A NSFW LONG-FORM PODCAST ABOUT

THE COLD WAR

The US vs the USSR.

From 1945 until 1991, the world’s two superpowers played a dangerous game of nuclear brinkmanship that very nearly brought human civilisation to an end. How did it start? Why did it start? How did it end? Did it end? These are the questions we are exploring in detail. 

Latest Post

Your Humble Hosts

Cold War #287 – The Fall of Macho Man Machado  (Cuban Revolution #12)

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 tourists—and a pressure cooker for everyone else. From political repression and violent union crackdowns to communist organizing and student uprisings, this chapter sets the stage for Cuba’s eventual revolution. Along the way, we meet fascinating figures like Julio Antonio Mella (the OG Castro prototype), discuss the communist roots of Cuban resistance, and learn how America played both arsonist and firefighter in the region. Plus: cigars, lesbians, and martinis. You’re welcome.

read more

Latest Episode

Cold War #287 – The Fall of Macho Man Machado  (Cuban Revolution #12)

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 tourists—and a pressure cooker for everyone else. From political repression and violent union crackdowns to communist organizing and student uprisings, this chapter sets the stage for Cuba’s eventual revolution. Along the way, we meet fascinating figures like Julio Antonio Mella (the OG Castro prototype), discuss the communist roots of Cuban resistance, and learn how America played both arsonist and firefighter in the region. Plus: cigars, lesbians, and martinis. You’re welcome.

read more

Your Humble Hosts

Recent Episodes

Cold War #285 – Cuban Schemes & Sugar Dreams  (Cuban Revolution #10)

Cold War #285 – Cuban Schemes & Sugar Dreams (Cuban Revolution #10)

In this episode of _The Cold War Podcast_, Cam and Ray pick up the story of post-independence Cuba as it slides from colonialism into an economic and racial stranglehold orchestrated by the United States. They trace the rise and fall of early Cuban presidents like José Miguel Gómez and Mario García Menocal, highlighting the rampant corruption, U.S.-controlled infrastructure, and systematic exclusion of Black Cubans from political and economic power. From the installation of U.S. companies like ITT and United Fruit to the brutal repression of the Independent Colored Party in 1912, the episode paints a damning portrait of Cuba as a pseudo-independent client state. Cam and Ray also reflect on the romanticised myths of American benevolence, challenge common perceptions of anarchism, and tie it all into modern parallels of power, race, and empire.

Cold War #286 – The Macho Man Cometh  (Cuban Revolution #11)

Cold War #286 – The Macho Man Cometh (Cuban Revolution #11)

In this wild episode, Cam and Ray kick things off with a “Cam-hole” into the politics and economics of Cuba in the early 20th century. From rigged elections to sugar-fueled financial collapses, and from macho presidents to the American colonization of Cuba’s economy, it’s a vivid portrait of how imperialism, tourism, and opportunistic strongmen shaped the island nation. Expect dead bankers, disco communists, FDR parallels, Einstein in the slums, Hemingway’s horniness, and some brutal political satire.

Cold War #284 – Freedomish  (Cuban Revolution #9)

Cold War #284 – Freedomish (Cuban Revolution #9)

In this episode, Cameron opens with a wild midnight ER visit that turns into a rumination on aging, mortality, and kung fu-induced hypochondria. Once the chest pains are out of the way, we pick up where we left off on Cuba’s “independence” after the Spanish-American War – President Tomás Estrada Palma, the illusion of Cuban self-rule under the Platt Amendment, and the classic U.S. playbook of indirect colonialism. We unpack how American businesses flooded Cuba, bought up the land, rigged elections, and backed friendly elites.

Cold War #283 – The Platt Amendment  (Cuban Revolution #8)

Cold War #283 – The Platt Amendment (Cuban Revolution #8)

Following the Spanish-American War, the U.S. Occupation Government of Cuba forced elections. They tried to engineer Cuba into voting to become one of the United States – instead the Cuban people chose independence. So the U.S. introduced the Platt Amendment, aimed at long term control over Cuba’s military and economy while declaring them to be a sovereign nation.

Welcome To The Cold War Podcast!

This show is different from most other history podcasts in the following ways.

1. There are TWO OF US. This is a conversation, not a lecture.

2. It’s LONG FORM. Which means we will take hundreds of episodes to tell a story. If you want a quick overview, this is not the show for you!

3. It’s NSFW. While we take the history very seriously, we also know that learning is more effective when you’re having fun. Sometimes (okay, quite often) “having fun” for us translates as bad language and dirty jokes. Let’s face it – this history is violent and sexy. This is NOT a child-friendly show, nor is it safe for work.

4. We CHARGE MONEY for the latest episodes. We do this for a living and put a lot of time and effort into making our content. So you can listen to the first couple of years worth of episodes for free, but the more recent episodes (produced this year) require a paid subscription. Feel free to listen to the free ones and then, if you like them, register to listen to the rest.

Learn more about the show and hosts.

 

TASTE TESTER

Listen to some free episodes below.

#147 – Jewish Terrorism

After The Peel Commission recommending moving hundreds of thousands of Palestinians off their land by force, the Arab Revolt re-emerged with hundreds of terrorist attacks during 1937-38 against the British and Jews – and even against Arab collaborators. The British cracked down and deported many of their leaders. Irgun, the Jewish militant group, met this threat with their own terrorism. Hitler used the situation to score propaganda points against the Jews and the British.

#129 – Who Started The War?

  In the South, despite claims of "freedom", the US...

#3 – The Man Of Steel

Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili aka STALIN. Unlike Churchill and Roosevelt, Joseph wasn't born...

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 communists during the 1950’s Red Scare.

#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 property rights. And it took on a nationalist feel. The Jews started to arm themselves. The governor of Jerusalem, Azmi Bey, wrote: “We are not xenophobes; we welcome all strangers. We are not anti-Semites; we value the economic superiority of the Jews. But no nation, no government could open its arms to groups … aiming to take Palestine from us.”

In 1915, Britain and France sat down to work out who was going to control what in the Middle East after the war – what became known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement. By 1917, when the Allies were bogged down on the Western Front, Britain issued the Balfour Declaration. They hoped it would bring the American Jews to their cause, would help bring the United States into the war and keep Russia involved – and would stop the Jews from allying themselves with Ze Germans.

#37 – Poland

We are back talking about Poland and why it was such an important issue to the Big Three at Yalta....

#82 – Alex Wellerstein

Our guest today is Alex Wellerstein, a self-described "historian of science, secrecy, and nuclear...

#43 – The Battle of Balaclava

On Feb 7, the British Chiefs of Staff decided to take the day off to visit the site of the Battle...

Cold War #272 – Tertia Optio (Tibet Part 5)

For nearly two decades, the CIA ran a covert operation designed to train Tibetan insurgents and gather intelligence about the Chinese, while smuggling weapons and money into Tibet, pushing Tibetan supporters of the Dalai Lama to launch violent uprisings, and using “black propaganda” to spread lies about Chinese atrocities in the region. But the U.S. never supported Tibetan independence. They were just another pawn in the Cold War.

#49 – Prof. Serhii Plokhii, Harvard

We have a very special guest. Professor Serhii Plokhii is the Mykhailo Hrushevsky professor of...

#17 – Disgustingly Ugly

We start in August 1942. Churchill is still in Moscow, getting down with Uncle Joe. Stalin accuses the British of being a bunch of pussies, too scared to fight the big bad Nazis.
To try to break up the UK/USA/USSR love nest, the Nazis dig up 3000 dead bodies of Polish generals (Katyn massacre) and lay the blame on the Soviets who deny it (but their fingers are crossed behind their backs). And Stalin dissolves the Comintern, pretending, for the moment, that he has no intention of trying to spread Communism any further around the globe.

#2 – Enter Churchill

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was a fascinating character. His reputation as a "great man", as...

#23 – Philby

This is the first of two episodes about the Cambridge Five!

This week – Kim Philby, arguably the most effective spy in the history of spying.

#73 – k

* Fission involved breaking apart the nuclei of heavy elements like uranium or plutonium.* Fusion...

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 forces in Cuba said: “Why, these people are no more fit for self-government than gunpowder is for hell.” In the fight for freedom, lives had been lost and the country had been wiped out economically. Yet the Cubans still weren’t going to get their independence.

#32 – Fidel Castro Part 4

Part four (!!!) of our “quick” biography on Fidel Castro, using the New York Times’ obituary, breaking it down, line by line, to uncover the propaganda. And we’re making these Castro episodes free to guests.This is absolutely the last part, we promise!

#46 – The Big Threesome

At the end of a long day full of hard bargaining, The Big Three could still relax in one another’s...

#92 – The Truman Doctrine

* And so on March 12, 1947, before a joint session of Congress, President Truman articulated, for...

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.”

#56 – Dracula

What does Dracula have to do with the Cold War? The next issue to drive a wedge between the Big...

CAM & RAY’s COLD WAR PODCAST

Listen Now!

The first couple of hundred episodes of the show are available for free. That’s a taste-tester of a couple of hundred hours. If you listen to those and decide you want to hear more, than please register to listen to all of the premium episodes.

You can check out our free episodes on Apple and Google devices by clicking the links below

(or searching for them in the app of your choice).

Or go here to listen in your browser.

You can also find one of our miniseries (where we focus on a particular topic for multiple episodes).

 

Awesome

★★★★★ in Apple Podcasts by Kingstonnnnnn from the United Kingdom on September 15, 2022 

I clicked on this podcast out of curiosity. I was interested in learning about Israel and fell into a giant hole. I previously listened to The Caesar, Alexander and renaissance podcasts, so, I was familiar with Ray and Cam’s format. However, how these two can make history so fun and exciting Is an art form, I was not even remotely interested in the Cold War but thanks to these two, I will now need to find books about Oppenheimer, Stalin, the atomic bomb and operation Alsos. You guys make me curious and make me question the way I view things. Keep up the good work.
View and share this review 

History, mockery and occasional drinking

★★★★★ in Apple Podcasts by kristinsg from Norway on September 30, 2019

These folks actually make history podcasts worth listening to. A great mixture of good historical analysis and phrases like “took a dump on the whole agreement” or having “testicular fortitude”. Love it. And love the fact that they are looking at things from several sides, not the usual “the Soviets were evil and hated freedom, but America won the war and saved the day”.

Amazing

★★★★★ in Apple Podcasts by Renato.uwu from United States of America on October 5, 2019

This is my favorite History podcast. I love the dynamic and structure of the episodes. My favorite episodes so far have been the mini Fidel Castro bio and the Philippines one. They were both incredible and I also really liked the episodes on the Cambridge 5. The whole show has been very eye opening and I really appreciate the comedy as well as the work Cam puts into the show and the ocasional looks into the future provided by Ray. My one small critique is that I think they’ve taken to long to outline WWII (which is not my favorite thing to study) but I’ve managed to stick with it and am very happy I did because I’ve learned a lot that was never mentioned in school. Even so I can’t wait till I get to the end of WWII hopefully by the end of the week. Thank you very much Cam and Ray for being my teachers and for the free student subscription it means a lot 🙂 <3 !

Impress your friends with cool history stuff from our shop!

Find more amazing podcasts on history, politics, philosophy and investing at: