Cold War Cast

Jan 29 2025 27 ep. 25 mins 487
Cold War Cast Podcast artwork

The history and the pop culture of the Cold War with Ryan Lewellin

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Sirius Patrol - Greenland’s First Line of Defense

Jan 29 2025 21 mins  
The defense of Greenland is in the hands of a handful of men - Denmark’s Sirius Patrol. They’re an elite long range reconnaissance patrol unit that prowls Greenland’s coastline on dogsleds looking for things that shouldn’t be there. These guys are one of the most elite and interesting units in NATO’s arsenal

Greenland: NATO’s Atlantic Shield

Jan 13 2025 26 mins  
Greenland is in the news right now because Donald Trump is looking to add it to America’s portfolio. Today we are talking about the strategic importance of Greenland during the Cold War and current day.

SEATO (vs. NATO)

Sep 22 2024 28 mins  
Today we are looking at the short and not very sweet history SEATO, The Southeast Asian Treaty Organization. We are also going to look at what’s made NATO work that SEATO didn’t have. Who knows, we may see them drag this alliance out again someday.

Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen

Jul 08 2024 19 mins  
In this episode, I look at a recent book by Annie Jacobsen that gives a realistic account of what would go down if we detected nuclear missiles incoming. Although it takes place in the present, there’s a strong Cold War essence to the book, when all the protocols were developed. A must for those of us who are fans (?!?!?) of nuclear stuff!

Ho Chi Minh’s Speech - Vietnam’s Independence

Feb 11 2024 18 mins  
On September 2, 1945 Ho Chi Minh delivered a speech in Hanoi announcing Vietnam’s independence from Japan and France. Tonight we’re going to read the speech and add a little context in order to hear it from the “other side”. Ho Chi Minh was one of America’s communist boogeymen, after all. I believe hearing all sides, even ones you don’t like, are important- especially t

Oppenheimer

Aug 04 2023 20 mins  
My thoughts on the film Oppenheimer and one of the major themes of the film and how it relates to the Cold War

I Was A Communist For The FBI

May 04 2023 26 mins  
Today we’re doing a Cold War analysis of the 1951 Film Noir gem “I Was A Communist For The FBI”, a dramatization of undercover agent Matt Cvetic’s time amongst the communists in Pittsburgh.

Western Tanks Coming to Ukraine

Jan 31 2023 42 mins  
This episode is a little different because I’m giving my hot takes on the tanks coming to Ukraine. I feel that both the Ukrainian / Western and the Russian sides need a little moderation on the situation with the incoming tanks. I hope you enjoy this one, I’m shooting from the hip here on this subject

Red Nightmare (1962)

Jan 26 2023 26 mins  
Today we’re looking at a real Cold War gem, “Red Nightmare”. Our protagonist gets taken on a twilight zone-esque journey into what his life would look like under communism. This short film is one of my favorite examples of the Cold War being fought through pop culture. Let me know what you think! As always, this is brought to you by Red Dragon Herbs, our own loose leaf tea bu

Conelrad: Atomic Era Civil Defense

Oct 14 2022 16 mins  
Today we’re talking about Conelrad, the American government’s answer to getting the word out in the event of a Soviet attack. This topic is a fun relic from those uncertain times. We had the power to blow each other up across the world, but communication across the country wasn’t foolproof