Cold War Kid to Space Age Engineer via President Kennedy's last flight alive & RAF Upper Heyford (435)

Cold War Conversations - "vivid & compelling" The NY Times

Ian Sanders

History, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.8 • 865 Ratings

🗓️ 20 December 2025

⏱️ 88 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Keith Longstreth takes us through an extraordinary life shaped by the rhythms and risks of the Cold War. Born into an Air Force family, Keith grew up on bases across the world—from Scotland to Italy to Texas, where he describes a poignant last farewell to President Kennedy before his assassination. His career in the USAF placed him behind the scenes of America’s most critical aircraft, including time at RAF Upper Heyford during the tense early 1980s. There, he lived through chemical-attack drills, nuclear-strike simulations, and the ever-present pressure of NATO–Soviet confrontation. Rising to become an astronautical engineer, Keith later worked on GPS satellites and experiments flown on the Space Shuttle. Episode Extras ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://coldwarconversations.com/episode435/ ⁠⁠Help me 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 also 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/⁠⁠ CONTINUE THE COLD WAR CONVERSATION Follow us on BlueSky ⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/coldwarpod.bsky.social⁠⁠ Follow us on Threads ⁠⁠https://www.threads.net/@coldwarconversations⁠⁠ Follow us on Twitter/X ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod⁠⁠ Facebook ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/⁠⁠ Instagram ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/⁠⁠ Youtube ⁠⁠https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations⁠ 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.
0:05.7	Hi everyone, I'm Connor, head of programming at Intelligence Squared. As we head in to the festive season,
0:12.5	what is for many of us a time of comfort, celebration and gatherings round a table, most of us won't
0:18.4	think twice about the clean water running from our taps that make
0:21.9	it all possible. But for millions of people around the world, this is something they simply don't have.
0:28.8	That's why here at the Intelligence Squared podcast, we're proud to partner with WaterAid, a charity
0:34.0	working to change this and to shine a spotlight on something that connects us all.
0:39.0	In a special episode of our podcast, journalist Cocoa Can speaks to Amica Godfrey, WaterAids Executive Director of International Programs.
0:48.4	Amica has spent more than 25 years working across the world in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector. She shares powerful
0:56.3	stories about how clean water keeps children in school, helps mothers support their families
1:01.7	or run businesses, and unlocks potential for entire communities. To hear the full conversation,
1:07.7	just search Intelligence Squared, wherever you get your podcasts, and listen to the
1:12.0	episode titled Everything Starts with Water, released on the 17th of December.
1:17.2	We were launching at the Kennedy Space Center, and our target was to have the thing land in
1:23.5	the lagoon. Well, there was a French gentleman that was out there doing some work on the pad,
1:30.3	and he accidentally ignited the rocket.
1:34.1	Unfortunately, because it wasn't supposed to go, they hadn't cleared the lagoon.
1:38.7	There was the guy there fishing, and he got pretty close.
1:44.1	He was really mad.
1:47.9	This is Cold War Conversations.
1:51.3	If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen to Cold War history.
1:55.8	Please make sure you follow us in your podcast app so you don't miss future episodes.
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