#786 Fighting the Cold War with Words

Welcome back to The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates interview series on radio and podcast, your trusted source for enriching content tailored to the vibrant lives of aging adults over the age of 60 and their families. I'm Paul Vogelzang and today we embark on a captivating journey through the annals of history, a journey that unravels the enigmatic connection between literature, espionage, and the battle for hearts and minds during the tumultuous Cold War era.

Picture this: The world divided by ideology, where the mightiest nations on Earth, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Britain, engaged in a shadowy war of words. In this riveting episode, we delve deep into the clandestine world of spies, secret agents, and literary warriors, where every word written held the power to shape destinies and change the course of history.

Smithsonian Associate and author Duncan White is our esteemed guest today, a cultural historian and literary scholar who has uncovered the secrets of those who fought with their pens and keyboards, not on battlefields, but in the pages of novels, essays, and poems. He is the author of "Cold Warriors: Writers Who Waged the Literary Cold War’ and is our guest today.  Smithsonian Associate and author Duncan White will be presenting at Smithsonian Associates coming up and the title of his presentation is Fighting the Cold War with Words.  Please check out our web site for more details about Duncan White’s new book and his Smithsonian Associates presentation.

Today with Duncan White, we will journey back in time together. Duncan White will answer our questions about spies from the Spanish Civil War era to the fall of the Berlin Wall, as we explore the lives and works of literary giants such as George Orwell, Mary McCarthy, Graham Greene, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Their words were not just stories; they were weapons that could win hearts, provoke governments, and even risk their very lives.

But this episode isn't just about espionage and intrigue; it's about the personal sacrifices, the betrayals, the love stories shattered by political fissures, and the artists who found themselves caught in the crossfire.

So, dear listeners, fasten your seatbelts as we step into a world where words were the sharpest weapons, and where the battle for hearts and minds unfolded not on the battlefield, but in the pages of books and magazines.

Stay tuned as we dive deep into "

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