{"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/da8be3ef2859660cc8ab746c9a7dd7ed.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Ian Sanders","episode_count":460,"summary":"Experience the Cold War like never before with Cold War Conversations — an award-winning podcast recommended by The New York Times. 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 Berlin, East Berlin, Cuban missile Crisis, Berlin Airlift, Bay of Pigs, SALT, Perestroika, Space Race, superpower, USSR, Soviet Union, DDR, G…","last_synced_at":"2026-06-13T22:20:29.243580+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/cold-war-conversations-vivid-compelling-the-ny-times-1014119"},"episode":{"title":"Soviet - Afghan War, Mujahideen Resistance: The Brutal Fight for Zhawar (450)","slug":"soviet-afghan-war-mujahideen-resistance-the-brutal-fight-for-zhawar-450","published_at":"2026-04-03T23:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/cold-war-conversations-vivid-compelling-the-ny-times-1014119/soviet-afghan-war-mujahideen-resistance-the-brutal-fight-for-zhawar-450","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/cold-war-conversations-vivid-compelling-the-ny-times-1014119","url":"https://coldwarconversations.com/episode450","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NSR1693398043.mp3?updated=1774450003","summary":"In this episode, historian and writer Michael G. Stroud explores how decades of political instability drew the Soviet Union into Afghanistan in 1979—and why the intervention quickly spiralled into a protracted and unwinnable war. From the struggle to control vast, rugged terrain to the challenge of winning support from a fiercely independent population, we examine the realities faced by Soviet and Afghan government forces. At the centre of the discussion are the battles for Zhawar, a vast cave complex on the Afghan-Pakistan border that served as a critical Mujahideen stronghold. Through two major assaults, we uncover how guerrilla tactics, terrain, and resilience repeatedly frustrated a technologically superior force. These battles reveal a broader, enduring truth: in Afghanistan, military victory is one thing—but lasting control is something else entirely. Linked episodes The Soviet Afghan War https://coldwarconversations.com/episode338/ Episode Extras https://coldwarconversations.com/episode450/ 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 tips 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 o BlueSky ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/coldwarpod.bsky.…","meta_description":"In this episode, historian and writer Michael G. Stroud explores how decades of political instability drew the Soviet Union into Afghanistan in 1979—and w…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3636,"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/soviet-afghan-war-mujahideen-resistance-the-brutal-fight-for-zhawar-450/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/soviet-afghan-war-mujahideen-resistance-the-brutal-fight-for-zhawar-450.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}