Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War on Netflix Podcast (337)

Cold War Conversations

Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War, is a nine-part documentary series from director Brian Knappenberger, that provides a comprehensive appraisal of the events that led to the Cold War and traces the conflict around the world and through the decades.

While the Cold War ended in 1991, even a casual appraisal of current headlines reveals that relations between the United States and Russia — the one-time centre of the Soviet Union — remain tense, to say the least. The global repercussions of the Cold War continue to ripple through the current geopolitical landscape to this day, but it can be difficult to understand just how a mid-20th century struggle for ideological dominance continues to ensnare countless nations in ongoing unrest.

To tell this story, the series draws on more than 100 interviews with subjects ranging from past and present world leaders (Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas) to historians as well as everyday people whose lives were drastically altered by the events of the Cold War. As the history unfolds, each episode considers the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine as an example of how the history being examined is directly tied to the events of today. “Nearly every part of the war in Ukraine is an echo of the Cold War,” Knappenberger explains.

Watch the series here https://www.netflix.com/title/81614129

Watch the trailer here https://youtu.be/qHuuLo-CSRo?si=ZaNGZyeP0nZe5Nwp

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00:00 The Chilling Call: A Cold War Nightmare

00:21 Welcome to Cold War Conversations

00:39 Inside 'Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War' Documentary

01:02 The Cold War's Legacy and Today's Nuclear Threats

03:15 The Making of a Cold War Documentary

05:09 Why the Cold War Story Matters Now

06:17 The New Cold War: A Hot and Unstable Conflict

10:24 The Munich Security Conference: A Turning Point

13:32 Crafting the Documentary: Challenges and Insights

15:06 Personal Connections and the Impact of Nuclear Weapons

19:32 The Importance of First-Person Cold War Accounts

19:59 Daniel Ellsberg: A Courageous Insider's Perspective

23:19 Uncovered Stories: The Challenges of Time Constraints

23:46 Exploring Untold Cold War Stories

24:37 The Intriguing Case of the AIDS Misinformation Campaign

28:14 The Ripple Effects of Cold War Decisions

28:45 Project Sapphire: Securing Nuclear Materials Post-Soviet Union

30:47 The Budapest Memorandum and Ukraine's Nuclear Dilemma

34:43 Post-Cold War Transitions and the Rise of Putin

41:18 Reflecting on the Series: Favorite Moments and Missed Opportunities

44:48 Dream Interviews: Cold War Figures Who Left a Mark

49:03 Closing Thoughts and Acknowledgments

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