April 10, 1971. A team of ping pong players leaves Hong Kong to step across a border and become the first group of Americans welcomed to China in over 20 years. These competitors find themselves becoming unlikely diplomats at the center of a media frenzy, and at the heart of one of the 20th century’s major geopolitical shifts. How did table tennis turn into ... Show More
May 11
The Berlin Airlift and the Birth of the New World Order (Part 2)
May 12, 1949. After eleven months under Soviet blockade, the people of West Berlin flood into the streets to celebrate. The lights are back on. The autobahn is open. The siege is over. But just months earlier, West Berlin seemed doomed. Surrounded deep inside Soviet-controlled te ... Show More
31m 15s
May 4
Surviving the Mad Propagandist of Nazi Berlin (Part 1)
May 9th, 1942. In the Lustgarten, a sprawling park in the center of Berlin, a strange new attraction opens to the public. It’s a maze of tents, glowing under red lightbulbs. Inside: a staged vision of the Soviet Union. Filthy streets, starving children, torture chambers. A horror ... Show More
36m 5s
Oct 2021
Pourquoi parle-t-on de “la diplomatie du ping-pong” ?
<p>Le 10 avril 1971, des joueurs de ping-pong américains se rendent en Chine, à l'invitation des autorités. Ce voyage marque le dégel des relations sino-américaines, ouvrant la voie, dès l'année suivante, à la visite du président Nixon à Pékin.</p><br><p>La rencontre de deux joue ... Show More
2m 55s
Feb 2022
Heather L. Dichter, "Bidding for the 1968 Olympic Games: International Sport's Cold War Battle with NATO" (U Massachusetts Press, 2021)
Today we are joined by Heather Dichter, Associate Professor of Sports History and Sports Management at the International Centre for Sports History and Culture at De Montfort University. She is also the author of Bidding for the 68 Olympic Games: International Sport’s Cold War Bat ... Show More
1 h
Feb 2022
How bad could China-US relations get? With Rana Mitter
This week marks the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon's visit to China. In 2022, there are warnings the US and China are entering a new Cold War, while the latter's relationship with Russia is strengthening.
The New Statesman’s senior editor of China and global affairs, ... Show More
23m 33s
Jan 2022
Graham Allison on how China’s rising global power could lead to superpower conflict—or something else.
It takes a lot to impress Professor Graham Allison when it comes to geopolitics. He is, after all, the Cold Warrior’s Cold Warrior—as one of America’s most influential defense policy analysts and advisors, he was twice awarded the Defense Department’s highest civilian honor for h ... Show More
44m 17s
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In Episode 207 of</span> <a href="https://www.hiddenforces.io/podcasts"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Hidden Forces</span></a><span style= "font-weight: 400;">, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Daniel Markey, Senior Expert on South Asia at the Uni ... Show More
