The Atomic Bombing of Japan -  The First Shots of the Cold War? (416)

The Atomic Bombing of Japan - The First Shots of the Cold War? (416)

Today is 80 years since the atomic bombing of the Japanese city of Nagasaki. I talk with Stephen Walker who is the author of Shockwave: Countdown to Hiroshima. He has spent years researching the atomic bombings and highlights how they impacted Soviet/US relations in the early Cold War as well as US relations with their Allies. We reflect on the decisions made at the time, his interviews with the scientists who worked on them and the last surviving aircrew who dropped the bombs. Many aircrew believed they were participating in a mission that would hasten the end of the war, but the reality of what they witnessed—cities obliterated in an instant—haunted them for the rest of their lives. The threat of nuclear warfare remains a pressing issue today, and understanding the motivations and decisions that led to Hiroshima and Nagasaki can help inform our current global discussions on security and peace. Buy the book https://uk.bookshop.org/a/1549/9780008372552 Stephen's Guardian article https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/22/atomic-bomb-hiroshima-nagasaki-author-stephen-walker Resources from the National Security Archive's Nuclear Documentation Project detailing the available documents of the time https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/project/nuclear-vault Episode extras ⁠⁠https://coldwarconversations.com/episode415⁠⁠ The fight to preserve Cold War history continues and via a simple monthly donation, you will give me the ammunition to continue to preserve Cold War history. You’ll become part of our community, get ad-free episodes, and get a sought-after CWC coaster as a thank you and you’ll bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history. Just go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If a monthly contribution is not your cup of tea, we welcome one-off donations via the same link. Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://coldwarconversations.com/store/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on BlueSky ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/coldwarpod.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on Threads ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.threads.net/@coldwarconversations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Youtube ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Love history? Join Intohistory ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://intohistory.com/coldwarpod⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jaksot(443)

Charlotte Philby talks about her grandfather Soviet spy Kim Philby & her book "Edith & Kim" (228)

Charlotte Philby talks about her grandfather Soviet spy Kim Philby & her book "Edith & Kim" (228)

In June 1934, Kim Philby met his Soviet handler, the spy Arnold Deutsch. Kim Philby was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. In 1963 he was revealed to be a member o...

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The first woman to graduate from French Commando school (227)

The first woman to graduate from French Commando school (227)

Maura McCormick was posted to Berlin as a Signals Intelligence voice interceptor (Russian). Her workplace was the Teufelsberg U.S. listening station, aka Field Station Berlin. Maura shares her early i...

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Betrayed by comrades (226)

Betrayed by comrades (226)

Liz Kohn has been researching Alice Glasnerová, who was imprisoned as part of the early Cold War Czechoslovak show trials known as the Slansky trials.  These were among the most notorious show trials ...

12 Maalis 20221h 6min

My father, the KGB spy (225)

My father, the KGB spy (225)

In 1978, Ieva Lesinska was a university student in Soviet Latvia with dreams of becoming a writer. She had just spent a heady month in New York visiting her father, Imants Lesinskis, a Soviet translat...

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"Three, Two, one, detonation..." a Royal Navy nuclear test veteran remembers (224)

"Three, Two, one, detonation..." a Royal Navy nuclear test veteran remembers (224)

The British Nuclear Test Veterans Association (BNTVA) is the Charity for UK Nuclear Veterans and last year they very kindly invited me to the annual conference. I met many veterans including Peter Lam...

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The Stasi Poetry Circle (223)

The Stasi Poetry Circle (223)

In 1982 the East German Ministry for State Security is hunting for creative new weapons in the war against the class enemy – and their solution is stranger than fiction. Rather than guns, tanks, or bo...

19 Helmi 20221h 7min

The start of the Cuban revolution & the launch of Apollo 8 (222)

The start of the Cuban revolution & the launch of Apollo 8 (222)

The phrase “history is human” was coined by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian David McCullough. He says “History is about life. It isn't just about dates and quotations from obscure...

16 Helmi 202235min

Cold War British Army fighting tactics in West Germany (221)

Cold War British Army fighting tactics in West Germany (221)

Frank Baldwin was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1979 and served for ten years, rising to the rank of Major. The first battlefield study he planned was in 1989 for HQ 4th Armoured Division. ...

12 Helmi 20221h 5min

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