Western Fringe

Western Fringe

By Heidi BeedleHistory
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Western Fringe episodes

  • To the Top Part 2: Silent Soldiers for Quiet Wars
    The CIA, secretly training a rebel army in Colorado? It's more likely than you think. After World War II, the CIA used Camp Hale to train Tibetan resistance fighters during the late 1950s and early 1960s. One of the instructors, Anthony Poshepny, later became notorious for sketchy conduct during the Vietnam War.

    Sources:
    The CIA's Secret War in Tibet by Kenneth Conboy and James Morrison
    The Shadow Circus: The CIA in Tibet
    "Agent Provocative" by SF Weekly
    "Love and Empire: The Dalai Lama, and Arrested Histories of the Tibetan Resistance Army" by Carole McGranahan
    "Satellite" and "Crash Into Me" by Dave Matthews Band by Heidi Beedle
    Further Listening:
    "THE SASQUATCH GAP: Bigfoot, Almasty, and Cold War Cryptozoology" by Subliminal Jihad
    53 min
  • To the Top Part 1: The Fast and the Fuhrerous

    We talk about Camp Hale, the Colorado Army base that was home to the 10th Mountain Division during World War II, but also home to 400 German POWs and the 620th Engineer General Service Company, a misfit unit of Nazi sympathizers. One of those soldiers would go AWOL with 2 German POWs in one of the biggest treason cases of the war.

    Sources:

    Something Like Treason by Bill Sonn
    Colorado Encyclopedia
    "The War" by Lucero

    Further Listening:

    Programmed to Chill: Who Financed Hitler? pt. 2, or, Detroit Krautrock City
    Programmed to Chill: Spyclopedia #1, William Stephenson pt. 2, or, FBI Foot Guys

    46 min
  • Nuke-O-Rado Part 5: Fallout

    The final installment of the Nuke-O-Rado series, we discuss the Grand Jury investigation into Rocky Flats' alleged environmental crimes, the clean-up effort, and the ongoing legacy of Rocky Flats. We're also joined by Giselle Herzfeld and Usama Khalid of the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center to discuss their efforts regarding Rocky Flats.

    Sources:

    Ambushed Grand Jury by Wes McKinley and Caron Balkany
    My reporting in the Colorado Springs Independent
    Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center
    excerpt of "Radiation Suit" by Hot Rod Circuit

    1 hr 3 min
  • Nuke-O-Rado Part 4: Waste Disposal

    Things get weird in the waning days of Rocky Flats. A UFO sighting, two missing persons cases, and of course continued concerns about the disposal of nuclear waste and the rising rates of cancer for Denver-area residents. It all culminates with a raid on the plant by the FBI.


    Sources:
    Dark Side of the Mountain
    Colorado Bureau of Investigation
    Brother Tony's Boys by Mike Echols
    Ambushed Grand Jury by Wes McKinley (there was a website where you could download a free .pdf, which I did a few weeks ago, the page is gone now. Weird.)

    57 min
  • Nuke-O-Rado Part 3: Swords to Plowshares

    In this episode we talk about Colorado's Operation Plowshare projects in Rulison and Rio Blanco. Were they covers for the construction of Deep Underground Military Bases? That makes about as much sense as the stated purpose of natural gas exploration. We also look into how the rise of the Environmental Protection Agency along with local and federal health agency oversight convinced Dow it was time to pass the baton to Rockwell International, who took over in 1975, trying to reform the image of the plant and prove how safe it was while the Jefferson County Health Department conducted damning studies on cancer rates and public sentiment turned against the nuclear weapons plant.

    Sources:

    AEC Promo video
    Archival news clippings (Thanks Pikes Peak Public Library!)

    1 hr 11 min
  • Nuke-O-Rado Part 1: The Manhattan Project and the Nuclear Arms Race

    In this episode we take a look Colorado's role in the Manhattan Project with the Uranium mining operations in Uravan and the Uranium refinery in Grand Junction. After World War II, Colorado was chosen as the site for Dow Chemical's plutonium manufacturing plant, Rocky Flats, which had it's first series of accidents in 1957.

    Sources:

    Atomic Heritage Foundation
    Department of Energy
    Rocky Flats Timeline by Pat Buffer
    Demon Core Incident
    Many of the documents I will be citing in this series came from the Office of Legacy Management's website, and it appears those .pdfs aren't available anymore, LOL. If you want to take a look at the source documents feel free to email [email protected]

    41 min

About Western Fringe

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Western Fringe is a podcast about the weird history of Colorado.