anglo/European civilization on the fringe of Asia, looked north with trepidation. Communism was on the march and once again Australia felt vulnerable. They decided to make their stand against communism along with their American allies and Vietnam.

Today we are talking about Australia’s experience in the Vietnam war, which looked a lot like the American experience in Vietnam, but with its own unique circumstances.

Towards the end, I talk about the film The Odd Angry Shot from 1979, which captures the ambiguity of the Vietnam war very well.

When the United States went looking for friends during the Vietnam War, few countries answered. Foremost among them was impoverished and war-torn South Korea.

South Korea’s participation in the Vietnam War gets overshadowed by the American experience, but it turned out to be pivotal for the young nation and the Cold War in Asia.

We’ll talk about the considerations to get involved in a far flung conflict, the battlefield experience and how a few household names got their start in the Vietnam war (Samsung and Hyundai). We will also talk about the tensions that flared with the North Koreans during the time and how the experience forged a bond between the United States and Republic of Korea that lasts until the present day.

Everyone is wondering why the Democratic Republic of Congo has the fan that stands and poses as a statue for the duration of their matches. He is channeling the likeness of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of Congo. Today we’re telling the Cold War story of Lumumba. This is a fascinating chapter of Africa’s decolonization and a turbulent chapter of the cold war that took place deep in the heart of Africa. Lumumba is seen as a martyr for Congolese independence and “Lumumba Vea” hopes his schtick inspires the Congolese squad to victory.

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.

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.

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.

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!