Historian Calder Walton discusses the early origins of the Cold War, highlighting instances of espionage and the role of spies. The podcast explores the rise of Putin, his interactions with the Russian mafia, and the aftermath of the Cold War. It also discusses the West's success in gathering intelligence on Putin's war plans in Ukraine, but expresses doubts about gathering intelligence on Xi's intentions in China.
The Cold War between the US and the USSR actually began much earlier than believed, with Soviet intelligence services waging a Cold War against Britain in the 1920s and 1930s.
China's rise as an economic power and Russia's desire to regain its former glory have sparked a new Cold War, centered around the race for artificial intelligence, machine learning, and quantum computing.
Deep dives
The Cold War started earlier than we thought
According to historian Calder Walton, the Cold War between the US and the USSR actually began much earlier than commonly believed. Walton used KGB material and archives from both Soviet and Western countries to support his claim. He revealed that the Soviet intelligence services were already waging a Cold War against Britain in the 1920s and 1930s, with spies recruiting agents who played crucial roles in later periods. These agents, including the infamous Cambridge spies, were motivated by their belief that capitalism could not handle a coming crisis and that only Moscow could combat the rise of fascism.
US intelligence failures and catching up
During the early stages of the Cold War, the US government had a significant intelligence failure. It did not have a dedicated signals intelligence agency and was ill-prepared for the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, the US eventually caught up and started throwing resources into intelligence collection, surpassing the Soviet Union. The CIA played a key role in developing innovative methods such as the U-2 spy plane to gather intelligence on the Soviet Union.
The Cold War continues with China
While the Cold War between the US and the USSR may have ended, historian Calder Walton argues that it never truly concluded. He points out that China's rise as an economic power, along with Russia's desire to regain its former glory, has shifted the dynamics of the geopolitical landscape. China's Ministry of State Security has declared war on the US intelligence community and has been aggressively working to undermine US intelligence capabilities. The goal of this new Cold War is no longer about economic or political systems but revolves around the race for artificial intelligence, machine learning, and quantum computing.
The Cold War started earlier than we think — and maybe never ended at all. Historian Calder Walton says understanding the US-Soviet conflict prepares us for this era of tensions with Russia and China.
This episode was produced by Amanda Lewellyn, edited by Matt Collette with help from Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd and Rob Byers, and hosted by Noel King.