Cam & Ray's Cold War Podcast
History
About
A NSFW, detailed and funny long-form podcast about The Cold War.
Episodes
- The Land They Were Never Meant To Own – Cold War 308 (Cuban Revolution #33)
On this episode we dig into the centrepiece of Cuba’s revolution — the Agrarian Reform Act of 1959. We break down exactly what the law said, why even the Cuban Communist Party thought Castro was moving too fast, and how ordinary Cubans fro…
- Fidel Does America – Cold War 307 (Cuban Revolution #32)
Fidel is the newly installed as Prime Minister of Cuba — and immediately does on a charm offensive to the United States, where he wows crowds, spars with Richard Nixon, and somehow convinces a CIA analyst he’s basically anti-communist. Mea…
- Prime Minister Castro – Cold War #306 (Cuban Revolution #31)
This week we’re deep in the early days of Castro’s Cuba — watching a revolutionary figure out he’s now got to actually run a country. We cover Castro’s sweeping reforms: dissolving Congress, banning political parties, freezing corrupt offi…
- Revolutionary Justice – Cold War 305 (Cuban Revolution #30)
This week we dig into the messy aftermath of Castro’s victory — the revolutionary tribunals, the firing squads, and the international blowback that followed. We also get into Fidel’s complicated personal life, including his stunning mistre…
- The Dove Has Landed – CW 304 (Cuban Revolution #29)
It’s January 1959, and Fidel Castro has just pulled off the impossible — a ragtag band of bearded rebels from the Sierra Maestra mountains has toppled the Batista dictatorship, and all of Cuba is euphoric. In Episode 304 of A Cold War, Cam…
- Fangio, Fatigues, and the Fall of Batista (CW 303) (Cuban Revolution #28)
It’s April 1958, and Cuba is a powder keg with a sputtering fuse. Fulgencio Batista is bleeding support from every direction — the church, the business elite, even his American backers — while Fidel Castro’s rebel movement is growing stron…
- Cold War #300 – Castro Goes Viral (Cuban Revolution #25)
Episode 300 marks a major waypoint for the Cold War Podcast, and the discussion dives straight back into the hard mechanics of revolution. Castro is alive, hiding in the Sierra Maestra with a tiny guerrilla force, but survival alone isn’t…
- Cold War #299 – Castro Is Dead. Long Live Castro! (Cuban Revolution #24)
In this episode, Cameron and Ray pick up the Cuban Revolution story at its most fragile moment: Fidel Castro has just landed in eastern Cuba with 82 men, most of them dead, scattered, or captured within days. Batista’s regime confidently d…
- Cold War #295 – History Will Absolve Me (Cuban Revolution #20)
Fidel Castro’s first attempt to ignite revolution in Cuba ends in disaster — but also forges the legend. We follow the aftermath of the failed 1953 Moncada Barracks raid: the brutal reprisals, Fidel’s near-execution, the unlikely lieutenan…
- Cold War #294 – Castro’s First Swing: The Moncada Misfire (Cuban Revolution #19)
In this episode, Cam and Ray bring their trademark banter and historical nerdery to the story of Fidel Castro’s first attempt at revolution — the ill-fated 1953 Moncada Barracks attack. What starts as a coup joke about Batista’s boredom qu…
- Cold War #293 – Castro’s Crossroads (Cuban Revolution #18)
In this episode of Cold War, Cameron and Ray dig into the aftermath of Batista’s March 1952 coup in Cuba and how it shaped Fidel Castro’s early strategies. The conversation explores Castro’s proclamation denouncing the coup, his first fail…
- Cold War #292 – Batista’s Bloodless Coup: Havana 1952 (Cuban Revolution #17)
In this episode of The Cold War, Cameron and Ray take us to Havana in 1952, when Fulgencio Batista staged a meticulously planned coup d’état. They walk through the midnight maneuvers at Camp Columbia, the arrest of generals, the swift cont…
- Cold War #291 – The Lawyer for the Poor (Cuban Revolution #16)
In this episode, Cameron and Ray continue the story of Fidel Castro’s early years, charting his transformation from a fiery young activist entangled with street gangs into a determined reformer and aspiring politician. They explore how Cas…
- Cold War #290 – The Making Of Fidel (Cuban Revolution #15)
Cameron and Ray pick up Fidel Castro’s story in 1948 as he returns from Colombia in the wake of the Bogotazo riots. We follow Castro through his early 20s as he campaigns for Eduardo Chibás, clashes with Havana police over accusations of c…
- Cold War #289 – The Rise Of Fidel (Cuban Revolution #14)
In this episode, Cam and Ray kick off their deep dive into the life and legend of Fidel Castro. Picking up from the Batista coup of 1952, they trace Fidel’s early years—born illegitimate on his father’s sugar plantation, educated by Jesuit…
- Cold War #288 – Seven Governments, One Puppetmaster (Cuban Revolution #13)
In this raucous and revelatory episode, Cameron and Ray finally reach the man of the hour: Fulgencio Batista. From humble military stenographer to kingmaker of a chaotic Cuba, Batista’s rise is traced through coups, constitutions, and crus…
- Cold War #287 – The Fall of Macho Man Machado (Cuban Revolution #12)
In this episode of the Cold War podcast, Cam and Ray continue their wild ride through Cuban history, focusing on the rise and fall of Gerardo “Macho Man” Machado, the proto-strongman president who turned Cuba into a playground for rich tou…
- Cold War #279 – Gunpowder In Hell (Cuban Revolution #4)
When the U.S. troops landed in Cuba, it changed the nature of the war. The old racism returned. Of course, when the war was over in July, the U.S. had no intention of letting the Cuban people have their independence. As the commander of US…
- Cold War #276 – The Cuban Revolution
It’s finally time to talk about the Cuban Revolution. But of course before we can do that story justice, we need to explain some back story. Everything needs to be understood in context. Let’s go back in time to when Spain still had its Am…
- Cold War #275 – 1983 (Interview)
Some people have said 1983 was the most dangerous year in human history. On four separate occasions, the U.S.A. and the USSR nearly ended up in a hot nuclear war. Soviet leaders apparently became deeply worried that the US was preparing to…
- Cold War #274 – Witch Hunt (interview)
Today we interview Andrea Balis & Elizabeth Levy, co-authors of the book “ Witch Hunt: The Cold War, Joe McCarthy, and the Red Scare” , a cutting-edge look into a pivotal moment in US history: McCarthy’s infamous “witch hunt” for communist…
- Cold War #268 – The CIA and Tibet (Tibet Part I)
We all know that Tibet and China have a history, and that the U.S.A. is always in the middle of it. But you may not know that The United States recognizes Tibet to be part of the People’s Republic of China or that the UK and the U.S.A. hav…
- Cold War #267 – Coup De Grace Of The Coup D’etat (Operation Ajax part XXV)
The CIA’s second attempt at a coup succeeds. Mossadegh is driven into hiding and General Zahedi declares himself the new leader of the country. The CIA celebrates wth champagne.
- Cold War #265 – The CIA Green Light (Operation Ajax part XXIII)
In early 1953, Churchill initiated a plan with the CIA to overthrow Iranian Prime Minister Mossadegh, involving key figures like General Sahedi and the Rashidian brothers. Aided by disinformation campaigns, the Shah fled Iran, stirring pub…
- Cold War #264 – “C” not “M” (Operation Ajax part XXII)
Ever wondered why the heads of MI6 are called “M”? Well they aren’t. They are called “C”. It all started with Sir Mansfield Smith-Cumming, who signed his docs with a green “C.” This guy was a true legend—a retired Navy man who became the s…
- Cold War #260 – Mo Oil Mo Problems (Operation Ajax part XVIII)
As Mossadegh wins the hearts and minds of Americans and the world, the British re-elect Churchill who considered Mossadegh “an elderly lunatic bent on wrecking his country and handing it over to the communists.” HOW TO LISTEN If you are se…
- Cold War #256 – Divorce (Operation Ajax part XIV)
The British PM sends a fascist Catholic member of the British elite, Sir Richard Stokes, to talk to Moss the Boss. Mossadegh says he wants a divorce. As he’s leaving Iran, Harriman meets with the Shah and “suggests” it might be time for Mo…
- Cold War #252 – Mossa-Mania (Operation Ajax part X)
After the assassination of Razmara, Mossadegh’s oil committee voted unanimously to nationalise the AIOC. Iran went crazy for Mossadegh. It was Mossa-Mania. The British were furious and tried to appoint a new Prime Minister, the latest in t…
- Cold War #248 – Iranian Kryptonite (Operation Ajax part VI)
Mossadegh had two non-negotiables that drove his political game. First, he was a die-hard believer in the rule of law, which put him on a collision course with autocrats like Reza Shah. Second, he was all about Iranian self-rule, making hi…
- Cold War #243 – Operation Ajax (I)
In this episode, we delve into the history of Iran, focusing on the US’s role in ending democratic rule in 1953 and installing Mohammad Reza Shah’s dictatorship, a fact well-known in Iran but only admitted by the US in the 90s. This event…
- #226 – Empire By Invitation
European recipients of the Marshall Plan funds were quite clear to the USA that they needed help keeping the socialists down and out of their countries. And the USA recognized that its own economic welfare rested on the revival of Europe.…
- #225 – The Creation of NATO
We want to take a break from Korea to talk about the creation of NATO. Obviously relevant with the whole Ukraine situation. And it took on a new kind of mission during the Korean War. But let’s go back and look at where it came from. HOW T…
- #215 – The Double Life of Katharine Clark
Today we’re talking to Katharine Gregorio, author of “The Double Life of Katharine Clark, The Untold Story of the American Journalist Who Brought the Truth about Communism to the West”. Clark was her great-aunt, a foreign correspondent who…
- #212 – Taiwan Part 4
This is part four of our recent chat about the history of China and Taiwan with James Shone, a teacher who has lived and worked in Taiwan for over a decade. Don’t forget to check out his new podcast about the history of Taiwan . HOW TO LIS…
- #211 – Fugitives by Danny Orbach
Dr. Danny Orbach is an Associate professor in general history and East Asian studies, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His new book, Fugitives, is a history of Nazi mercenaries during the Cold War. HOW TO LISTEN If you are seeing this m…
- #210 – Taiwan Part 3
This is part three of our recent chat about the history of China and Taiwan with James Shone, a teacher who has lived and worked in Taiwan for over a decade. Don’t forget to check out his new podcast about the history of Taiwan . HOW…
- #209 – Taiwan Part 2
Part two of our recent chat with James Shone about Taiwan. Don’t forget to check out his new podcast about the history of Taiwan . HOW TO LISTEN If you are seeing this message, it means you aren’t a subscriber (or aren’t logged in).If you…
- #208 – School’s In
We were recently invited by Paul Giordano, a listener of this show, to give a lecture to the kids studying the Cold War at EF Academy in NY where Paul is the Humanities Department Chair. We spoke for about 40 minutes then did some Q&A with…
- #207 – Taiwan Part 1
In 1949, the Kuomintang retreated from mainland China to the island of Formosa, now known as Taiwan. Ownership of Taiwan would become a major issue during the Cold War, and continues to be a cause of regional tensions, as well as China-US…
- Where are the rest of the episodes?
We have made the first few years of episodes free, but if you want to listen to the rest of the episodes, mostly those made in the last year, you’ll need to sign up to become a member of our site. It’s cheap and easy, so sign up today and…
- #179 – Covert Psychological Operations
Part 4 of our series on the creation of the CIA. Even the CIA’s original legal counsel warned them that covert missions were illegal – but they did them anyway. On December 14, 1947, they were ordered to execute “covert psychological opera…
- #145 – The Black Hand
While the Jews were trying to get close to Mussolini, the Arabs modelled themselves after Hitler. The Husseinis, led by Amin al-Husseini, aka Hajj Amin, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, in 1935 set up the Palestinian Arab Party which had its…
- #144 – The 1929 Riots
On 15 August 1929, a rowdy group of Jewish Revisionist activists marched to the Western Wall proclaiming “The Wall is ours”. They insulted the Prophet, Islam, and the Muslim community at large. It lead to large scale riots and violence. Th…
- #143 – Fascist Jews
From 1921 – 29, there was mostly peace in Palestine. But the Zionist immigration continued unabated. And the larger they got, the more politically aggressive they became. In 1925, a new Jewish right-wing political party, Betar, was created…
- #142 – The Unjust Policy
In the early 1920s, violence between Muslims and the Jews continued to escalate. Because they didn’t trust the British to defend their interests, the newly formed (and illegal) Jewish self-defense organization, the Haganah, was formed. Chu…
- #141 – Dirty Idle Wasters
When the British finally captured the Middle East from the Ottomans in October 1918, under the command of General Edmund Allenby, with the support of TE Lawrence and his Sharifians, Hussein and Faisal, the British immediately tried to walk…
- #140 – The Rothschilds And Zionism
The Balfour Declaration took the form of a letter, dated November 2, 1917, from the foreign secretary to Lord Lionel Walter Rothschild, a British banker and zoologist, who headed Britain’s Zionist Federation. In this episode we explore the…
- #139 – The Balfour Declaration
Things in Palestine really started to heat up in 1908 – the year of The Young Turk Revolution. It was around this time that the violence between the Jews and the Arabs started to escalate beyond what was mostly localised troubles over prop…
- #138 – Intervening In Foreign Elections
Americans were SHOCKED to discover that Russia had interfered in their 2016 Presidential elections. How dare they interfere with the democratic process of a sovereign nation! Of course, those same Americans probably have no idea that their…
- #137 – The Ultimate Goal
Quite soon after the first Zionist emigration to Palestine, tensions between the Jews and the Muslims started to erupt in small scale violence. Zionist settler Ahad Ha’Am wrote that the other Zionist colonists “behave towards the Arabs wit…