Voices From Orbit: A Cold War Ghost Story

Today we pay tribute to Patrick Stewart and his role of Captain Picard. This character and the series of The Next Generation was shaped by the final years of the Cold War. In this episode, I describe Captain Picard as the ideal poster child of the idea of Francis Fukuyama’s End of History and the triumph of enlightenment, liberalism and democracy as the Cold War concluded. I discuss a handful of episodes that have Cold War significance during the series.Captain Picard was one of the most beloved fictional characters of our time and for good reason. Farewell Patrick Stewart.

During the early space race, two Italian radio enthusiasts claimed to hear final transmissions from dying Soviet cosmonauts on secret missions. In this year‘s Cold War Halloween special, I’ll discuss these cryptic messages and the debate on their authenticity. This is one of the great urban legends of the Cold War. This story is a chilling intersection of secrecy, man’s incomprehension of advanced technologies, the foreboding nature of space and the highly personal sense of helplessness in the face of disaster.

Today we are talking about the Canadian experience during the Vietnam War. Although they were not a direct participant, the war certainly touched our northern neighbor. I’ll cover the tough spot diplomatically. The Canadian government was in, wanting to preserve the good relationship between Canada and the United States and tacitly supporting the goal of stopping communism, but disagreeing with the manner that the war was conducted while disapproval among the public grew. We will talk about the experience of the Americans who sought refuge against the draft in Canada and an almost equal number of Canadian citizens who came south to volunteer for the war. The rift between the US and Canada really begins here in modern times. In some ways we get along great, but we’ve had some serious disagreements over the years. The conduct of the war and issue of American citizens evading military service by going to Canada was certainly a big one.

Today I’m reviewing the recent book by Annie Jacobsen, Biological War, about a scenario where an errant biological weapon escapes a laboratory in Russia and hits the United States. It’s a grim and disturbing book - and really interesting. I cover the book from a Cold War perspective- there’s a lot about the Soviet biological weapons program as well as a few other general points.

Vladimir Putin recently visited the Kuril Islands, sparking protest from Japan. Today we’re talking about the dispute between Japan and Russia over these islands that goes all the way back to the absolute earliest days of the Cold War. We’ll cover this area’s historical past between the Ainu, Russia and Japan up through the modern talks on the islands. We’ll also spend some time on Japan’s early days of the Cold War and turn towards the US amid simmering tensions with the USSR. We’ll also cover the strategic significance of these islands for the USSR and the modern challenges they present for Japan

Today we’re looking at two books that ask the question of what really happens to civilization in the aftermath of nuclear war. Alas, Babylon deals with the immediate aftermath of a nuclear war up until the first year after in a small Florida town. Canticles of Liebowitz looks out over a thousand years later and the struggle to preserve scraps of knowledge from before the bomb. If civilization is cumulative and relies on building on the past, what happens when those systems of support and institutions of knowledge begin to collapse? Everyone knew nuclear war wouldn’t be pretty, but these books take a look at beyond the first order of effects for a sobering look at what was looming for mankind. While these books are different in style, they both come from a period of time (1959-60) when Americans felt particularly vulnerable, as it was believed the Soviets jumped ahead of the US in weapons technology - a sneak attack could happen any moment, they believed. These two books have a place in the canon of Cold War pop culture. Support this show by liking, subscribing, sharing, etc. and going to our family business reddragonherbs.com for unique gift ideas…or tea for yourself.

In the years after World War II, Australia, a bastion of Anglo/European civilization on the fringe of Asia, looked north with trepidation. Communism was on the march and once again Australia felt vulnerable. They decided to make their stand against communism along with their American allies and Vietnam.Today we are talking about Australia’s experience in the Vietnam war, which looked a lot like the American experience in Vietnam, but with its own unique circumstances. Towards the end, I talk about the film The Odd Angry Shot from 1979, which captures the ambiguity of the Vietnam war very well.

When the United States went looking for friends during the Vietnam War, few countries answered. Foremost among them was impoverished and war-torn South Korea. South Korea’s participation in the Vietnam War gets overshadowed by the American experience, but it turned out to be pivotal for the young nation and the Cold War in Asia. We’ll talk about the considerations to get involved in a far flung conflict, the battlefield experience and how a few household names got their start in the Vietnam war (Samsung and Hyundai). We will also talk about the tensions that flared with the North Koreans during the time and how the experience forged a bond between the United States and Republic of Korea that lasts until the present day.

Everyone is wondering why the Democratic Republic of Congo has the fan that stands and poses as a statue for the duration of their matches. He is channeling the likeness of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of Congo. Today we’re telling the Cold War story of Lumumba. This is a fascinating chapter of Africa’s decolonization and a turbulent chapter of the cold war that took place deep in the heart of Africa. Lumumba is seen as a martyr for Congolese independence and “Lumumba Vea” hopes his schtick inspires the Congolese squad to victory.

Animal Farm by George Orwell was just remade into an animated film by Angel Studios. In this episode I give a little background info about Orwell, his life and the world around him to help understand Animal Farm. This is one of the earliest and most important -and most enduring- works of the Cold War. I know most of us have either read it or seen the 1951 (CIA sponsored) cartoon, so I’m mostly reaching out to people encountering it for the first time now…but maybe it’s been a while for you! Enjoy. This one is short and more off the cuff than usual.