Conflicted: A History Podcast
Untangling history’s greatest controversies. Every month, we take a hard look at the historical conflicts that raise difficult questions, stoke controversy, and send our moral compasses spinning.
Human Error: The Destruction of KAL Flight 007
On September 1st, 1983, a South Korean commercial airliner inexplicably drifted 200 miles off course into restricted Soviet airspace. In response, a Soviet fighter plane intercepted the aircraft, fired two missiles, and shot it down, killing all 269 people on board. In this standalone episode, we examine one of the most enduring outrages of the Cold War, a mystery that baffled investigators and inflamed political animus for more than a decade.
SOURCES:
Degani, Asaf. Taming HAL: Designing Interfaces Beyond 2001.
Westad, Odd Arne. The Cold War: A World History. 2017.
Service, Robert. The End of the Cold War. 2015.
Downing, Taylor. 1983: Reagan, Andropov, And A World On The Brink. 2018.
Dobbs, Michael. Down With Big Brother. 1997.
Hersh, Seymour. The Target Is Destroyed. 1986.
Dallin, Alexander. Black Box: KAL 007 and the Superpowers. 1985.
https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/digitallibrary/dailydiary/1982-09.pdf
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Podcast Episodes
Ghosts in the Mountains: The Mujahideen Civil War (Part 4)
It’s 1992. The 40th Army is long gone and the Soviet Union has collapsed, but war still rages across Afghanistan. As the Afghan communist regime crumbles, Ahmed Shah Massoud and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s forces clash in Kabu…
Ghosts in the Mountains: The Soviet-Afghan War – Part 3
As the CIA wages a covert proxy war against the Soviet 40th Army, the Mujahideen are showered with billions of dollars and cutting-edge weaponry. An old animosity between two prominent Mujahideen commanders – Ahmed Shah…
Ghosts in the Mountains: The Soviet-Afghan War – Part 2
The Soviet 40th Army invaded Afghanistan in the closing days of 1979. They would not leave for another nine years. Exhausted and frustrated by their inability to decisively crush the elusive freedom fighters in the mount…
Ghosts in the Mountains: The Soviet-Afghan War – Part 1
When Soviet Russia invaded Afghanistan in December of 1979, few could have imagined what a seismic impact it would have on the modern world. In an attempt to prop up a wobbly client regime, the Soviets sparked a transnat…
Curse of the Koh-I-Noor Diamond
The infamous Koh-I-Noor diamond currently sits in the Tower of London among the crown jewels of the British monarchy, but its bloody, eon-spanning journey began in the riverbeds of ancient India. Cut, coveted, and stolen…
Kill Yamamoto: The Mission to Avenge Pearl Harbor - Part 2
After the Battle of Midway, the Japanese Navy is in tatters and Yamamoto’s hopes of a quick victory against the United States have evaporated. He has no choice but to fight a war he knows Japan will lose. Tom Lanphier, R…
Kill Yamamoto: The Mission To Avenge Pearl Harbor - Part 1
In 1941, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was the most hated man in America. As the architect of Japan’s December 7th surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States military decided Yamamoto had to die by any means necessary…
Prophet's Dilemma: The Sunni Shia Split Part 3
Civil war has torn the Caliphate apart. In 656 AD, Aisha marches with an army at her back. Ali, newly crowned as Caliph, has no choice but to oppose her. Muawiya sees an opportunity to grab power and start a dynasty of h…
Prophet's Dilemma: The Sunni Shia Split Part 2
The Prophet is dead. In 632 AD, the armies of Islam explode out of Arabia, led by a series of aggressive new Caliphs. The Prophet’s young widow Aisha struggles to understand her new role as “Mother of the Faithful”. Mean…
