Cold War Manchester Tour from Ian Sanders, Host of the Cold War Conversations History Podcast

 

Ian Sanders, host and creator of the Cold War Conversations History Podcast

pointing out Manchester World War II history. An alarm to get the attention of fire watchers stationed atop buildings in Manchester.

I visited Manchester UK recently to meet Ian Sanders in person, after knowing him for several years as the creator and host of the Cold War Conversations History Podcast. He started the podcast in 2018 as a way to preserve the stories of the people who lived through the Cold War, served in the military in the Cold War, and had stories about their part in this long simmering worldwide conflict. 

The podcast is now in its 277th episode,  about "The Most Damaging Female Spy in Us History." The podcast has had more than two million downloads in the past half decade. 

The tour began with the picture above. Many buildings in Manchester had fire watchers during World War II. In December 1940 the Nazis fire bombed Manchester to devastating effect. More than 700 people were killed in two terrible nights of fire bombing.

Ian showed me a memorial to those who lost their lives. A metal tree with all of the names inscribed in the trunk.

We visited a memorial to the World War II code-breaker and computer innovator Alan Turing. He is from the Manchester area and took his own life near the city during the Cold War.  

We had lunch in the Manchester Art Museum: haddock sandwiches with mushy peas.

Then went upstairs to see a famous painting of the Battle of Balaclava--in the Crimean War.  The painting is the aftermath of the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade in which the brave 600 who charged the Russian cannon were all but wiped out.  

We also saw a funny 19th Century "Union Jack" view of the world:

Almost four years ago, before the pandemic, Ian interviewed me for the podcast. In episodes 38 and 41 we talked about US Army tank training and serving on the Cold War border in Fulda, West Germany. the podcast is audio, but the recording of the second interview about Fulda has more than 7,000 downloads on YouTube.

As we walked toward the train station at the end of the visit, Ian showed me the entrance of a huge underground telecommunications facility built under Manchester during the Cold War. It is still in operation today. 

This was my first visit to Manchester. Now I know the city has much more than a famous football club!! 

Meeting Eastern Border Podcast Host on the Eastern Border of the EU and NATO

Kristaps Andrejsons, host of the The Eastern Border podcast.

On the third weekend of my trip, I drove from Vilnius, Lithuania, to Ludza, Latvia, to visit Kristaps Andrejsons, the host of The Eastern Border podcast. 

Ludza is Kristaps’ hometown and the easternmost city in Latvia, hence the name of the podcast.  The first thing we did was a small tour of the two big churches in the town—the Orthodox Church in the center of Ludza, and the Catholic Church on the hill above the big lake to the east of town. The Catholic Church shares the hilltop with a ruined medieval castle.  We took in the view of the lake, then went back to the car and drove southeast to Zilupe. 

The Catholic Church on the hill and the Orthodox Church in the center of Ludza.

Kristaps said Zilupe is the easternmost village in the European Union.  When I repeated this on Facebook, a well-traveled friend, Jim Trumm pointed out that Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean is part of the EU, and the place where the first Euro was officially used as legal tender. But if we stay in Europe and the Northern Hemisphere Kristaps is correct.

After a brief look at the dark border area of Terehova east of Zilupe, we went back to Ludza and said goodbye. Then I drove to Valga, Estonia, for dinner, completing my three meals in three countries plan for the day. 

Kristaps started the The Eastern Border with the same motivation I have heard from other creative, motivated people: he was pissed off. He heard a “so-called expert on Russia and Eastern Europe on CNN, who didn’t know shit (pardon my French) about Russia or Eastern Europe. …. It turns out she had been in Russia just a year, mostly in Moscow and St. Petersburg.”

Four years ago, Kristaps recorded the first episode in July of 2015. He discussed the economy of the Soviet Union. Three weeks later was Soviet Culture, the Brezhnev, then the War in Afghanistan. Chernobyl was the following March.  Most episodes are on Soviet or on games. Then in 2017 he added news from his side of the border.  Over time, he has added more news, Latvia 101, and still covers all things Soviet. 

Kristaps is animated and engaging and has a dry wit, so the podcasts are funny as well as informative.  He travels to the US occasionally. Last month he was in Boston and NYC.  He has also been to Fort Worth, Santa Monica and Seattle.  The five states he has been to represent at least a third of the population of America, both coasts, and the gap between Fort Worth and Santa Monica covers most of the range of American politics. 

As with the Jewish Story, whose host I also visited on this trip, I am listening alternately to current and early episodes. I found out about both podcasts after more than 50 episodes were recorded, so I have a lot of catching up to do. 

If you have an interest in Soviet Culture and if you want to hear how democracy is dying under Putin in the Russian Federation, The Eastern Border podcast is well worth listening to. 

Meeting up with The Jewish Story Podcaster in Jerusalem

Rav Mike Feuer, host of The Jewish Story 

on The Land of Israel Network

This morning I walked to the Power Coffeeworks on Agripas St. in Jerusalem to meet Rav Mike Feuer, host of The Jewish Story a podcast on The Land of Israel Network.  I have been listening to the podcast since 2017, alternately listening the current episodes, now in the 1950s, and the episodes from the beginnings of the Jewish people.

In person, Mike looks just like his photo, upbeat and energetic and bubbling with what he is doing and learning and thinking.  Mike was born and raised in Cleveland. He moved to Israel 18 years ago after graduate studies. He teaches at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. He is also an organization consultant and makes dinner for his family every day--it's in his schedule. He and his wife have five kids between five and fifteen years old.

We talked about bad knees and running and family and the state of Israel and America.  We also talked about learning in the Jewish community, the limits of reason, and the how stories really define who we are. The Jewish Story  helped me to see the panorama of Jewish life over more than three millennia.

At my Reform Synagogue in Lancaster, I study Torah with Rabbi Paskoff. He is very committed to the Diaspora Jewish experience.  From Mike I hear the story from a man who left America for Israel and is raising a big family (by American standards) in a land that is a terrorist target.  Though White Nationalism in America is making Anti-Semitism worse every day.

We also talked about the political divide in Israel. At one point the owner of the coffee shop interrupted, pulling a book of a shelf near us then running upstairs to get two more.  He proudly said he had books from Rabbis with widely different opinions in his coffee shop.  He came to Israel from South Africa. When I first arrived and ordered coffee I could hear his outpost-of-the-former-empire accent, but could not tell whether it was South Africa or Australia.

Mike told me about a new book series he is writing on with co-author Dave Mason. They just published the second book in the Age of Prophecy  series. I got the first already on Kindle unlimited. It's called Lamp of Darkness. It is a series to bring the world of the Biblical Prophets to life for modern readers.  Mike grew up on science fiction and, in a way, ancient history is a galaxy far, far away.

After two hours we were still talking excitedly about life, the universe and everything, but I had to get to the bike shop and pick up my ride. What a wonderful morning.

The Year in Podcasts 2018

MartyrMade a podcast by Darry Cooper

I started listening to podcasts almost as soon as I bought an iPhone more than a decade ago. At first, I listened to news and commentary. My favorite by far was the original NPR Politics podcast with Ron Elving and Ken Rudin. Each week they analyzed the news with Rudin making jokes and Elving acting as the straight man. 

Then "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" became a podcast and I listened to that show every week in my ears instead of on the radio.  But the show that moved podcasts beyond repackaged NPR for me was "The History of Rome" by Mike Duncan. It aired between 2007 and 2012. THoR is still on iTunes. The 179 numbered episodes, plus more than a dozen extra episodes, chronicle the Roman Empire from the fall of Troy to the last Emperor Romulus in 472 AD.  Duncan is a self-confessed history geek who found an outlet in podcasting for his personal obsession and encyclopedic knowledge of the history of the Roman Empire. 

I recommend THoR to anyone interested in Rome.

After THoR, I listened to podcasts on history, philosophy and science. In 2016, I switched back to politics. My current favorite, in addition to NPR Politics, is Trumpcast. This show by Slate was supposed to tell people in detail just what a crook and liar was candidate Trump. They planned an End of Show party on the night of the election.  But the show continued when the candidate who brags of grabbing women by the pussy won the election.

It is a deep and fun dive several times a week into the on-going corruption and lies of the current administration. 

But my favorite podcast is another one-man show by an intense, obsessed man named Darryl Cooper.  His podcast is MartyrMade. The first six episodes are a history of Palestine in the first half of the 20th Century.  Six episodes may seem short, but two of them were more than five hours long!  Six episodes is nearly 20 hours of riveting history. Like Mike Duncan, Cooper propels the story by the intensity he brings to the topic. He mentioned reading 30 books to prepare for episode 5. I don't doubt it. 

I am always open to recommendations. If you have favorite podcasts, let me know.

Dante's Inferno in Iraq: A Podcast

This post is just a link to a podcast on Sectarian Review. The podcast is about the Dead Poets Society Book Group I led on Camp Adder, Iraq.  Also on the podcast is a professor who teaches Dante every year.

That group started almost eight years ago in July 2009.  Here's the link.

The History of Rome

For the past several weeks I have been listening to podcast called "The History of Rome." 

So far I have listened to more than 60 of 200 twenty-minute episodes.  The podcast takes the listener from the Fall of Troy to the Fall of the Empire.  The next episode I listen to will be Claudius as emperor.

The narrator has a voice made for history, interesting but not given to great excitement.  I listen every chance I get.  And I am sure I will listen to his new one "Revolutions" when I have gone all the way through The history of Rome.

As many of you know, I am nearing the end of my Army career and am officially working part time at my job beginning this coming week.  I have two teenage boys and triathlon training to fill my time, but listening to Rome made me think I could do a podcast on the history of tanks.

I love tanks.  And a big advantage I have over many who could do a podcast on tanks is that I spent seven years as a tank commander.

Those of you who like military history, please give "The History of Rome" a listen.  And let me know if you would like to listen to a history of tanks.  If you have trouble with commenting on the blog--it is a hassle--email me at ngussman@gmail.com or just send a message on facebook.