Experiencing the Cold War via virtual reality (128)

How can we go beyond the films, books, and photos to learn more about the Cold War? Films are certainly evocative and certainly inform but how can we go beyond that and immerse ourselves to see what it felt like to be there. The two technologies of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality may allow us to do this. Robin Hardenberg is a Berlin-based filmmaker who has developed ’The Berlin Wall App’ which uses Augmented Reality to bring the drama of the division of Berlin to those who are able to walk around the City. Patrick Furlong is Head of Factual at Remarkable TV and has produced VR content for YouTube’s Virtually History series about the Berlin Wall. These programs allow you to immerse yourself in key episodes in Berlin’s Cold War history from your own home. If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help us grow the number of listeners. If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Back to today’s episode, we welcome James, Robin & Patrick to our Cold War conversation… There’s VR videos and further information on this episode in our show notes, which can also be found as a link in your podcast app.https://coldwarconversations.com/episode128/ If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media. If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search for Cold War Conversations in Facebook. Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye. Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ 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 0:00 Introduction and meeting with Soviet diplomat Mikhail Petrukhov 1:51 Sponsor message and request for donations 3:57 Hans de Vreij's career journey and focus on human rights and arms control 10:49 The envelope incident and potential for blackmail 16:33 Conclusion and reflections on the old-fashioned tactics of Soviet intelligence 20:14 An unusual request from a KGB agent 29:15 Understanding KGB tradecraft 35:01 Invitation to see a chemical weapons facility in the Soviet Union 53:01 Hans de Vreij's time in the Dutch Army 55:38 Closing remarks and call to action: Show notes, donations, and the Facebook discussion group 56:16 Podcast sign off by Ian Sanders Chapters powered by PodcastAI✨ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices