Coming in From the Cold: Untold Stories from the Cold War CNA

Today, J. Edgar Hoover is remembered as a power-hungry, corrupt and prejudiced man, obsessed with an imagined threat of domestic communists. But during his life, he was widely respected and admired as the man responsible for building the FBI into a premier law enforcement agency.
In the final episode of Coming in from the Cold Bill sits down with Beverly Gage, author of “G- Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century,” to discuss the complicated legacy of Hoover.
Further Reading
G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/529289/g-man-by-beverly-gage
The Documentary: The People vs. J. Edgar Hoover: https://www.wnyc.org/story/documentary-people-vs-j-edgar-hoover
The FBI: https://youtu.be/zu7Gj1uUIs0
“FBI Records: The Vault/COINTELPRO/White Hate Groups: https://vault.fbi.gov/cointel-pro/White%20Hate%20Groups

Jim Fleming is the Charles A. Dana Professor of Science, Technology, and Society at Colby College and a research associate at the Smithsonian Institution. He has earned degrees in astronomy (B.S. Penn State University), atmospheric science (M.S. Colorado State University) and history (Ph.D. Princeton University).
Professor Jim Fleming's website.
“Fixing the Sky: The Checkered History of Climate Engineering”

In 2017, reports of the mysterious “Havana Syndrome” dominated the news. American diplomats around the world reported experiencing a variety of symptoms including hearing a sudden loud noise, pain in one or both ears, feeling of pressure or vibrations in the head, tinnitus, visual problems, vertigo, nausea and cognitive difficulties.
There is no consensus among American Intelligence agencies as to the cause of Havana Syndrome, but one theory is that directed microwave weapons could be responsible. While this might sound like science fiction, this story has a Cold War parallel, the Moscow Signal.
In today’s episode Peter Kornbluh and Bill Burr, from the National Security Archives, join Bill to tell the story of the Moscow Signal and how the story parallels the Havana Syndrome.
 
Further Reading
The National Security Achieves: The Moscow Signals Declassified Microwave Mysteries: Projects PANDORA and BIZARRE
The National Security Achieves: The Moscow Signals Declassified Microwave Diplomacy
The National Security Achieves: The Moscow Signals Declassified: Irradiating Richard Nixon

The dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki is seen by most as the ultimate display of man’s capacity to destroy. While the destructive power of nuclear weapons cannot be denied, there was another weapon used in the Pacific campaign which was responsible for even more civilian death, Napalm.
In this episode, Bob Neer, author of “Napalm an American Biography,” joins Bill to discuss the history of Napalm and its complicated role in U.S. Military history.
Bob Neer’s Website: https://www.bobneer.com/publications/napalm
“'Napalm Girl': An Iconic Image Of War Turns 40,” NPR, June 3, 2012,  https://www.npr.org/2012/06/03/154234617/napalm-girl-an-iconic-image-of-war-turns-40
“Remembering the Halabja Massacre,” Voice of America, March 15, 2018: https://editorials.voa.gov/a/remembering-halabja-massacre/4298678.html
Bombing of Civilians and Civilian Targets by the Air Force,” Human Rights Watch, July 24, 1990: https://www.hrw.org/reports/archives/africa/ETHIOPIA907.htm

The Cuban Missile Crisis is widely considered to be the closest the world has come to nuclear war. But while that crisis played out in public view, there was another close call that happened in the shadows.
In this episode the story of Able Archer 83.
Brian Morra is the author of “The Able Archers.” He has spent his career in intelligence and national security beginning with his time as a decorated Air Force Intelligence officer and through his many years as a senior executive in the aerospace and defense industry.
Lt. Cdr. Steven Wills served for 20 years as an active-duty U.S. Navy officer, he served on a variety of small and medium surface combatants, including an assignment as the executive officer of a mine countermeasures ship.
Further Reading
Brian J. Morra, The Able Archers (Virginia Beach, VA: Köehler Books, 2022), https://www.koehlerbooks.com/book/the-able-archers/
Bernd Schaefer, Nate Jones, and Benjamin B. Fischer, “Forecasting Nuclear War,” Wilson Center, Cold War International History Project https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/forecasting-nuclear-war
Zach Dorfman, “The Congressman Who Created His Own Deep State. Really.” Politico, December 2, 2018, https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/12/02/larry-mcdonald-communists-deep-state-222726/.
 

In this episode, we are taking a look back at the series so far and looking ahead to where it's going in the future.
John Stimpson is the producer of Coming in From the Cold and a member of CNA’s Office of Communications.
Lt. Cdr. Steven Wills served for 20 years as an active-duty U.S. Navy officer, he served on a variety of small and medium surface combatants, including an assignment as the executive officer of a mine countermeasures ship.