How do you get access to historical, top secret documents? Intelligence scholars and historians ask this question a lot. How do they conduct their research and acquire declassified, secret files? What questions do they need to ask themselves as they sit down to write up stories that have not been told before? And why are there so many newly-declassified documents pouring out of the former Soviet-bloc countries right now?

In the first episode of the Secret Struggle for Cold War Dominance Dr. Daniela Richterova of Brunel University London explains how an ‘innocent’ chat with a colleague over a pint of cider turned into a two-year long research project. A project that would involve over a dozen experts and archives and eventually turn into a specialist academic publication and this podcast!

The Secret Struggle for Cold War Dominance podcast presents untold stories of the Cold War. We examine how the ‘East’ and the ‘West’ struggled for dominance across the globe, how the conflict played out in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and how superpowers as well as smaller states used their militaries, intelligence and security agencies to win this global conflict.

This podcast is for history fans, students and busy professionals – with a passion for untold histories which helped shape our world.

Photo for the episode artwork by: Jorge Dubuc

Twitter: @CWdominance