If you could change a single moment in history, what would you choose to change and why? This question has inspired an entire genre of fiction that explores worlds in which significant historical events had a dramatically different outcome. In

Ep 008 - Collapse of Albanian Pyramid Schemes

May 31st, 2021 36m 5s

Welcome back to Warming Up to the Cold War! This episode is all about the pyramid schemes that took over Albania in the mid-1990s and whose collapse resulted in anarchy throughout the nation. While pyramid schemes became a trend across the post

Ep 007 - Suez Canal 1956 & 2021

Apr 26th, 2021 23m 56s

How many ships does it take to block the Suez Canal? The answer depends on the year and the size of the ship. The Ever Given recently captured the world's attention when it hit the bank of the Canal in March 2021 and completely blocked the widt

Ep 006 - Remembrance of German POWs at Fort Custer

Mar 23rd, 2021 19m 35s

Welcome back! This week we're talking about Volkstrauertag or 'German National Day of Mourning' at the Fort Custer National Cemetery in Michigan. The 1953 memorial service honoring German POWs side-by-side with their American counterparts was t

Ep 005 - Muhammad Ali & the Moscow Olympics

Feb 6th, 2021 28m 52s

This week's episode takes us back to 1980 and the American-led boycott of the Moscow Summer Games. Join Shelby in learning about the State Department's secret weapon in African diplomacy - none other than boxing legend Muhammad Ali! As we'll fi

Ep 004 - Nuclear Power a la française

Jan 5th, 2021 34m 30s

Happy New Year! The first episode of 2021 takes a bird's eye view of nuclear power in France. Shelby is joined by her sister Shanyn, who is taking college-level French courses, to share her insights on the practical and cultural reasons for Fra

Ep 003 - Prohibition: US vs. USSR

Dec 7th, 2020 29m 26s

This episode looks at the numerous attempts at prohibition in Russia (paying special attention to Gorbachev's "semi-prohibition" in the 1980s) and compares them with America's infamous prohibition in the 1920s. While this episode doesn't strict

Ep 002 - Satelloons and Sheldahl

Nov 10th, 2020 22m 30s

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a satelloon!? In this episode, Shelby talks about the Echo I and II satellite balloons (aka satelloons) and why an orbiting satellite got more public attention in 1960 than space shuttle launches have gotten in r

Ep 001 - The Treasure of Stolpsee

Nov 1st, 2020 30m 18s

The first episode of Warming Up to the Cold War focuses on the legendary treasure at the bottom of the Stolpsee lake in Germany as well as two notable, but ultimately unsuccessful attempts to recover the submerged items. From a notorious conman