I think everyone knows George Orwell’s 1984 as a political novel that deals with topics like surveillance, propaganda and general totalitarianism but I think it gets under appreciated as a historical novel that provides some deep critical analysis of British/Western society in the early years of the Cold War.   Orwell nailed a lot of […]

In 1949 a handful of European countries signed the North Atlantic Treaty which basically stated that if a signator was attacked, all members would come to their aid – collective security.  This was in response to recent Soviet aggression, notably plucking off Czechoslovakia in a Soviet-sponsored coup and the attempt to absorb West Berlin. Individually all […]

President Truman went before the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in New York City on St. Patrick’s Day of 1948 and delivered this speech.   Truman wasn’t known as a great orator or really as a guy with much charisma or character, but this speech gets the point across to the American public and the […]

The Third Man isn’t a film about the Cold War, but it’s a film with the Cold War as the backdrop.  This film is technically amazing and usually makes “greatest films of all time lists” of various stripes.   Tonight we talk a little bit about postwar Vienna, the setting of the film, and a […]

In the early years of the fledgling communist bloc, Yugoslavia decides to march to the beat of her own drum.  After all, they did liberate themselves so who is Stalin to tell Tito what to do???  Stalin saw Tito and Yugoslavia as a “loose cannon” they could draw them into a war with the West…and […]

Well, Czechoslovakia was supposed to be the feel-good country of the 20th Century but it didn’t quite work out that way, as it was invaded by the Nazis, enjoyed a couple years of uneasy freedom and then flipped to the commies in 1948.  In this episode I discuss a little bit about Czech […]

Cominform was the “Communist Information Bureau” that Stalin kicked into existence as a response to the Marshall Plan.   Although it didn’t really have any teeth, the organization was significant in that what it represented – a bloc forming rather than a broad, sweeping communist movement.   The Communist Parties of the nations involved would […]

It’s been a while since I’ve been on – I’ve been very busy with my business, www.reddragonherbs.net.  Things will calm down after the holidays and I’ll be ready to resume the podcast and expand it with more social media activity.   I figure as the pop culture of the times change, it’s going to be …

There’s a lot going on in this episode in the immediate aftermath of WWII… The commies are looking like they’re going to gain control in Greece and the Soviet Union is trying to reach her tentacles out into Turkey, which would put the communist world at a big strategic advantage in the Middle East. In …

In June of 1946 the US Navy tested two atomic bombs on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands in order to test how well a navy would withstand an atomic attack – or were they projecting force to intimidate the USSR?  With 46,000 men involved and 90 surplus ships as targets (and tens of thousands …