Berlin: A Spy’s Guide to its Cold War History (415)

Cold War Conversations Podcast

Ian Sanders

Society & Culture, Documentary, History

4.8 • 758 Ratings

🗓️ 1 August 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the heart of Europe, Berlin stood as a city divided not only by walls but by ideologies. I dive into the world of espionage that thrived in this divided city with Special Forces and CIA veteran James Stejskal who has written a new book Berlin: A Spy’s Guide to its Cold War History in Story & Image. We explore in some detail the intricate web of intelligence operations that unfolded against the backdrop of a tense geopolitical landscape and James shares his own firsthand accounts and lesser known stories giving us insights into spy recruitment, tradecraft and clandestine communications. Other related episodes Special Forces Berlin - Clandestine Cold War Operations of the US Army's Elite, 1956-1990 https://pod.fo/e/19e5f My father was Cold War Stasi spy Werner Stiller https://pod.fo/e/255a6 The Cold War Berlin spy tunnel - Operation Gold https://pod.fo/e/1191c 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

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Cold War Conversations, the home of real stories of the Cold War.
0:05.9	This episode is brought to you by Simplysafe.
0:09.9	And this, SimplySafe on, is the sound of peace of mind.
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0:35.6	They knew that probably a senior rush from GRU or KGB officer would be coming across to do the recruitment.
0:44.3	And this was a joint operation because it was in the French sector.
0:49.3	A number of French officers were involved.
0:51.3	The West Berlin police and the Federal Intelligence Service in West Berlin.
0:58.2	And then they called in a number of people that they thought they could trust.
1:02.4	I was one of them. So our unit helped them.
1:07.7	This is Cold War Conversations. If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen to first-hand Cold War history accounts. Please follow us in your podcast app so you don't miss a single episode. In the heart of Europe, Berlin stood as a city divided not only by walls but by ideologies. I dive into the world of espionage
1:30.2	that thrived in this divided city with special forces and CIA veteran James Stayscale,
1:36.6	who has written a new book, Berlin, a spy's guide to its Cold War history in story and image.
1:43.7	We explore in some detail the intricate web of intelligence operations that unfolded,
1:49.4	and James shares his own first-hand accounts and lesser-known stories,
1:53.4	giving us insights into spy recruitment, tradecraft and clandestine communications.
1:59.5	I'm delighted to welcome James Stayscale
2:01.9	to our Cold War conversation.
2:05.6	Why Berlin?
2:06.5	Berlin, I think, was the focal point
2:08.9	between Washington, Moscow, and Berlin,
	...

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