Did the Cold War Ever End?

American History Hit

History Hit

History, America

4.3 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 21 March 2024

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Would the Cold War have happened if the nuclear bomb was never created? How did Gorbachev, Reagan and Thatcher reduce tensions between the East and West? And, according to one of the Russian authorities' most wanted journalists, how are echoes of the Cold War felt today?

'Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War' is a new, 9-part Netflix documentary which answers these questions and more. In this episode of American History Hit, Don speaks to the series' director and two contributors to get some insight.

First, he speaks to Brian Knappenberger, the documentary filmmaker behind this series, Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror and others.

Then, he is joined by Archie Brown, Emeritus Professor at the University of Oxford and author of 'The Human Factor. Gorbachev, Reagan, and Thatcher, and the End of the Cold War'.

Finally, he speaks with Andrei Soldatov, Russian investigative journalist and co-founder and editor of Agentura.ru, a watchdog of the activities of the Russian secret service.

Produced and edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello there. It's Don Wildman. Welcome to American History Here. Today's episode is a departure for us, something unique.
0:08.0	Three different interviews compiled all about a new Netflix documentary entitled Turning Point, a bomb in the Cold War.
0:15.8	It's a nine-part series looking back on massive history.
0:19.8	And while working on it, it triggered a Cold War memory of my own.
0:23.2	Something I thought might be a good way to kick things off today.
0:25.8	The story takes place back in December 1983 when I was a college student studying in London
0:36.8	and I was graciously invited to visit Moscow for the Christmas season.
0:40.5	My high school friend's father was at the time the U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union under President
0:47.0	Ronald Reagan. Of course I'd go, once a lifetime opportunity in all. Only problem was the political moment we were in. Reagan had
0:55.4	recently deployed ground-launched cruise missiles onto English soil against
1:00.0	vehement protests from the Soviets and many worried Britons.
1:03.3	Nonetheless, I somehow secured my visa and flew to Moscow,
1:07.3	damn the torpedoes, or in this case, nuclear warheads.
1:10.9	I would be staying with my friend and his family at Spasso House.
1:15.1	The U.S. Ambassador's residence located not too far from the Kremlin, where upon arrival I was
1:20.2	greeted by my friend's mom, the ambassador's wife, who after routine pleasantries dropped
1:25.6	her voice to a low whisper.
1:27.6	Now, we want to be careful what we say in the house, she explained to me, pointing
1:32.2	up to the ventilation grate in the house, she explained to me, pointing up to the ventilation grate in the ceiling.
1:35.1	We're always being listened to, and the Russian house staff, they're all KGB.
1:41.0	And with that, she dispatched me to my quarters. My Christmas holiday had begun.
1:46.8	This was an immersion for me in dizzying diplomatic circles my social skills were ill-equipped
	...

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