European recipients of the Marshall Plan funds were quite clear to the USA that they needed help keeping the socialists down and out of their countries. And the USA recognized that its own economic welfare rested on the revival of Europe. Funding a pro-capitalist European recovery was a matter of national self-interest.

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We want to take a break from Korea to talk about the creation of NATO. Obviously relevant with the whole Ukraine situation. And it took on a new kind of mission during the Korean War. But let’s go back and look at where it came from.

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Today we’re talking to Katharine Gregorio, author of “The Double Life of Katharine Clark, The Untold Story of the American Journalist Who Brought the Truth about Communism to the West”. Clark was her great-aunt, a foreign correspondent who, while posted in Belgrade in the mid-1950s, befriended Milovan Djilas, the former heir apparent to Tito in Yugoslavia and author of the classic “Conversations with Stalin”, which Clark helped get published in the West, at great risk to herself and her husband.

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This is part four of our recent chat about the history of China and Taiwan with James Shone, a teacher who has lived and worked in Taiwan for over a decade.
Don’t forget to check out his new podcast about the history of Taiwan.

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Dr. Danny Orbach is an Associate professor in general history and East Asian studies, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His new book, Fugitives, is a history of Nazi mercenaries during the Cold War.

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This is part three of our recent chat about the history of China and Taiwan with James Shone, a teacher who has lived and worked in Taiwan for over a decade. 
Don’t forget to check out his new podcast about the history of Taiwan.

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Part two of our recent chat with James Shone about Taiwan. Don’t forget to check out his new podcast about the history of Taiwan.

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We were recently invited by Paul Giordano, a listener of this show, to give a lecture to the kids studying the Cold War at EF Academy in NY where Paul is the Humanities Department Chair. We spoke for about 40 minutes then did some Q&A with the very bright kids in his class. This is a recording of our Zoom call. We’re available for more school lectures, kids’ parties, wedding and bar mitzvahs.

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In 1949, the Kuomintang retreated from mainland China to the island of Formosa, now known as Taiwan. Ownership of Taiwan would become a major issue during the Cold War, and continues to be a cause of regional tensions, as well as China-US tensions, today. Joining us to talk about it today is James Shone, a teacher who has lived and worked in Taiwan for over a decade. He’s recently started a podcast about the history of Taiwan. 

 

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If you are seeing this message, it means you aren't a subscriber (or aren't logged in). If you haven't heard any of the series and want to know if you'll like it before you sign up, you can listen to the first few years of episodes totally free. You only need to register to listen to the current year’s episodes. Sign Up or Login to listen to our premium episodesIf you haven't already, join our Facebook page . If you'd like a chance to win a prize, write a funny or insightful review on iTunes.

We have made the first few years of episodes free, but if you want to listen to the rest of the episodes, mostly those made in the last year, you’ll need to sign up to become a member of our site. It’s cheap and easy, so sign up today and don’t miss out on our episodes about the creation of the CIA and the Korean War.

Even the CIA’s original legal counsel warned them that covert missions were illegal - but they did them anyway. On December 14, 1947, they were ordered to execute “covert psychological operations designed to counter Soviet and Soviet-inspired activities." Their first mission was to spend tens of millions of dollars of secret cash to influence the Italian elections. “We were terrified…. and going beyond our charter,” according to an early CIA operative.