{"podcast":{"title":"Cold War Conversations - \"vivid & compelling\" The NY Times","slug":"cold-war-conversations-vivid-compelling-the-ny-times-1014119","podcast_index_feed_id":1014119,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/NSR5326520675","website_url":"http://www.coldwarconversations.com","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/4c941332-cd54-11ed-891b-5f881caae663/image/e538425e88d5a24ff3c6d98b6126d441.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Ian Sanders","episode_count":467,"summary":"\"Listening to even one episode of \"Cold War Conversations\" will make this sprawling, potentially intimidating period of history feel vivid and compelling.\" The New York Times Experience the Cold War like never before with Cold War Conversations — an award-winning podcast. Each week, host Ian Sanders brings you raw, firsthand accounts from the people who lived through one of history’s most tense and transformative eras — soldiers, spies, civilians, and more. These aren’t stories from textbooks. They’re unfiltered voices from the frontlines of history — emotional, gripping, and deeply human. This is Cold War history, told from the inside out. We cover subjects such as spies, spying, the Iron Curtain, nuclear weapons, warfare, tanks, jet aircraft, fighters, bombers, transport aircraft, aviation, culture, and politics. We also cover personalities such as Fidel Castro, JFK, Ronald Reagan, Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Mikhail Gorbachev, Konstantin Chernenko, Margaret Thatcher, John F. Kennedy, Josef Stalin, Richard Nixon, Lech Walesa, General Jaruzelski, Nicolae Ceaușescu. Other subjects include Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Romania, Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin, West…","last_synced_at":"2026-08-01T22:21:59.359371+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/cold-war-conversations-vivid-compelling-the-ny-times-1014119"},"episode":{"title":"An officer in The Internal Troops of the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs (448)","slug":"an-officer-in-the-internal-troops-of-the-soviet-ministry-of-internal-affairs-448","published_at":"2026-03-21T00:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/cold-war-conversations-vivid-compelling-the-ny-times-1014119/an-officer-in-the-internal-troops-of-the-soviet-ministry-of-internal-affairs-448","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/cold-war-conversations-vivid-compelling-the-ny-times-1014119","url":"https://coldwarconversations.com/episode448","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NSR6353662671.mp3?updated=1773615962","summary":"Ihor reflects on his time serving as an officer in the Soviet Union’s Ministry of Interior troops. After volunteering for military service, he found himself travelling from Lviv to Lithuania to begin officer training in communications and field operations. The training program brought together recruits from across the Soviet Union and beyond communications; these troops had a wide range of responsibilities—from guarding strategic facilities to responding to hostage crises and public disturbances. This is a rare opportunity to hear the everyday realities of military service inside the Soviet security structure. Listen to Ihor's first episode here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode447/ Episode extras here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode448/ Linked episodes Moscow Coup - Brett, a US student's account Moscow Coup - Kieran, a UK student's account Moscow Coup - How the BBC announced the coup Training to be a US Army Tank Commander Defending the Fulda Gap Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://surfshark.com/coldwardeal⁠⁠⁠⁠ or use code COLDWARDEAL at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN! Help me preserve Cold War history via a simple monthly donation, You’ll become part of our community, get ad-free episodes, and receive 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 BlueSky ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/coldwarpod.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Threads ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https…","meta_description":"Ihor reflects on his time serving as an officer in the Soviet Union’s Ministry of Interior troops. After volunteering for military service, he found himse…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2931,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/cold-war-conversations-vivid-compelling-the-ny-times-1014119/episodes/an-officer-in-the-internal-troops-of-the-soviet-ministry-of-internal-affairs-448/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/cold-war-conversations-vivid-compelling-the-ny-times-1014119/an-officer-in-the-internal-troops-of-the-soviet-ministry-of-internal-affairs-448.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}